Well, they wouldn’t let us sign up as crew and otherwise they seem to want us to pay them for our entertainment skills. So one last night on the boat.

Here Captain #1, Captain #2 and Jana, Queen of the scene being jolly.

And here you see how many wine glasses a table can accumulate when you’re sitting with a wine maker. Debbie and Anne salute you!

I found Arles to be my fav so far. Possibly because it’s my kinda quaint. Old, battered, not too fancy. Friendly people, interesting stuff to look at. Van Gogh agreed, he did many of his paintings here, and the local gift shops will not let you forget it.

Who doesn’t like having a Roman amphitheater?

They have bullfighting. There was one that afternoon. Our guide went to great lengths to make sure we knew the French form of bullfighting does not kill the bull.

Ah yes, big party in town that night. We saw at least three stages going up. There was a carnival set up by the river. By the time I walked back to the boat the young people were playing beer pong and blasting hip-hop.

And every town needs a cathedral or six.

A little hard to see, I know, but behind the metal grate appears to be many glass boxes of bits of human remains. Presumably relics of the saints. They aren’t big on signage.

For the people reading this years from now, this poster is a photo of the fire at Notre-Dame which happened just a few days before.

Wherein Joyce finds some flamingoes.

I love the little details like this found in these old cities.

Then we went underground. No one is really sure of the function of these crypts, beyond being the foundations holding up the massive Roman forum above.

Here’s 8 minutes of audio recorded in secret in this busy bar / tobacco shop. People roll in and out of here nearly as fast as a New York bus station for tiny cups of espresso, tiny beers or mouse-sized glasses of … something that must be tasty.

Over the shoulder of the author you will see three ladies dressed in some period costume headed for doing something at la Féria.

And this is some of fine artwork on tobacco products. This one has slight humor aspect, but the images of cancer patients in the other packages aren’t so polite.

I don’t know what pose that Steve is trying for here. Lean back leg high.

Our second wine visit was less interesting to us as we weren’t there to buy wine to take home. This was more like visiting a wine shop with friends, which we can do at home. However, we enjoyed their wines more than the previous place.

This place is in the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which is a tiny place and as a result I’m foreshadowing something to come.

See that box on the counter? It’s got the best winery snack we’ve had so far. BONUS POINTS!

The family crest.

This is where we lost the bus. Or the bus lost us.

We hiked down the hill past the school….

… and here you see us troop off into the distance. Eventually we were forced to join the French Foreign Legion and serve in North Africa.

Well, eventually we made a few calls, and sent a couple scouting parties which made contact with our transportation. Then came the next problem. This ain’t the suburbs baby. Ya can’t just drive your giant heavy bus down any old street, leaving our party stranded.

Well, some members of our party aren’t as spry as they used to be. We got it all figured out. Advice: don’t leave the bus without the bus driver’s phone number.

Top chef!

Where he spent a year went crazy cut his ear off and got kicked out.

He painted starry night, the hospital garden and yellow house here. Spent 3 months of the year in a hospital

Some of the Portland people organized a side-trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Here we are on a bus we eventually lost.

Maison Bouachon, our first stop.

Here is an example of how their vines grow. Note this is not an exaggeration, the soil is quite rocky.

Here is a chart of the grape varietals grown in the area.

I love these giant casks they use to age the wine.

Here’s a clever wine tool set that’s also a game of chess.

And here we see a typical vineyard. The rocks are believed to retain the heat of the day and radiate it back to the vines at night. Another goal for the way they are trained is to allow the local “mistral” winds to keep the vines dry.

The ruin on top of the hill contains an ancient lich and his legions of skeletons. Your party will want magic users, clerics… ok, just kidding. We are told this was the Pope’s summer cabin.