Today we met our guide Sophie early for the optional Rhône Valley Vineyard Hike. We drove by bus across the Rhône from Tournon-sur-Rhône, through the small town of Tain l'Hermitage and were dropped off near the top of the beautiful terraced vineyards that produce Hermitage wine, the birthplace of syrah. The name Hermitage, according to our Viking Daily, "comes from the hermit who planted vines here after returning from the Crusades and invited travelers to drink with him." The views were spectacular throughout our hike up to the top, to the tiny Chapel of St. Christophe. The legend is that the hermit was Knight Gaspard de Sterimberg and he built the chapel in 1224.
The hike, thankfully, was not as strenuous as they had led us to believe. I imagine it would have been horrible if the rain hadn't held off until we reached the bottom, however. I say that it was not strenuous, because we kept to the paths and there were only a few areas where we had to maneuver down over granite that could have been slippery if wet. The terraced vineyards that we walked through on the paths, however, were quite steep and I can only imagine how difficult it would be to prune and harvest the vines.
The rosemary was in bloom, the vines were just beginning to sprout leaves, and the granite slopes were lovely.
We learned about the grapevine moth and the way growers are trying to combat the damage they cause to the vines. They fill little plastic devices with synthetic female pheromones and attach them to vines throughout the vineyard. The devices emit the pheromones into the air, confusing the male moths who go looking for females that aren't there. Apparently it is almost 100% effective, with no pesticides and no harm to other living things.
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| Plastic pheromone bait |
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| Rosemary in bloom |
After the tasting we walked to the original Valrhona store, opened in 1922 by French pastry chef Albéric Guironnet. It was extremely crowded, no doubt because there were unlimited samples of their delicious chocolate. We were given only a limited time, barely enough to sample, decide, and stand in the long checkout line. Too bad we did not have time to visit the Cité du Chocolat museum next door.
We continued on to Tournon across the 1849 Marc Sequin Footbridge. It is an exact replica of the 1825 footbridge built by engineer Marc Sequin, inventor of the wire-cable suspension bridge. The original had to be demolished in 1965. It started raining more heavily, but our bus was waiting for us--the boat had left for Vienne this morning and we were meeting up with it at Chavanay. So we didn't have an opportunity to see Tournon, but our Viking Daily said it is one of the most attractive cities on the Rhône.
We met up with and boarded the boat in Chavanay in time for lunch. We cruised all afternoon, arriving at Vienne around 4:30. At 4:45 we met our guide Emilie for our walking tour of Vienne, one of the oldest cities in France, having been conquered by the Romans in 121 BC. It became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 9th century. It contains some of the best surviving Roman and medieval buildings in France. Vienne is located between the wine regions of Beaujolais and Burgundy and was Rome's major wine port. It was also a center of religion and culture.
Our first stop was the medieval Cathedral of St. Maurice, built between 1052 and 1533.
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| Cathedral of St. Maurice |
At the Garden of Cybele, a bride and groom were being filmed among the Roman ruins.
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| Temple of Augustus and Livia |
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| Temple of Augustus and Livia |
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| Plaque commemorating the visit of Thomas Jefferson in 1787 |
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| Drone filming the bride and groom |
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| Children's playground incorporated into the ruins |
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| Bad photo of the War Memorial in Vienne |
Back on the Viking Delling, we went to the port talk and, after dinner, spent a short time in the lounge listening to a singer and an accordion player who were brought in for that night's entertainment.
