Viking Fjorgyn, Seine River Cruise, France [Monday Daytime]

[doctorgingerspice]

We arrive in La Roche-Guyon before breakfast (but don't skip breakfast, the buffet is amazing) and enjoy a morning at your leisure to explore. The village is officially classified as one of France’s most beautiful; you will see why as you stroll through the town’s narrow streets lined with picturesque houses with wood-paneled facades. After lunch, join an included tour to the town of Giverny, where Claude Monet resided from 1883 until his death in 1926. Visit the beautiful gardens and charming stone farmhouse where he lived and worked; see the water garden with the recognizable Japanese bridge, water lilies, wisteria and azaleas that inspired many of his masterpieces. Just be sure to get back aboard before dinner! We're eating at sea. At river? 

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THE SHIP

[doctorgingerspice]

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Rooms

[doctorgingerspice]

Students are in Veranda Staterooms on the Upper Deck, which have queen or twin sized beds depending on which is funnier, wifi, televisions, and twice-daily housekeeping. This does NOT mean you can throw ragers. The chaperones are in Veranda Suites, also on the Upper Deck,  with queen or twin sized beds depending on which is funnier, wifi, televisions, fully stocked minibars and free champagne and fruit platters daily. It is, after all, why they chaperone.

[OOC: NFB goes into private journals, list of room assignments is here]

Room 308

[somethingwithturquoise]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, technically speaking, chaperones, blah blah blah. But Summer was pretty sure there were more adults in this trip than there were students, so she was confident the chaperone parts were being covered. And since rural, pastoral France was hardly Paris, and she could literally just go to these places if she ever suddenly discovered a hard-on for Monet or old-ass villages, her priorities were far more focused on the 'successfully managed to pull my boyfriend away from his work and a lab for a full-on week and essentially managed to trap him on a boat with me' of it all and taking full advantage of it, thank you.

So if anyone needed her, that's where you'd find her.

And it was, surprisingly, mostly just her and Barry flipping through channels on the TV and making up redubs for whatever French shows or movies they wound up getting sucked into, and appreciating the one channel that was playing Titantic while they were on a cruise.

(Thankfully not that version).

Exploring the Ship

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Sun Deck

[doctorgingerspice]

Located on the top of the ship, go on up there to get the best views of the passing scenery and to sunbathe if you really like being cold in October, you weirdo. There's also a walking path if you aren't getting enough exercise on all of the daily excursions.

Aquavit Terrace & Lounge

[doctorgingerspice]

If you're more interested in eating al fresco and not having a multi-course meal, the Aquavit Terrace is for you. There's no assigned seating and they have quick options for grab and go at breakfast like pastries, yogurt, and coffees.  

Restaurant

[doctorgingerspice]

Located on the Middle Deck, the restaurant will serve as the hub for our meals throughout the cruise, assuming you aren't on shore. Each table seats six, and you've been assigned to one (over HERE). Make friends with your fellow Fandomites! Enjoy the breakfast buffet or order something off of the menu! If you're back for lunch, there's a buffet as well with a pasta station and lots of salads, or you can order from a menu, where even a hot dog sounds fancier in French.

ON SHORE

[doctorgingerspice]

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French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[doctorgingerspice]

Visit the impressive castle of La Roche-Guyon and learn all about “Les Arts de la Table” during a workshop. Meet your guide at the ship and set off on foot for a short tour of the quaint village of Roche-Guyon, set between chalk cliffs and the Seine River. Here, the castle of La Roche-Guyon greets you, dominating the village with its various architectural styles. The fortified keep of the castle, built in the 12th century, hangs over the village from the top of a cliff, offering wonderful views. After a tour inside the castle, take part in a workshop in a private room to learn the art of setting a table. Enjoy some time browsing local products or arts and crafts at the castle shop and take home a special souvenir. Before walking back to the ship, tour the potager, a grand fruit and vegetable garden planted in the early 1700s and restored to its current splendor in 2004.

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[pun_king]

You'd think a guy from a bullshit fantasy land wouldn't be this excited about visiting a castle, but, to be fair, Graham never really had the opportunity to visit castles back home. Most of his castle experience, in fact, was thanks to Fandom! So even though it wasn't floating, he was very excited to take in everything about this place. The art of the table lesson was a little less captivating, he had to admit, but he did try to pay attention, because it seemed like something it would be important for a potential future king to know about.

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[furrybluefreak]

Kurt was definitely going to take some time to appreciate the castle! Even going to school at one still didn't detect much from the overall appeal because...come on... CASTLE! ANd the shopping was going to be amazing and Kurt hoped he would find some things for his folks and for Logan and others too.

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[outofthequiver]

If anything, at least Libby could lean on her excitement and fascination with old places to carry her through how tired she was, though she was definitely starting to feel it the longer the tour went on. It was probably a good thing she'd picked one of the shorter ones (she didn't know how to ride a bike, anyway), and she was thinking it was maybe a good thing that they'd be traveling again after this, so she could maybe squeeze in a nap.

