France Avignon/Tarascon 21/10

The trip from Arles to Avignon took exactly 19 minutes by train. We arrived in Avignon at about 12 10. The briefing we had read about the cruise said that we may not have access to our cabin till about 5pm. We decided to walk the 20 minutes from the train station to the quai anyway because we could at least load our luggage. The route was through the center of town which was interesting. People were just making their way to the restaurants along the way for Sunday lunch.
At the SS Catherine there was a reception committee and our cases were whisked away. We were then ushered to reception, logged in and invited to have a drink in the bar followed by lunch. The public areas are very luxurious as is our cabin but all the space is used to capacity. When everyone is in the restaurant or the lounge there is no spare seating. We were actually able to access our cabin at 3pm and it is very comfortable. It was nice to unpack and relax for a while. Experience has taught us that it was best to join the queue at 4-30 to book the optional tours that we wanted to go on as those with limited places fill quickly. We only wanted two. On Friday Bob is doing a cycle tour and I am going on a silk weaving tour in that traditional quarter of the town. Having achieved that we explored the boat and relaxed until the safety briefing followed by information about the next day's tours. The day is to be spent in Arles and since we have thoroughly explored that lovely city Bob and I will use free time to explore Tavescon. We sailed up here between 7pm and 10pm after everyone was aboard. This was while we were enjoying a very nice 4 course dinner and meeting some of our fellow passengers. The very comfortable bed ensured a good night.