SAÔNE AND RHÔNE
music, including Sinatra and Dean Martin.
It was one of our most enjoyable nights of
the trip.
There was a cosmopolitan crowd at
Viviers, mostly Brits en-route to the Med,
although there was one chap working his
way upstream at 4 knots in a narrowboat,
plus an Argentinian chap kayaking to
Barcelona. You meet all sorts!
Most Boatfolk do Viviers to Avignon in
one hop but we stopped for a night at St
Etienne-le-Sorts. It was a pretty place but
no shops. There was a wine cave that we
thought would be interesting but it wasn’t
open. August...
Stopover in Avignon
With a Mistral now forecast we decided to
press on in increasing wind and choppy
water to the shelter of Avignon. Folklore
dictates that the Mistrals last either one,
three, five or seven days. It sounds
ludicrous and defies logic, but I have to
say there’s more than a grain of truth in it.
Anyway, this turned out to be a three-day
Mistral and we sat it out very comfortably
in Avignon’s pleasant and relaxed port de
plaisance. It cost r19 a night, but that
included showers, water, electricity and
laundry. There was also a common room
with wifi an ironing board and book swap.
Having explored Palais des Papes
(Avignon’s papal palace) on a previous
visit, as well as the famous bridge (what’s
left of it), we resigned ourselves to chilling
out. We went on a self-guided walk,
courtesy of a tourist office leaflet. To our
surprise we discovered an
unprepossessing art gallery en route that
included Picassos, Cezannes and several
other well known artists. That was an
unexpected bonus.
We weren’t attracted to the much-
vaunted Place de l’Horloge with its tourist
restaurants showing photographs of food,
and instead ate in a classic Provencal
square, Place St Pierre.For three nights, we sat out the Mistral,
socialising with other itinerants. On the
fourth day, the Mistral died and we set off
again, southward to the Med. We missed
Arles, needing to press on to Port St Louis,
but did return a few days later by bus.
Markets seldom come more impressive
than the Saturday market at Arles. It’s not
without good reason that Van Gogh based
himself here and produced some of his
most memorable work.
The self-guided Van Gogh tour is very
well worth doing. You can pick up a leaflet
from the tourist office.
Unfortunately, the pontoon that used to
provide boatfolk with a base to explore
Arles has been removed. However, a
restaurant peniche has taken its place and
offers limited alongside mooring.
On the evening of August 27, nearly
three months after we departed
Woodbridge, we entered the sea-lock at
Port St Louis, where Keppel would spend
the winter.
With Keppel safely tucked up at Navy
Service boatyard, we adjourned to a
family room at the Radisson Blu on the
quay of Marseille old port. My son and his
family flew out to meet us and we had
lunch at Marseille Yacht Club. We’d always
fancied eating here, but thought it too
much of an extravagance.
We were in for a nice surprise – it turned
out to be barely more expensive than most
nearby quality restaurants, but the location
is the best! The food was innovative and
robust, the staff welcoming and we had our
lively grand-daughter with us. It was a fitting
ending to a challenging and thoroughly
enjoyable three-month cruise.RIGHT Avignon’s
relaxed port de
plaisance, ideal for
Mistral dodging
BELOW Never far
from an iced pastis
de Marseille, I’m
offered ‘inside out’
dining at the
centre harbour
with daughter-in-
law, Sarah
BELOW RIGHT
Chalons-sur-
Saône, city-side
west bankViviers, a warren of a
Rhône town with a
brilliant bar/restaurant‘Folklore dictates that the Mistrals last
either one, three, five or seven days...’