We are back on another river cruise with Viking. After a blessedly uneventful series of flights, we landed in Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon. Bordeaux is beautiful…and HOT!! France is under a heat dome and experiencing record temperatures. It was 110 degrees in Bordeaux yesterday, and the predicted high today (Tuesday) is the same for Libourne, where we are currently.
We spent Monday morning on a panoramic tour of Bordeaux, with a bus ride around the city, a walking tour through the old town, and some time to explore on our own. It’s a beautiful town, with lots of green spaces. We also took time for coffee and people watching at a cafe on the square, across from the opera house.
We set sail in the afternoon, on the Garonne River, then turning into the Dordogne. This cruise is a bit different than cruising on the Rhine or Danube rivers, as we have done in the past. There are no locks, and because of the proximity to the coast, the rivers are affected by the tides. Twice now we’ve had to undock because of a tidal bore and then dock again about an hour later, after the wave has passed.
Just a couple of sights from our walks:
We’re enjoying our time on the ship, too. Because of the heat, we’re probably spending more time onboard than we would otherwise, but it’s made for a very relaxing trip. Of course, the food is fabulous. That’s going to be a post of its own.
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