Paris and Rhone River Cruise - AMA Kristina

Getting There – December 4, 2022

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Charles De Gaulle International Airport (CHG), Paris

Direct overnight flight from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Charles De Gaulle International Airport (CHG) aboard American Airlines. One item that was different in the baggage area on arrival is that after we picked up our bags, the exit from the baggage area was back in the same direction that we entered the baggage area – make sure you get your bags first and don't just follow the crowd, they may not have checked baggage.

Day 1 – December 5, 2022

Paris

Our transport driver met us at the gate just after exiting the baggage area by the driver, and soon after we pulled out onto the road, we were introduced to the traffic jam typical to the morning and evening rush hours. Paris is not a large city; however, it is very dense and tends to have traffic.

Renaissance Paris Hotel Nobel Eiffel Hotel had the opportunity for a three pre-night stay in Paris with AMA Waterways.

Several tour guides would remark that the hotel was located in a very posh area of Paris. Shop owners, staff, and restaurants were likely used to a more international clientele visiting France.

Walking out of the hotel to explore, we stopped first at a bank on the corner to pull some Euros out and were pleasantly surprised that the exchange rate was near 1 to 1 with US dollars for tips for tour guides, drivers, and wait staff, and some other vendors that did not accept cards or had difficulty getting their machine to work. Some machines give you a choice for the size of bills – smaller is better. We would stop several more times at ATMs along the journey.

We stopped and ate lunch at XVI Avenue, a restaurant a short walk from the hotel—pizza, soups, and in Mike's opinion, the best French Onion soup he had ever had. Then we walked to an overlook on the circle Place du Trocadéro with a view across the Seine River to view the Eiffel Tower.

After a much-needed nap to compensate for the jet lag, we ate dinner at Carette on the circle Place du Trocadéro near the Eiffel Tower overlook, with huge portions and beautiful deserts. Along the street, the facades of the buildings are magnificent, which a few tour guides would remark was an artifact of changes made to Paris architecture at a point in the past.

One thing that stood out, on the streets in Paris, few people smile back at you, but once inside a building, a smile is usually returned, and people are quite polite and friendly, much as they would be in any large city. That friendliness was also present in parks and the areas where someone is relaxing instead of being on the way somewhere (plus, it was a little chilly outdoors, so people may have been more in a hurry than they otherwise may have been.

Day 2 – December 6, 2022

Paris

We woke to a great hot breakfast served buffet-style and started with a bus tour through the city under low clouds hiding the top of the Eiffel Tower and passing the Arc de Triomphe. One detail the guide shared is that there is a tunnel under the massive circle around the monument to get to the monument directly. There are regular twice-daily ceremonies for these commemorated on the monument – it is treated with similar respect as our tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington.

Moving down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées between the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde, which continues as a park with a wide walking area leading directly to the central courtyard of the Louvre, past high-end world-famous stores based in Paris, I am only sorry the pictures were quite challenging to get because the eye can catch more detail than a camera on a bus. The storefronts were works of art in themselves, and the reflection of what we later discovered reflects a French maxim to invest in the façade so that your place, be it a home or business, will be appealing. So, it is no accident that the exteriors are beautifulNew Paragraph

We continued our tour through the streets of Paris, in both a glorious celebration and simultaneously a tragic moment, a smaller golden flame monument, precisely like the one on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor that was a gift from France commemorates the deep friendship between France and the United States, going all the way back to the assistance of the French in sending a fleet to prompt a more immediate end to our War of Independence to become a free nation. Although the Statue took on a completely different meaning related to immigration because of a poem on a plaque added much later, its original purpose as a link between our two nations is not forgotten. The flame also sadly marks the top of the tunnel where Princess Diana's accident occurred.

From there, we crossed the Seine River (pronounced "sane”), which runs through the center of Paris, parked near The Eiffel Tower stop on the tour, and walked up near the base. The Eiffel Tower and the Seine River are convenient navigational aids for moving around the center of Paris, where The Louvre, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Musée d'Orsay, the Palace of the Invalides, and many other of well-known sites line the Seine River. The walking portion of this tour started at the Paris Town Hall (Town Halls are called the" Marie" in every town and village and usually have an open front door). We would see many of these as we continued the journey.

