Is it Covid?

After feeling a little crummy on Monday, I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat (and, truthfully, I barely woke up, I was so tired), so I got a COVID-19 test. Fortunately, it was negative, but I definitely have a cold, so yesterday was kind of a low-key day, as I slept a lot.

The other thing that I think was making me feeling crummy was all the drinking I am doing on this ship. I do not drink a lot (It is not uncommon for me to go months without alcohol and, when I do have a drink, I often don’t finish it) so having two drinks a night and many glasses of wine is messing me up. Not to mention the food. Most of our meals are multiple courses, and I don’t eat like that, either.

As beautiful as it is along the Rhone, I definitely enjoyed Paris more. I liked walking a lot (we were taking about 20,000 steps a day) and mostly just eating salads, fruit, and fresh fish. This rich cruise life (cheese!) is not for me (although it is very relaxing and beautiful; I would do it again but I would plan a little differently). The worst part of our days, for me, have been the dinners, which are very long. Likewise, there’s not much to do in the evening (although there are plenty of people drinking in the bar at night).

The other thing about the cruise is that in order to get from the ship to some of our trip locations, such as the duchy and Rousillon, where we went yesterday, we are on buses, and I dislike that quite a bit. This has been a wonderfully relaxing trip and everywhere we’ve gone has been beautiful, and my complaints are merely commentary. I feel very fortunate, though, that I can’t wait to get home to see James, Olivia, and Dolly, and to start my new job as the senior health and fitness editor at Hearst/Enthusiast Group (Runner’s World and Bicycling).

Today, though, we are doing something food-related about which I am very excited. Anne-Sophie Pic is “the best female French chef” (won’t comment on the sexism in that sentence), and today we are going to her cooking school in Valance.