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Facebook: @The<strong>Weekender</strong>Spain<br />
FRIDAY 30TH AUGUST 2019 37<br />
GLIDING along the river with a<br />
cocktail in hand, as stars twinkle<br />
above me, I’m certain there is no<br />
better way to travel.<br />
Exploring a new destination each<br />
day of a holiday usually means living<br />
out of a suitcase and spending hours<br />
on the road every night.<br />
But memories of cramped coaches<br />
slip far into the distance thanks to<br />
Avalon Poetry II, the cruise ship which<br />
is smoothly transporting my partner<br />
Hayley and me to many of the highlights<br />
of the Provence region in the<br />
South of France.<br />
The popularity of European river<br />
cruising has rocketed in recent years,<br />
and our dusk arrival into Avignon<br />
makes it easy to appreciate why.<br />
Our visit coincides with the city’s<br />
annual arts festival and our immersion<br />
in the event begins even before we<br />
dock, thanks to musical performances<br />
taking place alongside the river.<br />
We come to a stop right next to a<br />
fairground, so I finish my pina colada<br />
and in just a couple of minutes, Hayley<br />
and I are hundreds of feet in the air<br />
on a Ferris wheel, struggling to believe<br />
how much fun we’re having as we look<br />
down at the busy streets below.<br />
Arrivals like this aren’t possible on<br />
big cruise ships. Due to their size, they<br />
often dock so far away from city centres<br />
that you have to take a taxi or bus<br />
to get to where the action is. But river<br />
cruising means we can dash off the<br />
boat and find ourselves immediately<br />
where we want to be.<br />
Avalon includes a guided tour for every<br />
city and town visited, so the next<br />
morning we’re taken to the sumptuous<br />
Palace of the Popes.<br />
In the 14th century, Avignon was the<br />
permanent residence of six successive<br />
popes. The prestige and pomp of the<br />
RIVER RIDE TO THE FRENCH RIVIERA<br />
role is clear as we walk around the private<br />
chapels and apartments of their<br />
official residence.<br />
Convenience is one of the main advantages<br />
to this form of travel. Our<br />
hotel room – and all our belongings –<br />
sail with us. Croatian waiter Tomislav<br />
knows my name, and my favourite<br />
drink. The time spent travelling feels<br />
genuinely enjoyable rather than a necessary<br />
chore to get to the next port.<br />
Modern ocean cruise liners are<br />
equipped with cinemas, swimming<br />
pools and a dozen bars, restaurants<br />
and cafes, but being one of thousands<br />
of people can be a touch overwhelming.<br />
Poetry II carries just 128 passengers,<br />
so the chances of us bumping into the<br />
same person twice are pretty high.<br />
Most of our fellow travellers hail<br />
from the US, Canada, Australia and<br />
New Zealand – with a few Brits added<br />
to the mix – and by the end of the<br />
week, we know many of them well.<br />
Bob, an eccentric Kiwi, has a seemingly<br />
unlimited supply of tales from a lifetime<br />
of travelling the world flying hot<br />
air balloons for a living, while Sue and<br />
Kyra – a mother and daughter from<br />
Vancouver – are full of excitement after<br />
“abandoning” their husbands for<br />
this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe.<br />
Many of the long-haul travellers tell<br />
us they opted for a river cruise because<br />
they were anxious of making their own<br />
way around a foreign country.<br />
British holidaymakers probably feel<br />
more comfortable negotiating French<br />
customs and etiquette because it’s only<br />
a short hop across the Channel, but<br />
one big advantage of river cruising is it<br />
removes a lot of uncertainty over how<br />
much the trip will cost. On top of the<br />
daily excursions, the price of the cruise<br />
includes three superb meals a day,<br />
plus beer and wine with dinner and<br />
an unlimited supply of hot drinks and<br />
cake. Pretty much the only time we<br />
have to dip into our spending money<br />
is at the very start of the holiday, when<br />
we spent a night in Monte Carlo before<br />
boarding the ship.<br />
The principality – on the coast of<br />
the sparkling Mediterranean Sea and<br />
surrounded by France – oozes wealth,<br />
from the yachts and supercars to the<br />
luxury stores and flashy restaurants.<br />
The feeling that we’ve entered a distant<br />
world only grows when we step<br />
into our hotel, the Fairmont, to see Mo<br />
Farah in the lobby inspecting a white<br />
Aston Martin DB9. We resist the urge<br />
to take a photo and stroll casually past<br />
the Olympian, trying to look like this is<br />
a perfectly normal holiday experience<br />
for us.<br />
Monte Carlo is great – especially<br />
if you have the bank balance to fully<br />
enjoy it – but the comfort of our cruise<br />
ship and beauty of Provence is the undoubted<br />
highlight of our trip.<br />
Avalon Poetry II moves so quietly<br />
that when we wake up after the first<br />
overnight sailing, I suspiciously pull<br />
open our cabin curtains to check we really<br />
have travelled to Arles.<br />
Nicknamed the ‘Little Rome of<br />
Gaul’, the city is packed with heritage<br />
from the time of the Roman Empire.<br />
Summer Opening Hours - July & August<br />
Monday - Friday 9.30 - 14.00 Saturday 10.00 - 13.00<br />
LAST CABINS<br />
5.11.2019<br />
from 599*<br />
Price per person in a double cabin with fullboard<br />
+ 220€ tax - tips not incl.
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