NETHERLANDS AND FRANCE 2018

RSS Feed

The Traveling Fools ~ Hello fellow travelers, I would like to introduce myself… My name is Shonda Meitler and I love to travel.  My husband “Brian” & I own a pest control company & we travel for business (attending conferences/lectures) as well as for pleasure.  My friend Jana is a travel agent and the owner of Travelooza. We have traveled together for years.     I am excited to say that I have recently started helping at Travelooza. If you have questions or need help booking your next vacation, please contact us and we would be glad to help you start making great travel memories!     
​                        
 “The Traveling Fools” name comes from the fact that I would travel everyday - given the opportunity, time and money… 
​
Land excursion along with a Viking River Cruise on the Rhone River

Our journey has us traveling to the Netherlands (Amsterdam & Holland) and France (Marseilles, Cassis, Arles, Avignon, Viviers, Tournon, Vienna, Lyon).  Our group of 30 departed from several different locations. 6 of us started out at Wichita airport (Brian, Gma Barb, Gma Retha, Papa, Allison & myself) and another 4 started from Denver (Jana Huse our travel leader, her husband Shawn and a couple from Colorado) -10 of us made the connection at the Chicago O’Hare airport headed for our pre-trip to the Netherlands prior to the cruise. It was nip & tuck trying to make our international connecting flight due to delayed prior flights and waiting for the airline’s assistance personnel to help transport the Gma’s (Brian’s mother Barb & my mother Retha), with the 4 from the Denver flight running to the next boarding gate, we barely made the flight. Once on board I began to relax and enjoy the excitement and the anticipation that the Gma’s had.  This was their first international trip!

Our group arrived in Amsterdam on July 29th but unfortunately we had several lost bags. Once we made the claims for the luggage, we were off to our lodging at the Airport Hampton by Hilton. This hotel was well kept with knowledgable staff and a wonderful breakfast. The train was only 2 blocks from the hotel, so it was easy access into the city center for our 2 days of site seeing.

Since we only had 2 days in the Netherlands, we decided our best option with the group would be the hop on hop off boat.  We had planned that all 10 of us go on the tour together.  6 of us had added the Van Gogh Museum passes to our tickets - When we got to the ticket exchange area, we found that the tickets were from two different companies so we were unable to ride in the same boats.  If you are purchasing tickets on line, double check to see who the “hop on hop off” company is, as there are several. There is lots of history and site seeing to do in Amsterdam and each group ended up doing several different things.  Along with the canal boat ride, we also utilized the bicycle transportation.
The next day, we had a hop on hop off Dutch county side tour of Holland. With this tour we saw quaint little villages, windmills in Zaandam, beautiful architecture & scenery in Volendam & Edam, at the “Jacobshoeve” cheese farm ~ we sampled and bought some really great cheese here!  The great thing about hop on & off tours are you can look at your own pace.  Buses/Boats will come by every 30-45 minutes.  If you miss one, you can catch the next one. Just be conscious of the last pick up time of the day for that stop.   
One thing to remember while planning tours in the Netherland & France is that Mondays are usually days off for small shop owners, unless you are in a touristy area.
From Amsterdam we flew to the Marseille airport and then transferred via bus to the port of Cassis.  This beautiful village is situated by the Mediterranean Sea.

We stayed only one night in Cassis, but someday I do plan to return so I can explore this beautiful village more in depth.
For our short visit here, we chose a cruise tour of the port area.  There was no English translator on this tour, but the captain did have a brochure listing the sites in detail in English.  We found that Sir Winston Churchill stayed at the White Rock Hotel while painting Cap Cancille.
There are numerous small outside cafes with wonderful menus.

The next morning we transferred via bus to the Viking Cruise ship.  Along the way we observed the beautiful county side, castles and stopped to enjoy wine tasting and lunch at a local winery.
We arrived in Avignon on Wed, Aug 1, 2018.  The ship was not to set sail until Thursday evening so we had plenty of time to take in the sites on our own and also with the optional tours that were available.
Avignon has a nice tram ride through the walled city that has a narrated tour in multiple languages via head set.  This was a welcome relief for the Gma’s as it was hot and we had done lots of walking.
Avignon is know as the “City of the Popes” and was a papal seat for 70 years in the 14th century.


While on board, Jana & I explored the ship and we were able to observe the cockpit and see how they raise and lower the unit as they approach a bridge.
This ship has a capacity to hold 190 passengers and approximately 45 crew members. It has 4 decks with 95 outside cabins. It sails from Avignon and Lyon, France and back.
You can eat all 3 meals on board the ship at either the buffet or the dining area or off the ship if docked at port. The evening meals were a gathering place to recount the days adventures and to experience new and different cuisine and wines.
There is no Spa or Casino aboard this ship.

​Our week above went by in a flash.  There were several daily activities to choose from or you can choose to do nothing and relax on board.  On board activities were a great time to meet new people. The include tours of each stop were very educational and fun, but had lots of walking.  We found that there was a leisure tour, that included mostly the same itinerary as the regular tour. However leisure tour had more rest stops, less steps and went at a slower pace.  We found this to be just right for the Gma’s.
One of the highlights shared by many was the train ride through the Doux Valley, Tournon aboard the Train de I’ Ardeche, a meter-gauge steam train and engine that is listed as a French historic monument.
Overall, I believe everyone enjoyed this wonderful experience and made many great memories!
For Brian & I, our biggest delights on this trip was watching the awe and delight in our mother’s faces as this once in a lifetime trip unfolded for them.
Travel renews the heart and the spirit and grows the mind!!
Your traveling friend,
Shonda Meitler
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away form the safe harbors. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.~Mark Twain