After battling the wind for the last week, finally a reprise. Not a true Mistral, but a ‘baby mistral’. A week of strong northerly winds (40-75 km/h including gusts). The skies are clear (mostly, especially in the afternoons) the temperature are sultry (always above 30 in the days and seldom below 20 at night), but that makes things certainly more ‘summery’ than many of my British and Canadian friends are ‘enjoying’.
the chateau in the center of Tournon. A favourite mooring for river cruise ships (4 moored here for the season), it is a very pretty town
at Ampuis, the small mooring harbour is the local swimming hole. Some of the kids I met last fall were here again. No problems: they reminded me of swimming in the reservoir when I was in high school, some centuries ago.
My dream house: turret, stone construction, riverside-yet elevated to protect from flooding. Sigh
I think this is what is meant by loaded to the gunwales . Not a lot to accommodate for waves or wakes!
Although the Rhone is a very big river, lead
an observation tower for defense along the river. the outer ‘stairs’ might be a little challenging!
ing to some rather less interesting stretches, there are surprises around many corners. Some amazing architecture, the vineyards plastered on the sides of impossible hillsides, and some ‘interesting encounters’.
