Dear Welsh2,
First of all welcome to the Riviera solo forum. From my experience you are definitely not alone in finding it hard to find friends who can take a break from their commitments to go on a trip with - many of our travellers are in exactly the same boat.
If you are looking for a first trip to "dip your toe in the water" as it were then I would recommend one of our shorter city breaks where you can sample a taste of what we offer and how we work, without having to make a major time or financial commitment. Obviously it depends on what your interests are, but for example if you are a bit of a foodie then we have a 4-day Bologna city break which includes a visit to a balsamic vinegar maker, a parmesan cheese producer, and an organic winery - we still have space on our October departure for this tour. Staying in Italy in September we have a 4-day tour to Palermo, where you get to sample this amazing city with its melting pot of influences, from Arab and Norman, through to Spanish and Italian.
Otherwise staying a little closer to home, and accessible by Eurostar, we have 4 to 5-day tours to Bruges (September and October), Normandy (October) and Paris (November). Anyway, these are just a small sample of the tours we have on offer. If you are interested I would recommend giving our reservations team a call (on 01283 888 574) to discuss the different tours we have on offer.
I hope that is of help to you, though if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Erik.