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Foray into France: Part IV (Calvados, Monet and the beginning of the end)

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After the beaches and Normandy, it seemed that the main “draw” of the river cruise part had come to an end, but I was excited to still have two more days and new things to enjoy. After the World War II day, we didn’t get into our next port until after sunrise, but we would have a chance to sail again and explore two small villages that day.

I always like the days when you can just look out the window and see what’s up and coming with the day ahead.

On our original plans, we were to take a coach up to Chateau Gaillard, but due to some kind of car show/race, many of the roads were closed, so our excursion plans were changed. People could either make the steep climb up to the Chateau, or they could do a walking tour of Les Andelys and visit a small Calvados producer. I saw enough of the chateau from my room… lol. The walking tour sounded great!

It really was lovely. In general, the stores would be closed on Sundays, but as more boats are docking, more vendors choose to open. It’s a quaint village with ABC (another bloody church). This one was particularly funny. The church was locked, so our local guide went to the bartender across the road because he had the key and could open it for us.

Our visit there was short before we boarded the bus and headed to Les Fermes des Ruelles. What an adorable place with adorable people! This is a family owned farm and Calvados producer – fully committed to the environment and sustainability. We got to hear all about the worms that he uses to till his fields and the many species of birds that returned after he got rid of all pesticides. His products also tasted WONDERFUL! Michel chose to only speak French, but part of the fun of the trip was the interactions between his translator and him.

Our total time at this port was brief, and we took off on the river again in time for lunch. The Seine closer to Normandy definitely had better sightseeing. Still, it was nothing like the sheer beauty and magnificence of the Douro. I have yet to be on the Danube or Rhine, either. Even so, I love the peace of making our way down the river. We docked next at Vernon. The main reason for this was for the ride into Giverny the next morning. Still, we elected to do the brief walk in town, saw ABC, but headed back a little early since it was the night for the last fancy dinner aboard the ship.

This was our first Tauck tour. It seemed that on this one, the tour directors wanted passengers to be sure to stay with the guides much more than those we’ve taken with Uniworld or Scenic. On Uniworld and Scenic both we had quite a bit more free time or moments when the guide would tell us we could either stay with them OR go off and explore on our own. I mentioned in my review that I wish there had been a little more opportunity to do that. We’re adults. Tell us when we need to be back to a meeting point and then allow us to follow or not.

The chef’s signature dinner that night was definitely showstopper! I had one of the best soufflés I’ve ever had in my life, and my friends said that their food was amazing as well. The night ended with a cabaret that was FAR better than I was expecting. Four women performed dances, and one of them sang for about an hour. The main singer performed “My Way” in both French and English. Her eyes first filled with tears, and then they were streaming down her face. Tears were streaming down mine as well.

Then, as the days had all flown by, it was time for the final excursion on the boat: Giverny. Now, I have mentioned that I am not one for art museums. I had no interest in going to the Louvre. That is true. However, to see Monet’s house and gardens? That is a different story entirely. I also understood that it would be one of the most touristy spots we had been to since Versailles, and I hated the crowds and heat there. But it was a nice, cool morning in Giverny, AND Tauck had private access half an hour BEFORE it opened to the public, and that made ALL the difference. We were never surrounded by people, and it made it a very special experience.

This final bus ride was VERY short as it seemed we practically rounded the corner to get to the one-street town of Giverny. This was a good thing. Ha! I had a very late night and a lot of poor drinking choices after the cabaret, and I was FEELING it. I was glad the weather was good! We began in the gardens. I must have taken hundreds of pictures. I went to one of those virtual Monet immersive exhibitions in Cincinnati last May, and I really enjoyed it a lot. But then, to actually BE there in the REAL gardens and the house was overwhelming in all of the best possible ways. We had time to explore the town after. We walked to the end of the street and ABC to see Monet’s grave. We also had access to the museum. Interestingly, Monet’s actual works are at the Orangerie in Paris, not in Giverny. Still, being there was phecomenal.

Once back on the boat, there were several activities planned for the afternoon including some tours and a painting class. I’ve neve done one of those “sip and paint” kinds of things before, so I thought “Why not?” We each chose a famous painting and were given very vague instructions of what we should do as we created our own interpretation of it. We had a very rough sketch in pencil and then began to mix our colors and “fill in.” I liked it enough that I’d like to do it again. My friend Julie liked it enough that she’s thinking about taking a class. The Bear did not feel that way AT ALL. Cooking is his art, and when the painting in front of him felt out of control to him, he despised it. I didn’t mind so much that my painting was out of control. I didn’t like it enough to keep it, but it made me smile while it was happening. SOME of the people on board though, WOW! There were some real artists in the group.