The Town Hall of Paris (Hôtel de Ville) is named differently than any other town hall (Marie) in France, is several blocks past the Louvre when coming from the direction of the Arc de Triomphe, and it is here that we disembarked the tour bus and continued on foot. After a brief stop at the town hall to view the decorations and amusements for Christmas, we crossed the bridge over the Seine River to an island in the middle of the river and visited the outside of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is still being renovated from a fire that damaged the center of the structure a few years ago. Repairs are being worked on constantly to be ready to reopen by the time Paris hosts the Olympic Games in 2024. Scaffolding and safety rigging is up around the building as well as a wall protecting the site and potential visitors until it is ready. From there, we crossed another bridge, leaving the island for the far bank of the Seine, and stopped for a croissant and a coffee at Café du Paris, with a view from outside to Notre Dame.

From there, we took the tour bus to walk through a Christmas Market in the park between the place be la Concorde and the Louvre. The "Roue de Paris” is a huge Ferris wheel, found in the Place de la Concorde by the Louvre marks the end of the market. Here, I was introduced to Vin Chaud (hot spiced wine) warmed in kettles. When they say hot – it means really hot. I picked up a hat similar to what the French wear from a seller in the market, which helped keep off the chill. At every end, we found a cheese maker selling delicious melted cheese on bread, and once you try it, either here or with pizza, you may also give a nod of appreciation to the skilled cheese makers of France.

From this point, we returned to the hotel and walked down to eat with some new friends on the tour, this time to Le Malakoff. Several restaurants are located on the traffic circle of Place du Trocadéro (Trocadéro Square), which has two large museums flanking an open area visible as a landmark high on a hill overlooking the Eiffel Tower. This area became our go-to spot for meals near the hotel and a guidepost on a later walk at night to find out way back to the hotel.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel for a nighttime bus trip on the "City of Lights" Tour to the hilltop village of Montmartre & Illuminations Tour that was well outside of Paris. At the base of the hill, we transferred from the bus to the mini train for the ride up the hill directly in front of the Moulin Rouge, meaning "Red Windmill," which hosts a world-famous cabaret. Montmartre is centered around the smaller local Church and the much larger and ornate Basilica, with views over Paris. After a tour of the Basilica, we ate dinner in  La Bohème Montmartre restaurant by the local Church and found several places with partial views of the lights of Paris well below.

As we finished, after a walk to the funicular and a short ride down the steep slopes of the hill with another short walk to meet the bus, we were on the way back to the hotel. The bus stopped at a point near the Eiffel Tower, and we watched the light show – sparkling and shimmering in the glow that never seems to leave.

While in Paris, Morocco, a former French colony, advanced to the semi-finals of the world cup. With a sizeable Moroccan presence in Paris, several roads became blocked with cheering fans celebrating. As we approached the Arc de Triomphe, with fireworks lighting up over the monument, the streets became gridlocked with sold lines of blue lights of the police, the white glow of the oncoming cars, and the red lights of the vehicles ahead. It was a subtle, unintentional tribute to the French flag of vertical blue, white, and red lines.”

Day 3 – December 7, 2022

Paris

For our last full day in Paris, we had the concierge get us tickets to a guided tour to The Louvre, the hotel arranged a cab to get us there, and we met the tour guide near a horse and rider statue in the courtyard between either wing of the building and collected our audio device. Make sure you have your tickets and try to stick close to the guide, as at the gates of train stations or major attractions, the venue agents are only looking for a count, and if others get between you and the rest of the tour, you might get separated. Look out for each other – it also gets crowded inside, and knowing who is in the group can help you stay connected to the guide when you spend more time than expected at an exhibit.

We entered the Louvre from steps at a non-descript stairway under the courtyard and walked past the gift shops and food courts as we entered, past the bottom of the glass pyramid in the center of the courtyard. The Louvre's attractions are not just inside. The exterior has large numbers of statues and carved ornaments and every wall, and many ceilings have some artistic treatment, if only in shaping the materials in the background. The building itself is art.

As the guide pointed out, there are 18 acres of exhibits; it will not be possible to see everyone in a day, so check out the layout before arriving or check the map when the guided portion of the tour ends. We chose to see sculptures and the French art area, which takes you to both wings. There str many stairs involved in some places between galleries, and the means to move between these were not evident in all areas, but there are lifts in some locations where stairs were present. It was challenging to move between the wings while staying inside the building. 

