Port of Call MARSIELLE, FRANCE (TOULON)

April 6, 2023 by

VIKING STAR Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn
Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

Description from the Viking website of In the Footsteps of Van Gogh:

Contemplate van Gogh’s artistry in the fields, monasteries, chapels and villages depicted in his paintings. After wandering through the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, you will be driven to the St. Paul de Mausole Monastery, a masterpiece of Provençal Romanesque art. From the top of the beautiful two-story square steeple, topped by a pyramidal roof, you can see the wheat field that Vincent van Gogh painted during his year of confinement.

You will enjoy a delicious lunch in the amazing eagle’s-nest village of Les Baux-de-Provence. Built on a rocky spur in the Alpilles mountain range and offering great views of the countryside and vineyards, the village is full of Gothic and Renaissance houses. Your guide will take you on a stroll past the 12th-century Church of St. Vincent and the 17th-century Chapel of the White Penitents and along the narrow and winding streets lined with local craftsmen.

Unable to dock in Marseilles due to the ongoing French dockworkers’ strike, we docked in Toulon. Excursion buses picked up passengers a short walk from the ships. One bus with about 50 passengers went on the optional excursion In the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh. ($159 per person, eight-hour tour with included lunch.)

About a two-hour bus ride from the port to Saint-Remy-de-Provence with a not-very-brief restroom stop midway. It was an early spring day in Provence, trees just beginning to leaf, and flowers were in bloom (iris). Four or five-block walk to the convent where Van Gogh spent months towards the end of his life.

Painting reproductions were set up at sites showing where the artist would have set up his easel. Olive groves and mountains, for example. Then toured the interior of the monastery. A flight of steps led to his bedroom.

After the monastery tour, there was free time in Remy for strolling and shopping — ceramics, textiles, perfumes, housewares, clothing.

Twenty-minute drive to a mountain-high restaurant, Le Mas d’Aigret. Salad, sauteed chicken, veggies, dessert. Your choice of red, rose, or white wine. The restaurant was built into a cave. Food was 3.5/5. Lovely setting, and an intimate dining space.

Then to Les Baux-de-Provence, and toured the village. Hour of free time for shopping — artisanal foods, crafts, souvenirs, textiles. The bus drive back was about 90 minutes.

This excursion was well worth the time and cost. Not easily replicable as a do-it-yourself and I didn’t see anything comparable offered by independent guides. This is one time when booking with Viking was fortuitous because we unexpectedly docked in a different port.

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Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn on Viking Star

April 4, 2023 by

Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

In Barcelona

From the Viking website, this is the included tour:

Discover Barcelona’s most iconic landmarks on a relaxing drive and a leisurely walk around this impressive city. You will pass the Columbus Monument and Port Vell, the seaside cultural and shopping complex. Admire the Arc de Triomf, a stately remnant from the 1888 World’s Fair. Take in the breathtaking Parc de la Ciutadella, once home to the garrison that protected the city. Next, you will alight from your motor coach and walk into the historic center, stopping to view the stunning neo-Gothic Barcelona Cathedral. The facade of this 14th-century marvel is adorned with many sculptures, including a wide range of animals and mythical gargoyles on its roof. After enjoying free time and an opportunity to take a short walk through the Gothic Quarter, you will return to the ship.

Our included tour was scheduled from 0830 to 1230. We revisited much of the route we took on the Pre-Extension Included Tour, drove past a few of the Gaudi houses, then stopped at Sagrada Familia for a tour of the exterior only. One could look at this church a hundred times and still see something new, so we welcomed the opportunity to visit again.

After looking at Sagrada, we were ushered across the street into a “gift shop that has free restrooms.” The gift shop stocked the typical tourist souvenirs though we did find a few trinkets for our younger grandkids and a nice assortment of postcards.

