This will be my penultimate blog. When we went to bed the night before in Avignon, we made the distinct decision NOT to set the alarm after having an afternoon and late night that involved more libations than we planned. Still, I woke up at 7:30. I felt somewhat logy, but not too terrible. Richard was still sleeping. I contemplated getting up, getting breakfast, getting ready to walk into Avignon, but all I did was contemplate. Nature gave me a WONDERFUL excuse; I looked outside and it was raining. Okay, maybe not REALLY raining, but it was DEFINITELY sprinkling. People were walking around with umbrellas. I looked up entry price to the Palace of the Popes on my phone… Hmmm… it would be $12 each if we went later and not with the tour group in the morning. I decided that was fine and drifted back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, it was after 10. Breakfast was now a memory that didn’t happen. Again, I considered going down to the coffee bar for a cup of coffee and a croissant. Still, I went absolutely nowhere. A morning wasted? Perhaps. But I was fully recovered by the time we were going on our final Masterpiece excursion, a trip to Chateauneuf du Pape. Richard was mostly recovered. So, after lunch, the weather cleared completely, we boarded the bus, and the only place we saw the Palace of the Popes was from the outside and from the bus window. We gazed at the 2.5 miles of walls around the city and thought, “Maybe later…”

The included afternoon tour was kayaking. The group had been told many times, in no uncertain language, that this would be a challenging excursion and not for novices. It would include portaging at some points and rough currents. No part of that appealed to me, but I was glad that others would have the opportunity if they liked. A few planned to go, but I didn’t talk to anyone who actually did.

We had good intentions of walking through the city when we returned, from our excursion. BUT we all know what road good intentions paves… and the day was hot. Our one foray into Avignon the previous evening was all that would happen this time in France. We can always return! Onward to the rocky, pebbly, soil of Chateauneuf and a tasting at a winery.

This choice to me was one of the few “fails” on Uniworld’s part – not a big fail, but not great. I didn’t love this particular choice of winery. There was no great view, the tasting was rudimentary, and the wines were mediocre to me. (Disclaimer: Wine tasting is so subjective; some may have LOVED these wines. They have great scores.) Had it been one of the included excursions, I don’t think I would have felt the same. However, when people were paying for a CDP extra, they likely already had some knowledge of the region, and I would have liked a more immersive winery tasting experience.

No matter, the excursion didn’t include just the tasting, and we were off to the the town and the chateau itself. CDP is the oldest AOC in France and has over 300 winegrowers even though there are only a little over 2000 people. I would have liked to have spent more time in the town, but we had a chance to duck into a tasting room on a street in the town to try some tasty wine from Domaine la Boutiniere. CDP wine is made from up to 13 different grape varietals including some white, but in the area Grenache is the king, and most blends are made from primarily Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre (GSM). I learned from our time in Paso Robles, California that this was my favorite blend of grapes. We’ve been to Paso four times now, with a fifth coming up. It is our favorite American wine region, and they do primarily Rhone varietals there, but I digress…

From there, it was just a quick bus ride up to the ruins of the chateau itself to see the ruins of the 14th century Medieval castle for some quick pictures before getting back to the boat in Avignon.

I knew that Avignon was to be our final docking point, but I was thrilled to hear we hadn’t reached the point in our journey where we’d stay stationary in Avignon just yet! We would leave Avignon to sail to Tarascon that night for one last adventure in another town the next day! We borrowed a wine suitcase from our friend in Austin that held seven bottles. Alas, we bought too many bottles, so we had to open one to share with dinner to make room. Poor us! It was the night of the “Farewell dinner.” I was so cream and cheesed out by this point in the trip that I selected the cauliflower for dinner. NOT my best choice. The balsamic was good, but the cauliflower was VERY bland and boring. Ah, well. It was still a great day, and we were thrilled to know we had one more ahead! We were still docked in Avignon, not leaving until late, and COULD have made that trek back into the city. Instead, we sat up on the deck, had a nightcap, and chatted with new friends from all over the world.