Anchors Away!

My bags are packed, the dog is at the kennel, the house sitter has the keys, and I’m ready for some sunshine. Tomorrow we head off to the (hopefully) sunny south of France for a different sort of holiday: a river cruise. I am sure some fantastic online French lessons (click here for more information) will come in handy on this trip.

Admittedly, this will be nothing like the Disney Cruise we did last year – to the point where I’ve explained that to the kids that it’s not so much a cruise as a hotel that floats – there is no pool, no fireworks off the bow, and no mouse. River cruises are traditionally fare for the over-60 set, and something on which, judging by posts on the Cruise Critic boards, kids traditionally aren’t very welcome. (At least by fellow cruise-goers…)

Fortunately, we will be trying out what is being called a “multigenerational” cruise – one that is aimed at everyone from the grandparents to grandchildren. In addition to the normal excursions, they’ll be offering French lessons, the chance make a dessert with their pastry chef, tours of the ship, and the unavoidable Wii or Playstation. They’ve also added on excursions like kayaking, a narrow-gauge train ride through the Ardeche Gorges, and a bike ride to the Lyon zoo. We’re bringing along my mother-in-law Phyllis and her partner, Marty, who is sure to have my kids hanging spoons off their noses at the dinner table, further insuring that there are indeed children on the cruise. (Not saying how old those children are, Mah-ty….)

It promises to be a slow-paced and non-stressful way to explore Provence, and I’m looking forward to sampling plenty of French wine! (Kids? What kids…)

Surprisingly the boat has Wi-Fi, but I don’t know if it will be accessible from my stateroom; as I’m sharing a room with the early-to-bed Pea, ultimately, I’m confined to my room by 9pm every night. Normally, this is the perfect time to get my thoughts and photos from the day in order…

In any case, as I wasn’t organized enough to schedule guest posts as I had hoped, I’ll be re-running a few of my favorite past posts along with notes from the road…erm…river.