I didn’t choose to take part in any of the other activities of the day. Instead, I sat up top, had a few more glasses of wine, and read my book.

Our driver was coming to pick us up at 9 AM the next day to take us to Reims and Epernay for a few days as this first part of our journey had come to a close. I reorganized the suitcase and packed up the room and reflected on what a wonderful trip it had been.

I hope to do another river cruise sooner rather than later. I think I’d really like to go more towards those central European countries where I haven’t been, yet. Between Uniworld, Scenic, and Tauck, my favorite line for river cruising is Scenic-by more than a nose but not by a mile. I feel so thankful that I have a chance to have these experiences in my life, and I was glad this trip wasn’t over, yet! I still had the pop of champagne to experience at the end! If you want to experience the part of my trip after the ship with me, you can get there here.

Foray into France: Part II (the boat, Paris orientation, and Versailles)

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After we finished our time on our own (the blog for that is here) on Monday, by midafternoon Tuesday it was time to board the boat. Our friends Paul and Julie, whom we haven’t seen since October, were waving at us from the sun deck!

I always forget to take pictures of the boat itself, but those are easy to find online. We were on the Tauck Sapphire. The ship was lovely. We were in room 317. It’s the very back room near the stairs by Arthur’s. The room is VERY small and is one of its kind on the boat. The cost is significantly lower than the other larger rooms with French balconies. We didn’t necessarily realize that most of square footage from this room was going to be taken away from storage and from the bathroom. The closet was TINY, and there were a couple of cubbies on the side where we could put clothing as well.

Had I known, I would have brought some removable command hooks. The walls aren’t metal like an ocean cruise, but I could have put up some 3M strips. The bathroom was actually hilarious. The commode portion was smaller than an airplane, and it was up very high for some reason. And the shower? The entrance was SO narrow that the Bear and I had to suck in and hope we didn’t eat too much on the cruise to enter Ha! If that weren’t enough, the towel racks were aligned so it made the passageway even narrower.

Still, no real complaints, it made for a laugh! And, it was so close to the all-day casual dining spot that we could pop in to Arthur’s any time for a coffee. Plus, it was like we had a second bathroom right outside our door. I’m not a big breakfast eater before an excursion, so it was great to walk in just to get a quick yogurt in the mornings.

This cruise was unusual to us because it didn’t actually go anywhere at all the first day. It stayed docked all night long. This could be good for anyone who had any sort of flight problems. Still, like most river cruises, each evening began with a cocktail hour explaining the plans for the next day, followed up with dinner, and then ended with cocktails and generally some entertainment. We had an onboard pianist, Arsenio, and were introduced to the staff that evening. Most of the staff were from eastern Europe, particularly Hungary and Romania. Interestingly, very few spoke French. Some struggled a little with English, but most servers were incredible The hotel manager and the tour guides were fantastic, too! It was a great crew all around.

I know some have been upset with Tauck that they don’t giver a paper itinerary anymore. Instead, you scan a QR code that gives specifics of the day to day. I actually liked it, but it only did three days at a time, so if you forgot to screenshot, you couldn’t go back. Luckily, I didn’t forget.

The dinners on the ship were quite similar and there was plenty of variety. The choices changed every night, but if none appealed, there was always the option for chicken, steak, or fish. We never ate at Arthur’s, which offered more casual options,. It was also open all day long and all evening. I didn’t get breakfast or lunch pictures, but they were what you would expect and quite good. Both had buffets including meats, cheeses, salads, fruits, etc – and butter. Don’t forget the butter! But, also, both breakfast and lunch had a la carte that could be ordered in addition. I had a GREAT Rueben for lunch one day, and the fries were incredible.



The only two nights that were different for dining were the seafood buffet and the chef’s dinner- which was one of the best meals I’ve had on any cruise, ever. One night, we also had dinner at a chateau. The first night’s dinner wasn’t particularly dressy. On the chef’s dinner night and at the chateau a FEW men dressed in blazers, but long pants and a collared shirt were more the norm. On regular nights on the boat, men sometimes wore shorts. Women, for the most part, either wore dresses or nice blouses and capris or pants. On the excursions, most of the men wore shorts- including many of the local guides.

