Arles to Dijon River Cruise, Day 2 – Arles and Boarding the AMA Amacello

It’s amazing what ten hours of sleep will do!  I awoke this morning with no jet lag, enjoyed a good breakfast at the hotel, and then set out with my friends for another walk through Arles.  (Arles, by the way, anagrams to LASER, which is appropriate given the number of tattoo parlors and distilleries/bars we passed.  I’m guessing a fair amount of subdermal ink capped hours of overindulgence in gin and/or viognier, followed the next day by “I got a tattoo of what?”)

Arles is small enough that, between yesterday and today, we covered the entirety of the old city.  It’s an enchanting place, whose serpentine alleys and age-old buildings could make you feel you were wandering through the 18^th century, but for the whizzing cyclists, undeniably modern graffiti, designer dogs, and ubiquitous ice cream emporiums.

After dropping our bags at the ship, eating lunch on board, and strolling/trolling around for more photos, we headed back in time to check into our cabins and unpack. 

My solo cabin is small but functional, and it certainly beats paying a single supplement to occupy more spacious quarters.

Late in the afternoon, the Captain led the solo travelers (three of us) on a ship’s tour, including the gym, sun deck, and wheelhouse, among other spots.  The sun deck really is the fun deck – there’s cornhole, a putting green, a jacuzzi, and even a giant chess set. 

The Captain – more about him in a moment – said that someone had stolen one of the chess pieces a while back, but it had been replaced.  I’m assuming they did this in the dead of Knight, and then Pawned it.

Anyway, I now want you to picture a river boat captain before looking at the photo after the next paragraph.  Got it?  OK, wait for the photo.

Our Captain, Adam, hails from Hungary, has flowing locks and a brilliant sense of humor.  (Among several other one-liners, he told us at the post-tour safety briefing that his favorite movie is Titanic.)

Dinner on board was wonderful (for me, a crab/shrimp cake, tomato bisque, and sweet potato stuffed with lentils and spinach, followed by the best strawberry ice cream I’ve ever had).

Is it too soon to sing “Once in love with AMA?” Perhaps – or maybe it’s too late, for those of you who do not recognize the allusion to a popular song from the 1948 musical, “Where’s Charlie,” best known from a Frank Sinatra recording.  (The actual title is “Once in Love With Amy.”) 

Not my usual classic rock allusion; maybe I should have gone with “AMA, what you wanna do / I think I could stay with you / for a while, maybe longer if I do.” (Pure Prairie League, “Amie,” which is one of my favorite country rock songs.)

Whether it’s too soon or too late, I will say that so far I like the Amacello even more than I like limoncello.

Tomorrow will feature a “Van Gogh walking tour” of Arles, followed by a tasting tour in Avignon.  Come on back for a full report!