France: Tarascon

This was a very relaxing day as the tour for the day was to Arles where we had explored thoroughly. Believe it or not we went to the laundromat. The ship has it's own with three sets of washers and driers. The warm weather so far meant we wanted to keep a supply of cool shirts and with everyone off the ship it was too good an oppoortunity to miss. We made good use of the tea/coffee bar and the comfortable seating then ate again at lunch.
The small town of Tarascon is like many others we have visited but provided some interesting features for an after lunch stroll. The mediaeval authorities built a double arcaded row of shops in the centre instead of the usual covered market. This might have been because of trade produced by a reliable stream of pilgrims which come to visit the crypt of Saint Martha. This woman is historically reported to be the sister of Mary Magdalene and Lasarus who came to the town with them in AD 48. She calmed a river monster which had been attacking viĺlagers and which they were then able to kill.  Her burial site was worshipped and there are records of this from 500AD. In 1187 her relics were "officially" discovered and the church became famous. It has grown and is considered to be two churches - the crypt where she was reburied and the superimposed church. The current building was commenced in the 13thC and progressively enlarged through to the 17th C. It required some restoration from bomb damage after WW 2. 
The Chateau is also an imposing building and stands at the edge of the village in good condition. Unlike the church it wan't open to visitors so we could only admire from across the road.
Last nights pre dinner gathering was the Captain's official welcome. Since his English is limited his speach was mercifully short. Dinner was delicious and since we have learnt that all courses are small portions we had all four. After dinner we came back to our room to get jackets so we could take a short walk to the Pont de Avignon. Yes we had sailed back there and through a lock while we were at dinner. The bridge is the one that many of us learned to sing about in school so was worth a look by night when it is lit even if only half of it remains. Our room provided a delightful surprise as our bed was decorated with bunting, petals ( fabric) and chocolates with champagne on the side. Our travel agent had told Uniworld that this was a special annivesary trip and housekeeping had done the rest. We put this on hold and enjoyed our walk then cleared the bed for sleep when we returned. The champagne  may be shared with fellow passengers when the occassion arises.