Although the Bon Voyage arrived in Cadillac at 2:00 AM on Wednesday, we didn’t stay very long and left for Bordeaux at 9:00 AM in the morning. We chose not to participate in any group tours that day and simply enjoyed the relaxed pace of life onboard. This gives me an opportunity to compliment Uniworld on the excellence of their staff. Everyone we encountered on the cruise, from the front desk personnel, to lunch and dinner wait staff to bartenders and tour guides, was friendly and happy to be of service, no matter the request or the time of day it was made. Kudos to the housekeepers who freshened up our cabins on a daily basis. Their slogan was “When you’re out, we’re in and when you’re in, we’re out.” That sums up just how efficient they were. And I would be remiss if I didn't add a word about "the Georges." There were four of us onboard, including George from the Bar Staff (at left in photo), George from the Front Desk (next to me) and George the Bartender (at right). When we lined up for the photograph, George from the Front Desk was kind enough to give me his Uniworld pin as a keepsake of the journey!
Mascaret tide and maneuvers first took place that afternoon. Mascaret is the term the French use to refer to a tidal bore and they frequently occur along the Dordogne River. Tides tend to be held back when they initially reach shallower water, but if the river configuration has the right size and shape, the tide builds up and forms a low wall of water that moves upstream with considerable force as the tide continues to rise. While such a rolling tide is quite a treat for surfers, the bore can damage vessels docked at the river’s edge. So, Captain Falezan first maneuvered the Bon Voyage to the middle of the river on Wednesday afternoon and then we sailed for Libourne, arriving for an overnight stay in the early evening. Additional mascarets and subsequent maneuvers happened again during the cruise, none of them even disturbing me as nearly all of them occurred in the middle of the night.
Our special Food and Wine Pairing Dinner took place that evening in La Cave des Vins, the ship’s elegant and private dining room accommodating only twelve guests. Reserving a seat at this specialty dining venue came with a hefty €125 surcharge, but the set menu was a step above the already solid cuisine served in the main Grand Fromage Restaurant. The wines paired with each course were supposed to have made this private communal table special. Unfortunately, the obnoxious and boorish behavior of two other American couples embarrassed us and nearly spoiled the evening. Looking down their noses at the other guests, one gentlemen became visibly irritated when our sommelier served a Napa Valley Robert Mondavi wine with one dinner course. Claiming he couldn’t drink it, he actually rose from the table to procure a bottle from the lounge for the four of them to enjoy! While we would have much preferred a Bordeaux as well, such unwarranted and childish antics are never acceptable, particularly in public and among a group of nice people who had looked forward all week to what should have been a pleasant evening.
Things improved on Thursday. The ladies participated in a Masterpiece Collection Cooking Class in the morning conducted at the Chateau Ambe tour Pouret. This estate consists of more than twelve acres of vines, the Château itself, a barrel cellar and a vat room. They prepared and tasted regional dishes under the watchful eye of the chef (whom they all agreed was a very good looking fellow). The gentlemen enjoyed the walking tour of Saint-Émilion, a UNESCO World Heritage Site well regarded for its cultural landscape and historic vineyards. The town does everything it can to looks its best for the one million tourists who visit each year and that was certainly evident during our time there. The Saint-Émilion Grand Cru has always been among my favorite wines. It’s a blend of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc and 30% Merlot and gives off ripe black fruit and spice aromas. Wine shops seemed to be everywhere in this town and before long, I'd purchased a case of Chateau Larmande Grand Cru Classé, which we're now enjoying. Casual French dining was on tap for dinner with service in La Brasserie, located behind the bar. The evening’s entertainer was Jérémy Dupouy, a talented singer and guitarist from Bordeaux who performed a number of fan favorites that brought our day to a happy close.
Being sedentary for more than a week, several of us were anxious for the Libourne bike ride excursion the following morning. Far less well known to tourists than Bordeaux or even Saint-Émilion, Libourne is a charming town located at the confluence of the Isle and Dordogne Rivers. We biked from the ship to the Place Abel-Surchamp, the central square which was hosting a “Village Day” with an open-air farmer’s market. We weaved around the stalls selling everything from vegetables to flowers to clothing before heading out of town for about a mile to the Notre-Dame-de-Condat Chapel, the oldest parts of which were constructed in the Eleventh Century. After touring the beautiful chapel, our guide turned to his assistant and barked, “Fifi, get the wine.” And so Fifi did as he was instructed, at which point we all enjoyed tasting yet another fine regional vintage. The S.S. Bon Voyage set sail again for Bordeaux that afternoon and we were underway during the Captain’s Farewell Reception as well as the Farewell Dinner in Le Grand Fromage Restaurant. The ship arrived back in Bordeaux at 9:00 PM and stayed in port for the remainder of the cruise.
