Welcome to the second part of our guest blogger Natalie Ford’s account of her second day exploring the Rhone with AMA Waterways
Lunch was served and I chose the lighter option in the main lounge instead of going to the main restaurant. The light lunch consisted of soup, sandwiches, a hot meal choice and a wide selection of salads. In the main lounge during lunch, wine, beer and soft drinks were included, too.
In the afternoon, we were free to explore Lyon or to relax on the ship. I chose to take one of the ship’s bicycles and ride along the river. It was a glorious afternoon, as I cycled along the path the scenery was just stunning – the old buildings framing the river, all changing in colour from yellow to pink to orange. I cycled through a small park called Parc de Gerland, a remarkable development on the banks of the Rhone. It was only because the cycle path stopped that I turned back. I have to say that at the time, I didn’t realise how far I had cycled from the ship, it was only in the evening when we began our sailing towards the Saone to reach Belleville that John our Cruise Manager pointed out that this is the confluence of the rivers where the Saone flows into the Rhone. When I recognised where I was, I became very proud of myself for working off all the wonderful food I had eaten that day and was then looking forward to eating dessert that evening!
I arrived back at the ship after a sunny afternoon pedalling my way along the Rhone and dressed for dinner as we began our sailing to Belleville. It is so relaxing sitting back in the lounge and watching the scenery pass you by. We continued sailing throughout dinner, where again I was completely spoilt for choice with the options available. I decided on the Caesar salad to start, followed by lamb and then hazelnut ice-cream for dessert – I had earned it on my afternoon bike ride! During dinner, we passed through our first of 12 locks. It still amazes me at how the captain navigated us through the lock as it was such a narrow gap – we were literally inches from each side of the lock. As we start to go through, we are lowered into the lock and gradually, the dining room starts to darken from natural light and within no time at all, we exit the lock and continue with our journey.
After a delicious meal, I headed up to the main lounge to watch a wonderful performance of music and song by Lyon’s own Adele Bracco. We continued to sail and as Adele serenaded us, the sky darkened and night fell.