A tip on photographing art, such as paintings. In some cases, the frame is an integral part of the composition, and in others, focusing on the content only on the canvas changes the picture entirely. One image, titled "Guardsmen," evoked a "Three Musketeers: feel to it, a window into Alexandre Dumas's story of the young man aspiring to join the King's guards, the Musketeers. With and without the frame changes the results – try one or the other or both methods yourself. Just be aware that some canvases are more the 20 feet wide and may be filled with details.

We ate before leaving the Louvre but were surprised to find how long we had been inside. The sun was fading, and it appeared the cabs were busy, but we walked along the Seine River back toward the Eiffel Tower, where we could cross back and continue up the hill to the traffic circle where our go-to restaurants were located, then return to the hotel. It was a slightly longer walk than expected because we kept finding pictures to take, such as the d'Orsay Museum in the old Paris to Lyon Train Station, the Seine River, and the glow of the Eiffel Tower in the twilight was inspiring. We both could not help singing the song from the movie Mama Mia, "walks along the Seine…"

Day 4 – December 8, 2022

Paris to Lyon

At the end of this phase of the trip, we embarked on a TGV high-speed train from the Pont-du-Gard Train Station in Paris bound for Lyon. Baggage is usually stored in spaces at each end of the train. For this phase, AMA Waterways collected the luggage at the hotel and trucked it to the ship in Lyon, and by the time we arrived, it was in our stateroom. It was only later we would find just how much of a convenience this was. Remember, the train travels very fast, and you experience ear pressure from rapid elevation changes. In addition, if you tend to have motion issues, facing forward and not backward is better. It takes a while to get used to the fast-oncoming trains and the sensation as they pass by so quickly. Lyon had two stops for the train, and we had to depart the train at the 2^nd stop at Lyon Poincaré. From there, we were picked up by bus and transported to the main square (Place Bellecour) in Lyon, where the Basilica is clearly visible high above the city.

Lyon is the hub of French gastronomy, so we started with a brief walk through the main square and a quick trip for a bite to eat (and drink). While this is a generalization, French food can be very calorie-dense and seem smaller than portions in the US, and this was no exception to that general rule: sausages, cheeses, loaves of bread, water, and wines. While small, it was very filling.

Lyon hosts a days-long festival, the Fête des Lumières, centered on December 8 for St Mary in gratitude for saving the city from a flood. Illuminations are placed in windows, and the crowds are enormous. The main display with the festival's theme was in the town square, "I Love Light." A light show for the city's leading exhibition is projected from downtown onto the large buildings on the north side of Sonne River. The river to the south is the Rhone River. Our ship, the Amakristina, was docked near the main square, a short walk across the bridge over the Rhone, then past one more bridge.

When we reached the ship on AMA Waterways, we were greeted with "Welcome home." After settling in, we had a briefing and ate dinner. The ship had been decorated for Christmas with a large tree near the entry desk and other decorations in various places around the ship.

After dinner, we walked along the Rhone to the main square with another couple. Note that cobblestones have uneven surfaces and gaps along the streets.



Finally, at the end of the evening, Roberto, the onboard musician, entertained those who were up. Roberto was a very talented musician and quite the singer, and we purchased his CD recorded in Rome – when we got home, it did not disappoint!

Day 5 – December 9, 2022

Lyon

Morning Lyon city tour. We visited the Basilica (La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière) overlooking the city. I stopped in the old town and walked through the cobblestone streets past well-decorated restaurants with attractive facades.

Afternoon excursion to Beaujolais, with its orange-yellow stones and wines. It was particularly foggy today, so the miles-long views over scenic valleys just were not going to be visible. On the way, we stopped in the community of Val d'Oingt, a small village around the d'Oingt Tower (Tour d'Oingt). After walking around the village, we bought hot chocolate and continued to the vineyard.

We visited a family vineyard, where our guide and Pasqual, the proprietor, entertained us and talked about the wines he made – particularly his aging of wines and the techniques in aging wines rapidly that many now practice. This was a discussion of variations of the region's wines due to a combination of factors. Then we proceeded to the tasting room, where Pasqual continued the debate and drank the wine. We brought back a bottle to share (since there was plenty of wine aboard). If anything, it was even better than the samples in the tasting room. 

Day 6 – December 10, 2022

Lyon to Vienne

Morning - Walking Tour to Basilica overlooking the town and the mini-Eifel Tower of Lyon.

