hello friends
sorry, no photos as we are using communal computers here on the River Royale as we cruise our way down the Rhone and up the cholesterol count!
We were sad to leave Singapore, and the 12 hour flight to Nice via Zurich was comfortable but very long. Hadn't expected the South of France to be quite so hot, but the temperature at Nice was 30+ at 10.00am and continued climbing as we found a taxi to the train station (found out later we were overcharged by almost 100%), struggled up and down stairs with baggage (no lift/escalator) to find the train had broken down and had to be replaced - at another platform! Up & down stairs again to the next platform, where the (un-airconditioned) train finally left, almost 1.5 hours late. Another (overcharged) taxi to the hotel and complete collapse. The hotel was quite lovely - not on the luxurious scale of the PanPac but quaint and comfortable, clean and staffed by charming & helpful people. Marseille was a very mixed experience, exotic to our Australian eyes, old buildings and ultramodern boats in the marina. Our package included tours of the city by mini-train, a boat trip and tour of Chateau D'If (home to the Man in the Iron Mask) and the most delicious Boulliabase dinner that we couldn't finish. Seafood fans, this was a true delight.
An early start on Sunday took us to meet Vi & Robert and join the cruise ship River Royale in Arles for our next adventure - stay tuned...................