Having gotten in the groove of biking again, the gentlemen signed up for the “Let’s Go” Bike Bordeaux Backstreets tour on Saturday morning. Our guide was the same fellow as yesterday but this time, Fifi wasn't with us. We maneuvered through the streets of Bordeaux and came upon La Cité du Vin, a thoroughly modern and unique building serving as a cultural center hosting exhibitions, shows, movies and academic seminars - all devoted to wine, a subject close to the heart of every Bordeaux resident. Later, looking across the Garonne River, we could see another remarkable building, the industrial GMP Flour-Mill and its unique 157-foot-high tower, both of which have been a dominant presence on the right-bank landscape since the 1920s. In the wake of the First World War, the port of Bordeaux was taking delivery of enormous quantities of grain that arrived from the Americas, but existing mills in the area were unable to meet local demands. Wheat traders soon joined together and funded the construction of this mill that was completed in 1921 and was strategically positioned within easy reach of both the river and the railway line. We crossed bridges and passed spired churches before coming upon Betasom, the Italian language acronym for the Bordeaux Sommergibile, the submarine base established by the Italian Navy during World War II. We continued through the city streets before our guide went into a local liquor store, coming out with a bottle of Chartreuse, a French herbal liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks since 1737. Our group stopped at a public park where we each received a plastic shot glass filled with this green concoction. I found it very distasteful and tossed it into a nearby garbage bin just as our guide began collecting the empty plastics for future use. Oops!
We said “adieu” to the Bon Voyage on Sunday morning after boarding the van to the Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. Many thanks to Sabrina Tsimonidis, our Cruise Manager, for putting us on the early shuttle, even though we had not made flight arrangements with the cruise line. After checking in at the Air France Business Class counter, we headed for the lounge to await a 10:30 AM departure. Their Bordeaux lounge is a rather small and crowded space with a noisy Nespresso machine, which hummed constantly during those morning hours. Our flight was delayed for a half hour due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft. Upon boarded the A321, we found our seats in Row 2 on the port side. Like other European carriers, Air France Business Class features economy seats on short-haul flights but the middle seats are blocked out, giving passengers a little more space. Kudos to the crew who managed a beverage and snack service on this short, 55-minute flight to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. After landing, this is where the fun began.
At the time, the US still required a negative test for entry into the country and, although we had purchased Abbott BinaxNOW Home Tests with a video component, we were concerned about potential internet issues. So, we wanted to pre-test at the airport. The six of us wandered around Terminal 2 for well over an hour (schlepping our luggage at the same time). Initially, the airport Web site indicated that one of the terminal pharmacies was conducting testing, but that an appointment would be necessary. We decided to try our luck and show up without one and only found the pharmacy after great difficulty (the signage is Charles de Gaulle Airport leaves much to be desired). Luckily, no appointments were required, we each paid the €40 charge and within a half hour, received our negative test result certificates. Eventually, we located the shuttle for the Paris Marriott airport hotel. After check in, we rendezvoused at the hotel’s Le Trivium Restaurant for lunch during which time we made sure our test results were uploaded and accepted by the Delta Fly Ready app. Everyone was wiped out by this time and we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon and a restful night’s sleep before meeting the van for the return ride to the airport at 7:00 AM on Monday morning.
Our driver kindly dropped us off near the Delta check-in desk at Terminal 2, as opposed to the official shuttle drop-off location by the fifth floor railway station. Once we cleared Passport Control, we made our way to the Air France Business Lounge to await our mid-morning departure to Detroit. Delta was flying an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the route that morning and we were seated in the two middle seats in Row 4 of the Delta One cabin. I had some problems in raising the aisle armrest on my seat but a friendly flight attendant managed to get that sorted out (although it wouldn’t slide back down for taxi, take off or landing). The only other issue we had was that the IFE screen kept freezing and, while the cabin crew reset the system several times, it was to no avail (at least for us). Both my wife and I received 15,000 bonus SkyMiles for our inconvenience and I was pleased I had downloaded content to my iPad. Luncheon service began with Vegetable Soup followed by a Fresh Summer Salad, along with Fresh Baked Bread. We selected the Braised Beef entrée with Potatoes and Summer Vegetables and the Ice Cream Sundae for dessert. A Hot Sandwich or an Entrée Salad were offered as pre-arrival snacks and we touched down in Detroit on time at 1:10 in the afternoon. Our connection to the Raleigh-Durham Airport was on time as well and we landed at our home field around 4:15 PM. We headed home after saying goodbye to our traveling companions with wonderful memories of a fabulous and long-awaited trip to France.
Until next time…safe travels.
Sounds like the trip was worth the wait! ... 🍷