But then thinking about all the pretty scenery she'd be missing if she did that made her feel a little torn. They still had to come back this way, though, right? She'd get to see the scenery coming up the other way...

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[guillermothegreat]

Guillermo definitely found the art of setting a table fascinating as he took everything in. He wondered if one day he’d be able to have a fancy dinner that would need the table to be set in such a way.

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[onlyajones]

This was definitely something familiar to Jo as she took in the Château and surroundings. She did know how to correctly set the table since her mother had made sure that she learned how to do it but she still doing d it rather fascinating.

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[special_rabbit]

You know, those gardens and bicycles held a certain appeal for Amaya, but she should have known from the start that this was the tour she'd end up taking, which was maybe slightly annoying to her, but there was a comfort in it, a familiarity, that she sort of appreciated, and it was always interesting spotting the little differences between a place like this and somewhere like Llewdor or Daventry. Though what she really appreciated above all of it was the local shops and arts and crafts, and, hey! Look at that! She got a garden, too, and it was the more practical kind of garden that she preferred, anyway, and was definitely interested in asking more questions about that.

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[notagoose]

Goose did not actually know how to set the table, Doc had tried to teach him a few times since this was definitely more Doc’s area of expertise but he was trying to pay close attention this time.

Maybe he could make a really fancy dinner for Ignis when he got back?

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[sharp_man]

Hannibal had no need to learn to set a table, though you never knew when you might learn a new trick, but he was mostly here for the potager, which promised to be splendid.

Re: French Château Life (2 ½ hours)

[sith_happened]

This felt a little like Naboo to Anakin, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with that.

So he ignored it. Very healthy!

Monet Foundation: Giverny (3 ½ hours)

[doctorgingerspice]

Visit the enchanting gardens and estate that inspired one of history’s great painters, founder of impressionism Claude Monet. Drive with your guide into the countryside to Giverny, the village that Monet called home from 1883 until his death in 1926. At the Monet Foundation, you will explore the artist’s home and gardens, now a museum dedicated to the great painter. The house with its pink, crushed-brick facade and green shutters is furnished as it was when he lived here, and contains his precious collection of Japanese engravings. Stroll the gardens to see firsthand the landscapes that grace Monet’s paintings, including the Japanese bridge and water garden shaded by weeping willows and teeming with water lilies. 

Re: Monet Foundation: Giverny (3 ½ hours)

[canlendanear]

Alara decided to not do the bicycle option since she was pretty sure there was a good chance she’d break the bike but she decided to visit the Monet Foundation and have a look at the gardens.

She was finding it rather peaceful walking around the gardens and taking in the scenery.

Re: Monet Foundation: Giverny (3 ½ hours)

[sake_shinigami]

Shunsui was more than happy to drift among the gardens and "keep an eye on" any of the students doing the same that morning.

The Japanese collection was actually quite a bit of a pleasant surprise, though, and he found himself incredibly amused and interested in them....and, well, if any other tourists of a certain type happened to be interested in some old Japanese things....maybe they might be interested in another ♥?

Re: Monet Foundation: Giverny (3 ½ hours)

[begmetwice]

Having spent yesterday shopping in Paris and stocking up not only on shoes and perfume but also a gorgeous new bright green cozy wrap that Irene thought would suit both the temperature and the excursion, she acquiesced to putting on flats and set off to wander Giverny.

This trip, already, was taking her to places she'd seen but never been; most of her excursions to France had been to Paris, and while she'd spent plenty of time looking at Monets in museums, she was more entranced than she'd like to admit with seeing his inspiration in person.

Monet's Garden By Bicycle (3 ½ hours)

[doctorgingerspice]

Ride through picturesque scenery as you explore the life of Claude Monet and sample a selection of Norman delights. Meet your guide at the pier and don your helmet before setting off by bicycle along the Seine River. Stop at the Église Sainte-Radegonde de Giverny and step inside to admire its Romanesque architecture. Visit the burial site of Claude Monet and his family; a beautiful white marble grave pays tribute to the great impressionist. Continue your ride to the Monet Foundation, a museum dedicated to his life and works, and his former home. Stroll the gardens and witness the landscapes that grace Monet’s paintings, including the Japanese bridge and water garden shaded by weeping willows. En route back to your ship, enjoy a stop at the Old Mill in Vernon. Sample a selection of Norman delicacies, including macarons, bread and French cheese, accompanied by a glass of cider or apple juice.

Explore On Your Own!

[doctorgingerspice]

Did you stay in La Roche-Guyon? Stop in Vernon and skip Monet? Just tell us where you are in the header so we can stalk you join in!

OOC

[doctorgingerspice]

Last day of my four-day weekend. Boo.