In the morning, we departed the ship for the Lyon Christmas market and spent a fair amount of time walking up and down the city park used for this purpose. There were vin chaud and gift sellers, where we bought other items such as a model of a small bakery with a lighted stone oven and a figurine of a baker with a large wooden spatula since Mike bakes, and bought some scarves as well – not sure if it was the cold. Still, these looked like good gifts for personal wear. Also, we bought a gingerbread tree which would later end up on the desk of one of the ship's crew who has a taste for gingerbread as another passenger played secret Santa. We all liked this crew.

We walked back to the ship for lunch.



Back onboard, we had a presentation from a silk scarf maker, consistent with one of the principal businesses of the City of Lyon. Many of the more significant buildings along the Sonne River were used to manufacture silk products or to house workers in the silk industry. There was some shopping, and yes, silk scarves were purchased. 

This evening, the French Soccer Team advanced in the World Cup to the semi-final round, and although I did not get to see it, knowing that it would be helpful tomorrow. On our cruise, some visited two different establishments in the city to watch the match.

Day 7 – December 11, 2022

Vienne to Tournon

Walking tour through town to the Cathedral of Vienne and the Roman Temple of Augustus. It is easy to forget that Rome did control large parts of France (Gaul) and that there are distinct cultural variations based on that control. We would later discover that external influences on the Rhone peaked near Avignon, where French, Roman, and Spanish cultures blended as Catalonians.

Besides, the Roman Temple is a residential building with a plaque dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, who stayed there while also visiting the vineyards and wineries of the region. While photographing the plaque, a resident passed by and was interested if we had been able to watch the French Soccer Team win last night. While we had not, it was confirmed we had heard about the French victory (thanks to our Cruise Director) and were rooting for France, which brought a smile. 

We stopped at a hotel courtyard decorated for Christmas and explored a few streets as we waited for the train (well, sort of a train) to carry us to the top of Mount Pipet.

The top of Mount Pipet has a panoramic view over the Rhone, the red-roofed town, and the Roman Amphitheater immediately below. Looking carefully at the photo, you can see the three-story hotel with the dark grey rooftops about halfway up and a little to the right. It would be quite a walk if you were so inclined. There are also two ruins, one down to the left with a very high wall and another fort perched atop the hill to the right. There were many places where the various parts of the territory on either side of the Rhone were controlled by a King, a Duke, a foreign government, or armies warding off each other (but not always), so fortification was not typical. Still, every town and city seemed to have them. Also on the top of the mountain is the site of Saint Peter's Museum.

Back aboard the AMA Kristina, the ship hosted a contest on the 12 Labors of Bacchus, not a drinking game… okay, it could be a drinking game, but it wasn't, though, for part of it, there was a tasting to test your ability to detect different flavors. But the content was also a combination of the history of wine, the Rhone River's grapes, and the reasons for the vast differences in wines throughout the region, even with the same grapes.

This evening, we had Christmas Dinner, and, in this case, the classic French dish, Boeuf Bourguignon, was one selection and my favorite meal of those aboard, though every meal was special because of the company we shared and the crew. 

Day 8 – December 12, 2022

Tournon-sur-Rhône

Instead of the train ride through the gorge of the Doux River, we went to a Wine and Chocolate Tasting with information on the region's wines and the effect of wine on the taste of foods. Our guide, a sommelier in his own right, introduced our sommelier who covered the history of wines, the effects of water, soil, and sunlight on wine grapes, and how varied the area along the Rhone is. The pairings of different wines with chocolates a top French chef made amazed many. This understanding came in handy later aboard the ship with the gingerbread and vin choud (or hot wine), really bringing out the flavor of the ginger. We followed the wine and chocolate pairing with a walk across the river and through the Village Tain L'Hermitage to the Valrhona Chocolate factory store. One of the chocolates was based on cocoa butter (the non-dark portion of the cocoa paste used in white chocolate) and citron (lemon), which tasted exactly like the lemon meringue pie Eileen's mom made.

Once we were all aboard, we set sail in the early afternoon.

With Roberto singing, a few enterprising passengers, with help and encouragement from our intrepid Cruise Director, proceeded to decorate the Christmas trees placed on the dance floor – untangling the strings of beads and snowflake hangers and managing to make a good showing.



Now, with a dance floor covered by three decorated Christmas trees, you might think there would be no dancing but au contraire (a little French lingo for you). We got up and danced around the trees and the tables used for water and cookies. 

