Our day began with a walking tour of Viviers, led by Usha, our guide from yesterday, who moved there 30 years ago from Trinidad and Tobago. She loves the place and shared that love with us. Our tour started at the ship, took us into the center of town, and up the hill to the Cathedral, followed by a visit to the pottery of Jean Luc Allonneau, where he demonstrated his art, throwing a pot in less than four minutes (the next steps will take days – firing, glazing, and firing again).

We returned to the ship for lunch before departing by coach for our afternoon excursion: truffle hunting and tasting (with some wine, of course) at Domaine Saint-Alban in Richerenches, followed by wine tasting (with chocolate) at Maison Bouachon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

I would have liked to have bought some truffle pesto and some Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine, but getting them home would be difficult unless we check luggage, so I settled for a souvenir corkscrew.

Our ship had been sailing down the Rhône as we toured; it met us at the Châteauneuf-du-Pape landing and we continued on to Avignon where we’ll spend tomorrow.