Episode 1 - Culinary Delights on the Rhone

It’s a culinary ‘Tour de France!’ Many European river cruises sail through several countries, but a cruise on the Rhone is a purely ‘French affair.’ In this episode of World’s Greatest Cruises, I sail on a Rhone river cruise on the South of France’s primary waterway from Arles to Lyon, France. The Rhone is an historic route through the countryside and between the riverside towns that have made the region such a beloved travel destination. The slow pace of a river cruise is the perfect way to explore the famous scenery and famous cuisine of the South of France. It’s an entire week of tasting and celebrating producers and their work. We accompany the ship’s hotel manager on an expedition to provision the ship at the renowned market in Avignon, where we discover local culinary ingredients like regional salts, cheeses, produce – and a few surprises. A truffle farmer introduces us to his precious crop of one of the most expensive ingredients in the world – and his method of harvest: his dog that’s trained to sniff them out among the trees! We learn the old school way of harvesting olives – and turning them into olive oil at a family-owned oil mill. And of course, we meet a winemaker from this storied wine region, who shows us his vineyards, shares his wine – and his philosophy of winemaking.