For our first day, since we had never been in Paris before, the Bear and I opted for the city orientation tour. Both still suffering from jet lag, however, we didn’t really sleep the first night on the boat. The bear decided to forgo to bus trip to sleep in. I’m really glad that Tauck started the trip this way. It was a very SLOW start to sit in an air conditioned bus while we stopped only once for a closer view of the Eiffel Tower. Other then that, we just saw landmarks through the windows. The traffic was nuts, and I was fine with that plan. The tour ended going inside the VERY crowded but very beautiful Palais Garnier which I had only seen through the windows of the hotel the days before.

After that, I had a few hours of the formerly dreaded “free time.” I am not a shopper. I’m not likely to explore on my own, BUT this time, I had friends with me who had been to Paris before MANY times! So, they gave a list of local suggestions, I opted for the Pantheon and going to see dead guys, and it was truly impressive to see the tombs of so many recognizable names in France: Victor Hugo, the Curies, Voltaire, Josephine Baker… and many more…

From there, we stopped for lunch at a bistro. Tauck “gave us” 30 euros to spend. That part made me laugh! It’s literally a $20,000 trip for a week, but they gave us 30 euros. Kinda cute, but kinda funny. We had been taught by our local guide earlier that day that the way to be French was to sit at a cafe, stare straight forward at other people, and judge. Ha! She was very dry, very beautiful, and very funny. I’m not much of a judger myself, but I enjoyed the concept.

I had an opportunity to tour the inside of the Louvre, or to go back to the boat. I opted for the latter. The opera house had been so crowded, I couldn’t imagine the Louvre! That night, we were going to do the sail away. I was excited! Yes, we were only going a little tiny distance to Poissy… but why be on a boat if you don’t move, and the views from the top were amazing! The bear was still feeling like hibernating at that point, which made it extra fun to have Paul and Julie on the boat, too. I often go to the nighttime entertainment on boats and at resorts solo, but I like going with friends. I wasn’t expecting much from the jazz trio, but they were FAR better than I was thinking. It was a very talented and very fun time with some HILARIOUS audience participation.

It was amazing the amount of daylight we had on the cruise. The sun came up around 5:30 every morning and didn’t set until almost 11. The days were hot but beautiful- and definitely not as hot as Texas. The next day was for the morning at Versailles.

I was so excited about Versailles! On our last European trips we had only gone to spots that were more off the beaten path. On this cruise, I felt like we were hitting all of the biggies! Versailles to me was an equal combination of impressive and gaudy. The amount of money represented is both vile and awe inspiring. Still, it was interesting to me to learn that I have always believed the propaganda surrounding Marie Antoinette and the quote of “let them eat cake” – which never even happened. I was not surprised that the palace was filled with absolute SWARMS of people, and I was glad to have “on our own” time in the garden. It’s so massive that we only explored part of one half. We went to the more manicured section, but it does give us a reason to return some day.

On the way back, we all got to have a macaron from our tour guide and then spent the afternoon sailing. I love the sailing days when you have no choice but to hang out and relax. We passed lovely little towns on the way to Rouen and attended a fun cooking demonstration where one of the chefs prepared a very rich and tasty Mushroom Bourguignon. (Apparently the key is that you must use at least three different types of mushrooms and pay attention to the times when you add each type.) Then, up on top of the deck, we saw the lovely scenery as we made our way to Normandy.

Prior to the evenings briefing, the crew provided us with an “Apero.” This was a new term to me, and I realized it’s what I actually love to do for dinner ALL the time. It was some sausages, cheeses, escargots, and frog legs all paired with wines. This is what I would eat every day of my life if it were possible.

After the mushrooms and the cheeses, there was no need for any dinner, so it was back up to the sun deck to watch the world continue to go by before our excursion the next morning.

Foray into France 2025: Part I (Pre- cruise)

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Since my mom started taking trips to Europe with her boss back in the 90’s, I have been VERY interested in going to Europe. Then, as the Bear and I got more and more into the wine world and more of our friends had been places, it became a near obsession for me. Still, neither of us are very daring- particularly in unfamiliar situations- and the idea of going on a big trip overseas, with just the Internet or travel agent to plan, seemed daunting.

