Gym's Ramblings: Atlantic Odyessy 2025: Paris, France

Early on the morning of May 23, 2025, the MS Vista left the English Channel and steered into the Seine Estuary. Then just after dawn, the ship docked at a pier adjacent to the quaint little port of Honfleur, France. Located near the mouth of the Seine, Honfleur was a very important port for centuries. Today the massive port of La Havre on the other side of the estuary gets much more traffic. As a starting point for the drive into Paris though, Honfleur is better situated.

Later that morning, our hero and his fetching bride stepped off the ship and into a nice, new touring bus. It would be a long drive into the capital along the southern edge of the Seine river valley. As they started up to the top of the escarpment, towards the A13, it was difficult to ignore the lush, green forests featuring beech, oak and pine trees. Further up on the plateau, there were dairy farms where the red and white Normande cattle are raised. This breed produces milk that is transformed into Camembert cheese. Halfway to the capital cereal crops appear in the fields near the historic city of Rouen.

Only once did the bus stop and it did so at a fantastic roadside truck stop that rivalled anything in North America. The facility was clean, well-laid out and spacious. The bathrooms are immaculate. While there, Gym observed that the French truckers were on the whole slimmer than their American counterparts, they drank espresso instead of energy drinks and ate more croissants than they did donuts. In general, Gym was very impressed with the high standard of French highways and the related infrastructure (he had the same experience in southern France in 2023).

In spite of a taxi strike that blocked one of the two main roads into the 'City of Lights' the bus driver soon had the tour through to the centre of Paris via the underground tunnels that link the suburbs to the old city. The driver that day was named Antoine and he was excellent. Not only did he really know his way around Paris, he also was feeding the tour guide with interesting information the whole day.

Antoine didn't break a sweat as he emerged from a tunnel and did a couple of loops around L'Arc de Triomphe to show us what a talented road warrior he was. As we came out on the Champs-Elysees our guide pointed out all the flagship stores that lined that famous avenue. Near Place de la Concorde the bus was parked next to the Petit Palais and everyone was given 2.5 hours to explore on their own with strict instructions not to get lost.

Gym and Mrs. Gym wandered out across Place de la Concorde and then crossed over to explore the Tuileries Garden as far as the Louvre Pyramid. That Louvre Palace is massive. From there they backtracked to eat lunch in a nice spot off the Champs-Elysees. They then briefly explored some of the beautiful artwork in the Petit Palace before returning to the bus at the appointed time. To their amazement no one got lost and the bus left on time. Before the bus got back on the highway it stopped at the Eiffel Tower for 15 minutes and then toured the 7th Arrondissement, the most upscale part of the city, before returning to Honfleur.

That night the ship crossed the English Channel and tied up to the docks in Southhampton. Here Vista would swap out some more passengers, take on more provisions and top up the fuel tanks. Gym and his dear wife also had the opportunity to get off the ship and have lunch with their friends the Andersons from Suffolk who hosted a wonderful meal at a greek restaurant nearby.

That evening the dynamic duo would continue on the fourth quarter of the Atlantic Odyssey 2025 when the Vista would begin a loop around the United Kingdom and Ireland before landing back in Southampton again on June 3, 2025.

Stay tuned!

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