The allotted time for Sagrada plus gift shop stop was about an hour with a disproportionate amount of time given to the gift shop/restroom stop. We notified the tour guide we would be momentarily leaving the group and he told us the departure time and location. With that info, we headed to a small cafe and enjoyed a cappuccino. I should not be surprised at the length of time it takes for 50 or so adults to use the facilities, nor the frequency that is deemed necessary for doing so; give me another 10-15 years and likely I’ll be looking for the loo, too!

If you’re curious we stopped at Trabucaire for our treat. Just a few doors from the already noted, and nameless, gift store. Sit down, terrace service. 6€ for two cappuccinos and biscuits.

Once we were on our own, we wandered the crooked, narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter and stopped whenever a shop caught our fancy. We checked out stores that carried walls of espadrilles, a one-aisle grocery/liquor store, and a stationary shop. Plus the obligatory stop at a bakery for nibbles. We remembered to look up when we passed under the arches — always saw a few carvings, to our delight.

We eventually ended up at the Barcelona Cathedral. Wow! Interesting in that there was reconstruction taking place high in the spires and steeples, and a huge advertisement billboard for a cell company was plastered on the work area. One way to pay for maintenance! The exterior of the church was spectacular; the square in front of the church was a convenient place to sit and have a bite to eat. We did enter the cathedral, but we took no photos inside the cathedral as we arrived during a liturgy — a super High Mass, the blessing of Chrism (the holy oil that will be used in the sacraments for the coming liturgical year).

The Mass was concelebrated by the Cardinal of Barcelona and attended by all of the Diocesan priests. Quite astonishing to attend this Mass amidst such grandeur. Mass in Italian was also an interesting experience. We knew what was going on, but we still felt a little confused without the familiar English.

Our last stop in the Gothic Quarter was the Picasso Museum. Ooh, la la! What a city! Miro, Gaudi, and Picasso. Part of the fun was getting incredibly turned around in the narrow passageways that crisscross the old quarters. (Also nerve-wracking. Be sure you have maps if you’re here; we lost GPS often amidst the tall stone buildings.) We took the long way from the Barcelona Cathedral to the Museum and were doubly glad we had purchased online tickets. The ticket line wound into the street, but we walked right in at our appointed time.

Our tickets for 2 seniors without audioguide were 15€. If we had added the audio it would have been 25€ for both of us. Tickets are timed; you enter during your 15-minute window. (It always pays to compare. Viator offered a skip-the-line ticket with audio for 44€ for two; more costly and no advantage.)

The Picasso Museum is housed in a set of architectural wonders. From the museum’s website:
The Picasso Museum occupies five large townhouses or palaces on the street Carrer de Montcada. The original palaces date from the 13th-15th centuries, undergoing major refurbishments over time, the most important in the 18th century. The palaces are a good example of Catalan civic gothic style. They have a common structure surrounding a courtyard with access to the main floor via an outdoor open stairway.

The first floor of the museum, accessible without a ticket, offers a few benches for resting, an extensive gift shop featuring high-quality art and other art-related goodies, large accessible restrooms, and pay lockers. No backpacks, even tiny ones, are allowed in the museum so allow time for the bag check if you have a timed ticket. I do recommend this art museum, especially if you have an interest in art or architecture.

My favorites? His series of pigeon paintings. He painted them in a couple of days, looking out from his window in Barcelona, whiling away time as he awaited inspiration to complete a larger piece. My 2-year-old granddaughter would love these as they are similar to chickens and she loves chickens. The palaces are a perfect setting for an art museum. Just look at the exquisite detailing in the room featuring his ceramic work!

By the time we toured the museum and spent a few € in the gift store, we’d walked 5 miles and were a bit weary. Plus hungry, as we’d grabbed a pastry instead of lunch. (May or may not have been a mistake!) We lucked out and caught a taxi near the entrance. The driver spoke minimal English but easily understood we wanted to return to the “cruise port.” 8€. I had my photo of the port’s location just in case…

We were back on board close to 1700 and the Viking Star pulled up anchor and sailed a bit after 1800. Just before we left, we watched the Viking Jupiter pull out of the harbor ahead of us.

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