Today, there were no busses for the morning trip as we were just headed out to explore the village where we docked: Viviers. This tiny town of 3000 also boasts the smallest cathedral in France, Cathédrale Saint-Vincent de Viviers. Well, that is if you believe the French. Our Viviers native guide told us never to believe the French because they lie. (ha).

Imagine my surprise when I took a second glance at our guide and realized that he was our ballroom dancer from the night before! He walked us through beautiful tree-lined, cobblestone streets and pointed high upon a hill to let us know that the cathedral at the top would be our destination.

The town was so quiet on our steep ascent. We rarely saw an inhabitant. At one point, we walked through a passageway with a van that took up the entire street, having to squeeze by sideways on the edges.

The only other tour option for that morning was a strenuous hike. The night before Ingrid had made it clear that only the experienced hikers, truly wanting a challenge, should embark on the hike which she said would be steeper and longer than that on Hermitage the day before, Some of the people who had been disappointed with the hike that turned out to be a stroll on Hermitage were much happier that day. I think it’s wonderful that Uniworld listened to the concerns of some and adjusted. Our other friends took the bikes offered by Uniworld and spent the morning exploring by bicycle path. Richard and I loved the “Quiet vox” where we wore an earpiece and our guide talked into a microphone, so we didn’t have to be right with him all the time to hear what he was saying.

The 11th century cathedral was beautiful, but largely barren. Our guide told us that the French government would come in and decide that certain things needed “restoration” and would take them, but they would not return. He pointed out a spot where a tapestry had hung in the 1970s – taken for restoration, but ended up in the Louvre…

He shared with us a chandelier from the time of Charlemagne, a crucifix that depicted the fall of Adam and Eve, and a pipe organ that had a few sour notes. When the government of France would come to see what needed to be restored, the organist would play a song that didn’t include that sour note, so at this point, they were able to keep the organ.

The second part of the tour involved meeting with locals. It seemed each tour group had the opportunity to meet with a different person who lived in Viviers – going into their personal kitchens and their private businesses. Our group met with a husband and wife who had wanted to buy a house that was part of a convent. They were allowed to buy it, but only if they bought the entire convent. They were in the process of renovating it to make it a bed and breakfast with a spectacular view of the town and the Alps in the distance.

As we made our way slowly back down the hill, our guide told us of the stories of the town. He stopped at one house and told us the story of the family who had lived there during World War II during occupation with a Nazi captain living on the first floor, oblivious to the Jewish doctor hidden on the top floor of the house.

It was an early lunch on the boat the day because the boat was about to start sailing again that afternoon. We had another choice. We could stay on the boat or we could board a bus for a 30 minute trip to a working truffle farm and the village of Grignon as part of the connoisseur collection. Richard and I NEVER say “no” to truffles! So, we boarded to bus and stopped at the home and farm of Gilles Ayme. As we stood beneath the rows of oak trees, we learned that Gilles was a 4th generation farmer who sold his truffles to the likes of Thomas Keller in the US. He claimed that you could train just about any type of dog to truffle hunt, but he preferred Labrador Retrievers because he likes them as pets. He said the the females have better noses and they listen better, so his were always girls. He was not, however, able to train his cat.

The truffle hunting demonstration was fun! Clearly some truffles had been buried in shallow soil under the trees nearest us. Still, it was amazing how quickly the dogs sniffed them out and began digging at the ground. They are trained by being fed truffles as puppies and learning to love them. As they are older, their owners trade them the truffle for a more tasty snack. That’s one of the reasons dogs are now used instead of pigs. The dogs are more likely to give up their truffle. That is also why dogs are trained instead of me!

When we walked into Gille’s house, that familiar smell hit me immediately! We first tried fresh summer truffles. I had never had them before. They are much more subtle and floral. They are not nearly as popular or nearly as expensive. Two ounces of summer truffles would cost around $80; black winter truffles, around $280; white (which I’ve still never had a chance to try), $800.

Understandably, he did not share any of his fresh winter truffles with us, but we did get a taste of oil infused with truffles. This is actually different than some of the truffle oils you may buy at the store. Often, those kind of truffles are actually synthetic, made by perfume makers. This oil was rich and wonderful on a baguette with just a bit of sea salt.

From there, it was off to Grignon, another tiny town, with another Michelin starred restaurant, more narrow sloped streets, and another spectacular church at the top. (I was beginning to sense a theme!)

We caught up with the ship on a tiny dock in Chateauneuf du Pape before sailing off to the walled city of Avignon for the evening.

Escargot, dinner, and drinks followed… and then some more drinks followed, and some more. By the time we were docked in Avignon at 10 o’clock, I suggested to Richard that we go into town to see what was going on. Richard, to my surprise, agreed!!! (Leaving at 10 o’clock at night is not a thing Richard would normally do in ANY country.) We walked on the pedestrian walkway under the highway in front of us into Avignon and found it in the middle of a festival! The buildings were illuminated, art and performers were everywhere! We took a seat at a café, did a little MORE drinking and watched the world go by.

Walking back to the boat, I was particularly fascinated by the HUGE rats that ran across the walkway just in front of our feet and into the bushes beside the river. I’ve seen rats before, but these were IMPRESSIVE. Richard and I drank a lot of water, downed some liquid IV, took some Aleve (did I mention there had been some drinking?) and had EVERY intention of getting up the next morning to tour the Palace of the Popes in the walled city of Avignon. We had been told that it wasn’t going to be a strenuous hike, but it would be a long tour with a lot of stairs. We were LOVING how it felt to walk all over the countryside, and we were ready for more – or so we thought!