Seine River Cruise
I wasn't really sure what to expect from a trip along the Seine through Normandy. I often think of Northern France as somewhere I visited in my youth on school trips.
What a pity I had that misconception.......until now!
How fantastic it was to be whisked over to Paris in under 2 and a half hours on Eurostar. Once in Paris you have the day to explore at leisure. We took the optional excursion to the Eiffel Tower and fast tracked our way passed the queues!
No need to worry about luggage for the day, as that's kept securely for you and delivered to you once onboard the ship!
What an easy process that was too! There is no check in queues, no security search. You just walk on and off as you please.
We were in our cabin within minutes of arriving. Time to head for a reasonably priced Long Island Iced Tea (a bargain at 5 Euro!).
Dinner is a fixed time each day (due to space constraints in the galley) but its flexible as to where you sit each night. I found it very easy to get a seat every night and its a great way to meet new people.
Most Excursions are included with Avalon and my first day was spent at Monet's Garden. Our guide made sure we were kept fully informed too.
The main reason for a lot of people for this trip was for the Normandy Landings tour. We visited the British and Canadian landing sites on our full day tour and this cruise was a great way to see a fascinating and poignant piece of our recent history.
River cruising is such a relaxed way of travelling and seeing areas that would normally pass you by. I rediscovered Normandy and liked what I found.