I glommed onto the idea of a river cruise. We did our first on the Rhone on Uniworld in 2022, and the European travel bug only got worse. As soon as we were home, I had decided I wanted to do another river cruise in Italy, but realized that there really weren’t any great ones that got me to the gorgeous interior of Italy, so we went with a land tour with Tauck in 2023. We enjoyed the land tour just as much but missed having a hotel that moved as opposed to us moving. I “accidentally” planned a river cruise through Portugal for the following year with Scenic and had ANOTHER amazing time. When we returned from the Douro, I started looking at small ocean cruises on Seaborn and Regent Seven Seas. (We like to travel fancy, what can I say). I knew that the Bear (my husband, Richard) REALLY wanted to do Normandy and D- Day. I had been researching many of the small boat ocean cruises, but I kept drifting back to the rivers after our other amazing trips. Many told me that the Tauck boats were the best, so I ended up booking the Impression from the Seine through my sister-in-law with Fairy Godmother travel. She specializes in Disney, but can book almost anything. Then, the Bear surprised me on our Douro cruise when he said that he wanted a few more days! (He has NEVER said that before!) So, I came up with the idea of tacking a few days on at the end in the champagne region. He was all for it! Then, I contacted my European expert friend to customize a few days in Reims and Epernay for us. I asked if anyone else wanted to go, too – and to my surprise and delight, two of our long time “winey” friends decided to join us.

Well, surprise and delight and – a little concern. Our friends are VERY experienced world TRAVELERS; whereas, the Bear and I are TOURISTS. We enjoy people ferrying us around, leading us by the noses, and telling us what to do and where to be. I was worried our friends would be bored and frustrated. Still, they reassured me multiple times on the trip that they really loved the sailing time, the views, the plans already being made. They would wake up early and go exploring on their own before getting to hear more about the places on the slower paced tours, and found a way to make it work for them.

After a year of anticipation, it was time to embark on the trip in June 2025. Since we had already done a previous trip with Tauck, we got to take advantage of the “gift of time” . I’m not sure if this perk is going to stay around forever, but it’s pretty amazing! You get one day before or one day after at a hotel paid for by Tauck. They also take care of the transfers associated (from airport- to hotel- to ship at the beginning or vice versa at the end.) And the hotel is the quality you would expect from Tauck. Our reservation was at the VERY five star Intercontinental Le Grand in the heart of Paris with a view of the opera house. Ooooh la la indeed!



So, according to the Bear, a trip across the pond MUST be done business class. I’m definitely not one to complain about that! However, the PRICE of those flights is astronomical, so a few years back I invested in the best travel card ever- the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It covers travel insurance, Global Entry, and a HOST of other things… But. most importantly, are the points. We use the card to pay for most things in our day-to-day life. Most years, the card pays us back for at least one of our round trip business class tickets. This year, I used 300k points and $2,500 total for the two of us to fly on Air Canada.

Our trip on the way there had a stop in Toronto, and it was the FIRST thing on the trip that I was really excited about. When you book an overseas flight business class on Air Canada, Toronto has a “Signature Suite” that is more than just their regular business class lounge. I love flying business class, and I also love lounges. We got to start at the rather nice United lounge in Austin before Toronto.

I will say based on some YouTube videos and things I saw, I expected the Signature Suite to be a LITTLE swankier and feel a little more like a high end restaurant, but it definitely wasn’t bad. The food and the wines were good, and it was a nice included interlude between flights.

When it was time to board, we got all settled into our little cubbies. (I love having a dedicated overhead bin and all kinds of storage space, a lay flat seat, and the other things that come with business class.) They started bringing food again, and by the time dinner service was over, there were really only about four hours left of the flight- barely enough time for a nap. I mean, sure, I could forego the dinner service, but it’s all part of the fun to have some little bites…

We actually landed in Paris around 10 AM and about 20 minutes early. We had heard horror stories about CDG, but on both ends of out trip it was empty and easy to navigate. Since we were so early, we did have some trouble finding our driver. But after a few phone calls and texts, they sent us SOMEONE. His sign said “Emirates” not “Tauck,” but our names were on his sign, so we went with him!

We got in a nice Mercedes van, which seemed to be the regular for our trip. He did get the backend stuck on a fence, which was a pretty funny way to start. Still, off we went. Paris traffic is NO JOKE. The city has been made EXTREMELY bicycle friendly, which has made it EXTREMELY vehicle UNfriendly. Motor bikes whip in and out of lanes, but cars sit still. It took us almost 2 hours to go 17 miles.