Day 9 – December 13, 2022

Tarascon to Avignon

From the dock in Tarascon, took a morning walking excursion to the formerly Roman village Arles where famed artist Vincent van Gogh spent a significant period of his life. One garden where we stopped on the tour displayed one of his paintings of the garden. The garden is in the same state as in the picture. We had the opportunity to shop, offering many Van Gogh items we purchased for gifts, such as a pocketbook, scarf, soap, and lavender gift items. The streets and city had that old classical look of stone and cobblestones, passing an ancient Roman Amphitheater and a Colosseum. The Colosseum took on a different role at other times, and the arches were bricked up to create a defensive fortress. Access has been unchanged since the Romans' days and maybe a challenge for those with mobility difficulties. The Church of Saint Trophime, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is also located here.

In the afternoon, we went on a tour to Les Baux de Provence, to the Carrieres de Luninieres light and sound show in the old mining caverns. We opted to join two other couples on this tour rather than our original plan for a castle tour that was a short walk from the ship. After a drive through the countryside, we entered the old quarry, where massive blocks of stone columns supported the roof and became screens for projectors throughout the cavernous space. Works of art and other artistic and historical events were projected on most surfaces, accompanied by music throughout the cavern treating visitors to a spectacular experience. 

The village of Les Baux is set on a moderately steep hill. Charming shops and homes lined the main street up to a dramatic overlook with views of orchards, lavender fields, low mountains, and vineyards established under Roman rule thousands of years ago. Pictures do not do it justice since it is a panorama of history, not just of a rocky outcropping.

As night fell, we delighted in a special illuminations cruise as the ship sailed towards the renowned Avignon Bridge, made famous by the French children's song "Sur le pont d'Avignon."

Day 10 – December 14, 2022

Avignon

Morning Avignon Walking Tour and Papal Palace Tour – Avignon the "City of Popes," UNESCO World Heritage Site – "Historic Centre of Avignon." Avignon was the official home of the Pope for 70 years. After the election of an Italian-born Pope who moved the official papacy to Rome, the cardinals elected a second Pope in Avignon. A struggle over the leadership of the Church resulted until Martin Luther stepped forward. The tour was informative on the history and the struggles of the Church, which included a tragic and destructive chapter in French history that entangled all cultural structures into the ambitions, agendas, and intrigue present during the French Revolution in 1789.

One section of the Christmas Market was on the main street through the town. Still, another, sponsored by Village Des chansonniers et artisans, was tucked away in the Cloître des Célestins, an old church off a side street from the market adjacent to a municipal administration building. With the additional lighting, the Church had a magical feel to it, as the craftsmanship of the structure was on par with some much larger and more famous cathedrals, beautiful in its simple and raw form, absent the frescos, paintings, and sculptures that adorn those other sites. 

Avignon has some roads that turn, and navigating without a map can be challenging. Help out those who are on your ship whenever you get a chance. Go with others because four can lighten the load of navigating, and it's more fun to learn and explore when you share the experience.



In the early afternoon, we traveled to Grignan to tour Château de Grignan (castle). Fields of lavender and a village surround the base of the hill where the castle stands. These fields bloom in the spring, ending in June, and up to mid-July. We are past that season, so the lavender flowers had been harvested, leaving only the base in rows of green. Grignan is one of those places where even walking up into the town that surrounds the fortress, it is hard to point a camera in any direction and not find something attractive or appealing to capture, though some of these and in the absence of the expected presence. 

The Collégiale Saint Sauveur Church is attached to the castle's outer walls and is simply decorated compared to the ornate Cathedrals and Basilicas in other sites – it is beautiful in a different way. The sanctuary is clear of distractions, and the Church has nativity scenes set up with illumination of different parts based on the narrative of the Christmas story.



After entering the gate to the inner castle walls and main building, details on the loss of priceless historical artifacts and wanton destruction of aristocratic and Church sites in the French Revolution were covered in a clear photograph of the entryway before restoration. Statues were smashed, defaced, or cut into pieces, typical of the destruction that accompanies conquering a civilization, as our Louvre tour guide put it. The buildings were looted and burned. The restored façade and interior are magnificent but seem to have still places where statues would have been present and are conspicuous in their absence. 

Following the chateau, we visited the charming Domaine de Cordis bed-and-breakfast and truffle farm after a short ride. We were entertained and informed by the charismatic owner whose family is an integral part of the business. After covering how truffles grow and the training of truffle hunting dogs, a demonstration of how enthusiastically a truffle hunting dog does her work was provided. Now, being an intelligent man and factoring in the cold and wet weather, our host provided us with a quick demonstration of the dog searching for truffles using a pre-planted truffle, a fact he readily admitted to doing – with our gratitude. We moved indoors to a tasting area, a shop, where we sampled various truffle-infused products and oils. Beyond truffles, the farm is open for weddings and a place to stay, and although the time of year and weather did not cooperate for a romantic setting outdoors, it was not hard to see how beautiful it could be in the spring or fall for your special day.



