If you would like an introduction to Danielle or to start this trip report from the beginning, click here.
Day 2, Part 2: Villefranche, France
The first thing we did when we arrived back on the ship was race up to deck 9 to meet up with my brother Christian and my dad to hear about their day. While we had a very full day of sight seeing, shopping, and history lessons, the boys had a day full of adventure and near-perceived-death experiences.
Over soft-serve ice cream and fries from Pete’s Boiler Bites, we listened to the exciting (and rather comical) day that the boys had whitewater rafting. We all knew that it was going to be a great story when it started with “Well, I almost drowned today.” I think that my dad is convinced that my mom is plotting his death given the amount of borderline dangerous excursions she signs him up for with the kids.
This was also a DCL Port Adventure called “White River Rafting (V30)“. They met in the D Lounge at 10:00 AM and boarded a motor coach with a lively group of adventurers from all over the world. Their description of the bus ride made it sound more like a retreat than an excursion. The cruisers all got along really well, really quickly and were cracking jokes for the entire ride to their destination. The bus ride was about 90 minutes to Puget Theniers in the heart of the French Alps.
When they got to the river they were met with a surprise. We believe that the excursion was overbooked because the company ran out of group rafts. That’s right- they went whitewater rafting on INDIVIDUAL kayaks. Too late to turn back at this point, they went along for the ride, grateful that they had some experience with whitewater rafting since they’d be navigating their own boat without a professional.
Although the excursion description says that this tour is beginner-friendly, both my dad and brother had experience whitewater rafting and do not recommend that beginners attempt this excursion. The tour guide barely spoke any English, and his general advice to my dad was “Ok so, Jeff, if you fall off, swim! And don’t drown. And don’t hit the rocks.” My dad, assuming the advice was a joke, sarcastically replied “Oh, great! Thanks!” The tour guide, not realizing he was being sarcastic, enthusiastically nodded his head with a large grin and said “YEAH!!” Our family was in tears hearing him recount this story.
Well to make a long story short, my dad did fall off and hit some pretty big rocks. He said that at one point, it felt like he broke both of his legs (and my dad is a pretty athletic guy- he’s run SEVERAL marathons). Thankfully, the pain from the impact subsided and he was able to finish the course. The descent took about two hours (including some stops along the way), although one could assume that their experience was unusual since they were navigating on their own instead of on a group raft. Both my dad and Christian finished the course with smiles and a big appetite. Thankfully, this excursion included lunch in Touët sur Var before taking the tender back to the ship.
Although while planning this trip this excursion was hardly something that I would have considered for my first time in the French Riviera, I really believe that it was such a unique opportunity to get a niche experience in France. Not to mention – just look at their pictures! The boys were sore for the next few days, and I would recommend packing Advil on any trip abroad, but especially if you have an active excursion such as this one planned! Overall, the boys made some incredible memories that they will never forget and walked away with a few battle scars.
Now, fast forward to our evening……We had a delicious meal at Animator’s Palate, my favorite restaurant aboard the Disney Magic. On cruises that are longer than a week, the first night in Animator’s does not include a show. Though this is a bit anticlimactic, we didn’t really notice because we were still enjoying spending time with Genesis and joking around with him.
We have a family tradition that goes back a few cruises prior when we were celebrating, no lie – 5 major milestones in our family on the Disney Fantasy. Because my mom made a note of all of these milestones (including two graduations, two birthdays, and my parents’ anniversary) on the first night, our server arranged for “Happy Birthday” and “Congratulations to You” to be sung 5 times in a row with F I V E different cakes. For the remainder of that cruise, we pretended it was someone’s birthday for every night of the cruise, and our server at the time, Mario, loved it. For this reason, we sing happy birthday to someone every night on Disney cruises, and Genesis loves helping us decide whose birthday it is going to be every night. My sister arranged for it to be my birthday that night (I guess it wasn’t a total lie, I did just have a birthday a month ago) and the whole family sang and ate desserts together. It’s a silly tradition, but it’s something that I would recommend to anyone. Life is short, and the cake is free ☺
As we finished up coffee and dessert, we checked our daily navigator to see what activities were scheduled for that evening and everyone decided on the same one. The Match Your Mate show would be happening evening, and we always make my parents volunteer to compete. Last year, they got second place, but we were determined for them to take the crown this year. So, we dropped Layne off at the Oceaneer’s Lab and headed to Fathom’s to get a booth.
In case you’ve never seen Match Your Mate, it is essentially the Newlywed Game. The show host selects three couples: the first being honeymooners, the second being a couple that’s been married for anywhere between 10-20 years, and the third being the couple that’s been together the longest. Usually when we make my parents compete, they are the couple in the middle. This time, they were actually the couple that’s been together the longest (they just celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary).
The way the game is played is the host will make the women leave the room and will ask the men three questions about their wives or their marriage. Then, the women are brought back into the room and are asked the same questions. If their answers match, the couple gets a point. The couple with the most correct answers wins. Seems easy enough, right? Well, this game ended up in a tie between my parents and the honeymooners.
For the tie breaker, the men were brought to the front of the stage and were told to face the audience. The tie breaking question was “Describe your wife’s outfit”. The man from the honeymooner couple went first and described every last detail of his wife’s outfit perfectly, including brands and details that even she probably didn’t know. It was impressive, but not the most realistic reflection of what a marriage is like. Then came my dad’s answer. He said “she’s wearing a blue and white striped dress… she doesn’t wear a whole lot of jewelry but I know she’s wearing her wedding band… and shoes of some sort… I don’t really know exactly, but I don’t have to because I know she looks beautiful!”
We started to get nervous. We could not let them lose! You could see my mom shrugging and reacting to everything he said to get a reaction from the audience. So, my brothers and I took matters into our own hands. We started chanting “Let them win! Let them win!” over and over again, and the entire crowd started joining us. EVERYONE in Fathoms was cheering for my mom and dad to win! We were laughing so hard as we kept the chant going until finally, they announced my parents as the winners! We were laughing and cheering so hard, and we were so happy for them as they accepted their prize of a spa treatment. Here is a video of them accepting their prize:
Now before you start to sympathize with couple #1 too much, hear me out. First of all, I think that all of the married men in the room really sympathized with the concept of a man not knowing everything that his wife is wearing but knowing without a doubt that she looks beautiful. Secondly, later during the cruise we actually found out that the first couple was faking the entire thing! They were family friends that were on a mission to prove that you could win Match Your Mate without even being married. We felt a little less guilty about altering the course of the game after they admitted that to us. All in all, it was great fun and it was a really cool experience to watch my parents win after growing up watching the incredible marriage that they have.
After the game finished, everyone went in their separate directions and got ready for bed. Our next stop was Florence, Italy, and I have been dreaming of Florence since I was 17. We knew that we had a long day ahead of us, and I am happy to say that Florence and Pisa were just as magical as we were expecting. Stay tuned for my trip report of Florence and Pisa, only on Disney Cruise Mom Blog! I can’t wait to share it with you!
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Danielle is a 23 year old Disney fanatic, ICU Nurse, and travel blogger from Nashville, TN. When she is not traveling, you can find her snuggling with her 2 English bulldogs and spending time with her family of 7. You can read more about her trips and adventures at www.daniellefarideh.com.
Instagram: @daniellefarideh
Facebook: www.facebook.com/daniellefarideh
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