Once we got to the hotel, our room was ready!!!! We went upstairs, cleaned up, and took a pretty solid nap for the next four hours or so!

As I have said, we are not very good “travelers.” We struggle with what to do without someone telling us, but we have friends who have been in Paris MANY times. And we definitely know our way around a bar… (that’s actually one of the reasons we go with the cruise lines we do- we want all of our drinks included.)

So, off to Willi’s we went. The streets of Paris were what I had always seen in movies. Flower shops, bakeries, statues galore… and SO many people.

The wine list at our first stop was great. With all the food we had eaten over the last 24 hours, we only ordered a “few bites” before we went to our NEXT bar- the iconic Harry’s New York bar where you are supposed to go find your college pennant. I was looking all over for mine, but in a crazy coincidence, I was actually sitting right beneath the Baylor pennant and didn’t even see it until the Bear pointed it out to me! After a cocktail there, we ventured back to the hotel for – you guessed it: another cocktail (or two) in the hotel bar before going back to the room for the night.

I have found that I have the most trouble the morning AFTER a long flight. Jet lag doesn’t hit me until later, and it affects EVERY part of me. I sweat, I shake, I’m disoriented. It’s a mess. (I’m guessing the cocktails didn’t help), BUT our transfer didn’t come to take us to the ship until 3 PM, so there was no way I wanted to waste a day. We looked at the map and saw that the Louvre was not far away.

Confession: I had no interest in going INSIDE the Louvre. I do like museums – history museums, science museums… BUT I don’t enjoy art museums. I know… I know… No culture right? But, to me, it makes no difference whether I am looking at the art on a computer or a print of the art, or the REAL thing… I just don’t care that much. I still wanted to SEE the Louvre, however. So, off we went. In the “okay, some things can be kept private, Tamara” part of this blog- we got about a mile away from the hotel, and my body decided it needed to evacuate everything I had put in it for the last 24 hours. I had the SAME thing happen to me on a walking tour in Porto- also the morning after our flight. I got to find out the hard way that Parisians REALLY don’t care if you’re having an emergency in Paris. I walked into a hotel, and NO WAY was the hostess at the café going to let me use their restroom. I told her we would take a seat and would buy food. She said they didn’t have any reservations available. I told her it was an emergency. She told me there was another café a block up the street… I did make it: BARELY. And why is it that every restroom in Europe is either at the TOP of a long windy staircase or in a basement? We did have to buy a soft drink and water to use that restroom, but it was worth it. (Side note: I am fat. I’m not curvy or thick. I’m fat. France was VERY hot and crowded while we were there. On more than one occasion, people oinked/snorted at me on the street in Paris. It is what it is. I’m just throwing that out there in case anyone who is self-conscious happens to be reading this and would be very bothered. I’m self conscious, but I’m not very bothered. I ignored it, but it stung. )

We continued our walk across the street through Tuileries Garden to the Lourvre. We saw the very cool little Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel… and when I spun around, I realized I got my first view of the Eiffel Tower!

We went back to the hotel after that to cool off for a little bit. (I am INCREDIBLY glad I brought my neck fan. I was thinking I wouldn’t need it, but Europe was under a heat dome while we were there, and the streets were SO stuffy. Plus, the air circulation in those old buildings is so bad!) Then, we took one last excursion to the truffle shop and bought some truffles there – and some chocolate at another shop we passed- to take home.



Back at the hotel, the groups were starting to gather for the Tauck transfer. It was pretty easy to tell us apart from the people there for the Paris air show. Paris is a VERY chic city, and one group of people were wearing suits that cost far more than my entire wardrobe. They were young, fit, and looked rich. We Tauck people ranged in age from a few teenagers to people in their late 80s. I would say that the median age were likely in their early 70s. (I’m 52, the Bear is 49). This particular cruise of 90 people were all from the US. We all looked like we were prepared to be led around cities.

Two large luxury busses came to pick us up and we went through Paris for about a 20 minute ride that took us only about three miles.

I was glad the river was at a level where we were close to the city center at Port de Javel bas, because I had heard when it’s too high, the port is a long way away.

So… an entire blog finished, and we had yet to board the Sapphire! I’ll pick up there for part Deux!