While in Avignon, France advanced from the semi-final round to the final with a victory in the World Cup.

Day 11 – December 15, 2022

Avignon to Paris

After we checked out of our cabin, we returned to walk in the town in the rain while the ship held our bags. We returned to the Christmas Market inside the Cloître des Célestins old church and found the vendors charming.

On the way back, we stopped at the Calvert-Museum, accessible from the lower levels, which had some echoes of the Louvre but with some unexpected differences in the subject matter.



Finally, we stopped at the Patisserie Vernet Café pastry shop and had some incredible pastries and hot chocolate. The apple tart was perfectly sweetened and would have easily been a $6 dessert in the US, but this was 1.5 Euros, about $1.50 US. The hot chocolate was melted and mixed—such a treat. We then returned to wait for the taxi our Cruise Director had arranged to pick us up and transport us to the rail station.

Having departed from the ship and the cruise, getting back to Paris and the airport had some surprises. Avignon is big enough for two train stations. After paying the taxi driver, we found the process works like this. Thirty minutes before the arrival of the train, the turnstiles allow travelers to place their boarding pass on the scanner, and the turnstile opens. All your luggage must go through with you all at once – this was a sign of what would come. There was a long ramp or an elevator to get to the 2^nd floor of the station where the train platform was located. While the railcar number is on the LED on the side of each car near the doors when waiting for the train, the place to stay is marked by the railcar number in the terminal. It is good to be close to the right door since the boarding occurs reasonably quickly – for reference, the higher number seats are at the top – we were in 72 and 73. Move outside when the time is under 5 minutes.

The convenience of AMA Waterways moving the luggage by truck from Paris to Lyon cannot be understated. Without this, the movement of bags onto the train during a short stop is on the passenger; there is no baggage check. At either end of the railcar, there are racks for bags, and inside, there is a small area for some bags. When the train arrives, you have to carry these. We were on the train upstairs, carrying three rather full and heavy bags down the stairs with other passengers below. Traveling light has an advantage, one we did not have.

Unlike the guided tour by our excellent Cruise Director, Fintan, when boarding in Paris, the conductor checks each passenger's ticket by seat assignment; expect this, so you are not fishing around for your boarding pass while the conductor stands waiting.



After arriving in Paris, the Taxi stand was at the stop train's end. 

Stayed at the Hotel Mercure Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle. The hotel has a shuttle, but it is not complimentary. After arranging to purchase seats, we went down to the restaurant in the hotel (a 4-star hotel) and ordered meals and a wine from one of the vineyards in l'Hermitage where we had visited. The dinner and the wine were superb and capped an experience we hope to repeat.



Return – December 16, 2022

Paris and Return Flight

A 3-night post-stay in Barcelona was an option, but we had to opt for the return to Paris and an overnight stay with a departure the following day. Leave ample time to reach the correct gate at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). The terminals have a single drop-off point, and the terminals are enormous. As we walked through, we were passed by many people rushing to get to their gate and heard more than one story of travelers who had to get a hotel because they had missed flights. There are many Airports with direct flights to Paris. 

Other Notes

Medical Considerations 

Rules at the time required a Covid test within 48 hours of boarding, and while this was not checked, if there had been a problem, not having the proof of that could be a problem. Buy and bring your test kits with you. No test was required at the time to fly back to the US as a citizen. Policies require that if you get sick, the ship will arrange for a doctor, but if you are positive, you must leave the ship – so stay well, use the hand sanitizers, bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and enjoy your vin chaude.

Pictures

This was my first time using the iPhone 13. It was terrific, automatically applying filters for haze and light levels that required post-editing to apply for the Canon SX70 (which had been unintentionally set off of its usually spot-on automatic filters and exposure settings). When found and corrected, the Canon did its usual excellent job and, with a 65X Optical built-in, can get some details that would have been lost (even considering it did not have the right lens filter for these conditions. The old reliable Samsung S6 (yes, it's that old) still does a great job in general landscapes and applies auto-filters well - I just did not use it as often, except at night – where it's still the best.