Bonjour! My husband and I very recently
returned from a week in France. We were on a Viking River Cruise from Paris to
Normandy. We landed in Paris June 12, our 40th wedding anniversary.
At dinner that night on board the ship, the staff sang a love song to us and
gave us a cake to celebrate. Below is a picture of the cake and of us.
Considering we were going on 36 hours without sleep due to flying in from
Philadelphia that morning, we don’t look too bad. No matter what happens to us
in life, we’ll always have Paris.
You’ve all seen
the Viking River Cruise commercials and gotten the brochures. Viking is
awesome. The staff, mostly from Eastern Europe, was gracious, attentive,
pleasant. They couldn’t do enough for us. The food was amazing. The chef was
Greek, and very creative. We ate and ate. I gained weight but refuse to get on
a scale now. Why depress myself? Of course, no one forced me to eat. But how
could I resist? Our ship, the Viking Rolf, was built this year. The stateroom
was beautiful, if a tad small. We had a French balcony and could look out as we
cruised along the Seine.
We toured Paris
by bus, went to the Louvre, to Notre Dame Cathedral, saw Monet’s garden and
house in Giverny. We also took walking tours of the medieval towns of Vernon
and Rouen. Rouen was where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. We loved Rouen.
Such a quaint little town. After our tour, we had free time. We used that time
to have a drink at a 5-star hotel, where I got a short French lesson from the
bartender, then we strolled around and bought chocolates and macaroons. My
husband and I developed a taste for French macaroons. Yum! Every night during
the summer months, the Notre Dame Cathedral of Rouen puts on a stunning light
show. The show started at 11 p.m. We went with a group from our ship, and a
good time was had by all.
We spent a full
day in Normandy and saw Omaha Beach where the Americans landed on D-Day. Our
tour guide, Michael, part Portuguese, part Australian, was very emotional when
talking about Normandy and D-Day. His Australian grandfather was a medic at
Normandy. Michael had us Americans stand on the steps leading to the beach and
sing the National Anthem. When we got to the part about the rockets’ red glare,
we heard thunder in the distance. He asked all the vets in the group to stand
with him on the beach. My husband, a Vietnam War combat vet, had to be
persuaded to join the others. We all clapped for the vets. I had tears. The
whole thing was so inspirational, despite the pouring rain. Here’s a picture of
the crosses at the American cemetery in Normandy. The flag was flying at
half-staff to commemorate the slaughter in Orlando.
The passengers on
the Viking Rolf were mainly American, about 95%, with the rest being from the
UK and Australia. However, and you knew a “but” was in there somewhere—as
wonderful as Viking was, and as friendly as the other passengers were, my
husband and I didn’t feel at times as if we were in France, as we were
surrounded by Americans. We loved cruising down the Seine while sitting on the
deck, weather permitting, or in the lounge. This was our first cruise, and we
discovered we’re not cruisers. We like to be on our own to explore foreign
cities. The Viking tours were well-organized and great, but we would rather
have been able to linger at the places we liked. Being confined to a ship, even
one as beautiful as the Viking Rolf, isn’t for everyone. We met many people on
the ship who were on their seventh and eighth tours with Viking. They love
cruising. If you are someone who enjoys cruising, I highly recommend the Viking
River Cruises.
Of course, being
a writer, I’ve come up with several scenarios for a story set in France. At
dinner one night, some of our table mates threw out ideas for me to use in my
story. I gave out my card to many of the passengers, who said they’d check out
my books. I think my France story will be a romantic suspense, maybe on a river
cruise. France is a beautiful country, very green with all the rain they’ve
been having. I love to incorporate local scenario into my stories. Here’s a
picture of the French countryside from our ship.
On the subject
of stories set in foreign lands, I’m happy to announce I’m part of an anthology
from World Romance Writers, made up of writers from all over the world. Our
first anthology, Letterbox Love Stories, Volume 1, will be available for
pre-order shortly.
What if a life-changing letter arrived in
today’s mail? Now imagine it leads to love and adventure.
From the northern British Isles, across the
mainland of Europe, and onto Turkey, nine international romance authors share
spellbinding love stories told across time. And each begins with a letter…
My contribution
is Curating Love, set in Ravello, on
Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
A letter inviting Chloe Decker to curate the art collection of the
wealthy DiMarco family of Ravello, Italy, lets Chloe begin to picture a new
life for herself after a tragic loss. But she’d never included her employer’s
sexy grandson in that portrait. Matteo DiMarco, the playboy scion of the
DiMarco family, will never again let a woman betray him. But sweet, earthy
Chloe reawakens old dreams. Wary of losing her heart again, Chloe’s not ready
for a relationship, even with a fine Italian masterpiece of a man like Matteo.
Besides, her future is in Philadelphia, not Italy. Can Matteo convince her to
stay and take a chance on him? Can she open her heart and paint a new picture
that includes them both?
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