Viking Rolf (7/4/2016)

Monday, July 4, 2016 (continued)
After returning from the bus tour of Paris, there was a Welcome Back buffet for those of us too cheap to buy ourselves a lunch during the tour!

Lunch buffet in Aquavit Terrace

A typical Seine barge carries its own land transportation;
(typical Seine barges look like typical Rhein barges...)

An hour later, Cocktail Hour began (17:30-19:00: Cocktail 90 minutes!) At 18:30 there was a Welcome Toast in the Lounge, where we met the Captain and Co-Captain of the ship, and the Chefs/Chiefs of the various departments: Hotel, Culinary, Maître d', Housekeeping, and the Program Director.

The Lounge

Welcome Toast champagnes in "red, white, and blue"
in honor of the US Independence Day

Welcome Toast hors d'oeuvres

The "teen-aged" Co-Captain, Captain Nicolas Pasquerau,
Program Director Guillaume van Bockstaele, Hotel Manager Carlos Brito

The routine each day (including Cocktail Hour) was to have a Daily Briefing (to summarize the activities of the next day), Dinner, then Evening Entertainment.
Now that Viking is using the maximum-sized river cruise ship, they are no longer permitted to dock closer to central Paris, and as we cast off, we were heading upstream towards Paris. It was explained that we had to go "backwards" to find a wide enough spot to turn around, then we could head downstream. This meant we went through a lock at Chatou twice, once in each direction.

A lock we passed, between island in the Seine

When we passed Île St-Martin, we were able to turn around.

The Griswold family?

Reflection on the glass ceiling of the lobby

Putting green on the Sun Deck, and herbs grown for the ship kitchen

Shuffleboard

A public bathroom on the ship

The Library (no jigsaw puzzles on this ship);
daily news is printed from each country representred by the passengers

Internet station

Rolf (c 2016) by Roy Christian Lauritsen;
Rolf was a Viking chief who became the first Duke of Normandy;
this was the Viking Rolf's maiden season 

For dinner we started with Crevettes Pochées au Citron Vert sur Tartar d’Avocat/lime marinated poached shrimp, avocado tartar, preserved lime and parsley oil. The main dish was Filet Mignon de Veau Tranché/carved veal tenderloin, lemon potato gratin, sautéed mushrooms and sweet peas, velouté, veal jus. Dessert was cupcakes and/or a slice of the USA Flag cake

Dessert in honor of the US Independence Day,
with Chef Richard "Ricky" Vallis

The evening entertainment was "Parlez-vous Français?" with a Powerpoint presentation showing the difficulties in trying to learn French, yet at the same time, seeing how many French words we already use.
(Somehow, I missed taking a photo of the cabin.)

Cabin "head"

Next: Giverny.