Tapestry II, which is really a 'floating boutique hotel' stops at picturesque Les Andelys. Photo / Penny Lewis
Micki and Larry Terrell of Missouri travel the world. The former nurse and retired airline mechanic have been married for nearly 54 years and have 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. It's a big family, but they make it special by taking each grandchild away on a high school graduation vacation within the States.
But Micki and Larry save international trips for just the two of them. They fly standby and don't mind the uncertainty of waiting at airports. "The price makes it worth it," says Micki with a smile. I get talking to the Terrells on day three of Avalon Waterways' "Paris to Normandy's Landing Beaches" itinerary, travelling aboard the Tapestry II suite ship, launched earlier this year.
We're on the landing beaches excursion today, waiting outside the coach at Pointe du Hoc in the heat of late June.
Later, I see the Terrells playing cards with their friends in Tapestry II's rear lounge and ask them if they're missing their grandchildren. "No!" they both shout, laughing. Three days later, I chat to them again on the steps outside Sacre Coeur cathedral in Montmartre in Paris.
Micki shows me her photo of a little girl playing with pigeons in front of a camouflage-clad soldier holding a machine gun. It's particularly poignant, as France is on high alert only a few months after Charlie Hebdo and hours after a man's beheading in Lyon.
Micki takes more photos as we travel past the sex shops of Pigalle on the way back to the Tapestry II. "I'd better not post these on Facebook, otherwise the ladies from church will see 'em," Micki jokes.
The Terrells look far too youthful to have been together for more than five decades. Perhaps it's their attitude to life. They've been on Avalon river cruises before and "love history and culture". Meeting this couple was just one of the many things I loved about my river cruise. But really, what's not to love about a river cruise in France?
My mind rewinds to the previous Saturday afternoon, when I travelled by coach to the Tapestry II after a night in Montparnasse's Pullman hotel following my arrival in Paris.
I'm welcomed on board and shown to my stateroom - which is mightily impressive. Wall-to-wall ranchsliders turn my suite into an open-air balcony. The staterooms have 30 per cent more space than Avalon's competitors, a fact confirmed by a fellow passenger. I love the orchids in my room and the L'Occitane toiletries in the marble en suite.
A couple of hours later, the passengers gather in the main lounge for a safety briefing and to meet the crew.
Captain Rudy Viellad garners some interest. He appears remarkably youthful - and handsome - judging by some of the reactions I witness. I find out later that the 29-year-old hails from Normandy's capital city, Rouen. Despite his youth, he's been a captain for a decade, learning how to navigate the deceptively treacherous Seine while working with his parents to carry cargo from the age of 15.
Austrian cruise director Helmut Kusdat explains to us that unlike ocean cruising, river cruising doesn't focus on on-board activities. There is not enough room for ice skating rinks and discos because river ships can't get any larger than they are already. Their dimensions are limited to the width of the locks they pass through -12m.
Tapestry II is 110m long and 11.4m wide. Rather, says Helmut, think of river cruising as a relaxing way to travel and explore. Think of your ship as a floating boutique hotel, with far fewer people than an ocean cruiser. Ocean liners carry passengers in the thousands; Tapestry II has a maximum 128 passengers and has 39 staff.
Tapestry II makes its eight-day, seven-night cruise to Normandy on a Saturday to Saturday loop from late March until late October, travelling from Paris to the quiet village of Caudebec and back. Caudebec doesn't have much going on, but this is as far as river ships can travel along the Seine and the village makes a good base for excursions by coach.
You could relax on a lounger on Tapestry II's sky deck, spend all day in your stateroom or gorge on the free cookies and doughnuts, but that would be a waste. My cruise programme included guided trips covered by the cruise tariff, as well as optional guided excursions for which passengers pay a further fee.
For all his preoccupation with light, impressionist painter Claude Monet could be stern, reveals our guide, Marie-Helene, as she takes us around the artist's beautiful garden at Giverny, a 10-minute drive from the town of Vernon where our ship is docked. Despite this news, the garden's water lilies, willows and fields of flowers are a joyful sight to behold.
In the afternoon we cruise from Vernon to Les Andelys, for a walking tour of the town and climb up the hillside to the ruins of Gaillaird Castle. Gaillaird was built in 1196 and has been classified as an historical monument since 1862.
Normandy's thatched cottages are dismal in the pouring rain. Our guide says: "Ask a Norman if it will rain tomorrow, the answer will be 'maybe yes, maybe no'."
We learn more about the four Cs in Normandy - camembert, crepes, cider and calvados, a potent apple brandy, containing up to 45 per cent alcohol.
Apparently the people of Normandy drink it to "give themselves a little push". I imagine it's more of a shove.
In the afternoon I take an optional trip to Honfleur, the closest beach to Paris and a magnet for artists. The rain is relentless, but the town is very pretty.
Today is a long, busy day with three choices of excursions, all of which are "included". Luckily the sun is shining. I head off on the US Normandy landing beaches itinerary. It's fascinating and worth a story in its own right.
Other choices are the landing beaches from a UK/Canadian perspective and A Taste of Normandy, which includes a visit to the Bayeux Tapestry.
If Elodie, our guide in Rouen, looked any more French she would be wearing a costume. Elodie is full of interesting information as she takes us around Rouen's medieval quarter and the city's own Notre Dame Cathedral, famous for its depiction in a series of paintings by Monet.
We see the Gros Horloge clock and the building where US chef Julia Child fell in love with French food, as well as where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. Later, after the tour proper, Elodie points to the best street for shopping. The sales have started. I head to Zara.
The ship is docked at Conflans. Some passengers head to Auvers-sur-Oise, where Van Gogh spent the last three months of his life. I travel by coach to Chateau de Malmaison, once the summer house of Napoleon and Josephine.
In the afternoon some passengers stay on the Tapestry II as it heads back towards Paris, but I go to the incredible Palace of Versailles on an optional excursion.
Having a guide really helps. It's a stifling 32C, but she gets our group through the crowds and gives a fascinating commentary along the way. We have a short amount of free time afterwards, but not enough to explore the famous gardens. I vow to go back.
In the evening we're back in Paris, after the coach took a little longer than expected to get us there, thanks to striking taxi drivers who've blocked roads into the city in their Uber-rage. Luckily traffic clears for our optional evening tour of Paris landmarks, culminating in the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.
On Friday morning my friend Sarah and I catch the metro to the Champs Elysees for a spot of window shopping, and a smaller amount of actual shopping. I make it back to the boat in the nick of time for an outing to Montmartre, where I see Micki and Larry. It is incredibly hot and I decide not to take the official tour. Instead I gaze out at the view of Paris and take a moment of reflection inside the Sacre Coeur cathedral.
Later that evening we head to the famous Moulin Rouge. I am probably too tired to enjoy the show, I am put off by the poor-quality dinner (we are spoiled with food on the boat) and weary of seeing bare breast after bare breast on stage.
Next to our table are Christine, a builder from Victoria, and her electrician husband. They laugh uproariously at one of the comedians, but I do not. Admittedly, they have quaffed a few more drinks than us. The performers are cast from 15 nations, most Australian. As we leave at 10.45pm, the queue for the 11.30pm show stretches around the block.
It's time to be sad as I have to say goodbye to the ship and my lovely fellow passengers. There are the Terrells, the gorgeous Kylie Scott and her mother Evelyn from Sydney (check out kyliedownsbarriers.com.au) and a friendly couple from Toronto celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. I have a few free hours before my flight home, so head to the Galeries Lafayette department store. I buy a wallet that's 40 per cent off. What an end to a perfect week.
• Avalon Waterways' new Suite Ship Avalon Tapestry II offers an eight-day river cruise on the Seine, from Paris to Normandy's Landing Beaches. Departures in 2016 available from NZ$3075 per person twin share, including a 15 per cent early bird discount if booked before September 15, 2015. The fare includes all onboard meals, wine and beer at dinner, expert guides and selected activities and excursions. See travel agents for bookings.
• Cathay Pacific offers a daily connection from New Zealand to Paris via Hong Kong.
Penny Lewis travelled courtesy of Avalon Waterways.
Some domestic regional flights have been affected.