Sunday 19 September 2010 - Valence

Eliza B
Ron & Elizabeth HOWARD
Mon 20 Sep 2010 18:40
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Ron Howard
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010 7:35 PM
Subject: Sunday 19 September 2010 - Valence

We left Lyon mid-morning on Friday 10 September, after watching a large hotel-boat squeezing itself under a low bridge.  It took some minutes and only appeared to have about 5 cms to spare.  We then stopped at the fuel barge to top up our tank.
 
 
About 1 km south of Lyon we passed the Saone-Rhone confluence and joined the Rhone and then passed the entrance to a very large dockyard which is catering for the growing barge trade.  This meant that we had to be prepared to give priority to anything that was moving - fortunately, nothing appeared. The weather was bright and sunny although the wind was quite cool.
 
 
We had to wait at the first Rhone lock to allow a very large hotel boat - which we had first seen at Chalon-sur-Saone - to emerge.  We then cautiously followed another small boat into the very large lock and fixed Eliza B to a floating bollard which, as the lock emptied, went down with the water.  Just as well since the drop was over 9 metres and it would have taken a lot of rope, and nerve, to hold on to a bollard at the top.  In reality, it was very smooth and very easy although Eliza B felt very small in such a large lock.
 
 
 
  
 
The Rhone is a much wider river than the Saone but very pretty and has larger barges; there are also more of them.  We continued south, passing Chateau d' Ampuis a beautiful modern chateau on the right bank. This is the centre of the well-known Rhone wine producer, E Guigal.  Also on the right bank there are the very steep sunlit slopes with vineyards and notices proclaiming the home of Cote Rotie and Condrieu.  Most wine-drinkers are aware that Condrieu is the spiritual home of the Viognier grape but how many people know that Cote Rotie allows some Viognier to be added to the Syrah (unlike the rest of North Rhone reds - more later). 
 
 
We tied up in a small port de plaisance at Les Roches de Condrieu which is on the other side of the river from the village of Condrieu (joined by a suspension bridge). 
 
 
The next day we explored on bike but we were distinctly unimpressed - it was just a small French village with nothing to mark it out as the home of the two famous North Rhone wines - especially as they cost about 25 Euros a bottle in the supermarket and nearer 75 Euros (and upwards) in the restaurants.  Apparently the vineyards are so steep that all picking and harvesting has to be done by hand and this 'justifies' the price.  We stayed for the weekend and went for a walk round the nearby ski-lake and enjoyed a pleasant dinner at the local restaurant, "La Bellevue" - but settled for a glass of Viognier and a nice Cotes du Rhone.
 
On Monday morning we continued south with the intention of stopping at Tournon and Tain l'Hermitage.  Unfortunately the Halte Fluviale at Tournon looked most uninviting - with no bollards to attach to and questionable depth of water.  After motoring past a few times to inspect the area closely, we decided to continue our journey to Valence where we discoverd a large, fully-equipped and very friendly port du plaisance. By this time the wind had increased and was blowing about a force 5 down the Rhone. So we were pleased to check in.  It was very peaceful - except for the rolling wash created by passing peniches - and stayed there for a very pleasant week.
 
On Tuesday the wind had decreased and we cycled into the town centre, about 3 km, to explore the town on foot.  Apparently, Napoleon as a young lieutenant spent about a year there completing his artillery training before going on to greater things.  There is an interesting mix of old buildings and narrow streets and some newer open areas and wide boulevards. There is also a bandstand named after the cheeky cartoonist Georges Peynet, but I didn't discover the connection as I thought he was Belgian. 
 
  
 
Wednesday was spent visiting the local supermarket and then preparing to entertain Serge & Mireille for supper on the boat.  We hadn't seen them for many years and it was good to see them again.
 
 
On Thursday we caught the bus to Valence and the train to Tournon. We then spent the day wandering around Tournon and Tain l'Hermitage (the other side of the river), exploring the centre of the North Rhone industry.  After a very pleasant lunch overlooking the river and the historic suspension bridge.  The bridge was built by Marc Seguin who discovered that steel wire (composed of many strands of thinner wire) could be produced with sfficient strength to suspend a bridge.  There are many bridges like this on the Rhone. 
 
   
 
We then visited Marc Sorrel, the well-known wine-maker who was in the middle of his white grape vendage (Marsanne) but he allowed us to taste the grapes; to our surprise they were very sweet (honeyish) but small grapes with large pips.  The next stop was Valrhona, the home of the best (or most expensive) chocolate in the world.  We also managed to find the Cave Cooperative of the Tain and sampled red wines from the four north Rhone appelations of St Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage and Cornas. (All, of course, from the syrah grape.)
 
  This picture shows the wine slopes of Hermitage - again requiring hand picking - and, at the top of the picture the original hermitage which has been refurbished by its famous owners, Paul Jaboulet.
 
The rains returned all day Friday and we stayed on the boat and started to install the wiring for two solar panels we had purchased before we left the UK.  (Well, we've been too busy before!)  In the evening, it had stopped raining and we went to visit Mireille and Serge at their home at Crest and enjoyed supper with Philippe and Anne-Marie.
 
The rain came back overnight and on Satuday morning but had cleared by lunchtime when we were collected by Serge & Mireille who took us to visit the impressive Chateau at Grignan, some way south of Valence.  It dates from the 11th century and dominates a hill on which the old village is built around the castle.  It has incredible views of the Drome region. 
 
Later in the afternoon we went to a smaller hilltop village nearer to Valence, Mirmande, where we attended a piano concert (as part of their Patrimoine festivities) given by a brilliant young pianist by the name of Antoine de Grolle.  Afterwards we joined with Anne-Marie and Philippe, who live in the village, and dined in the local restaurant.
 
 
 
 
 
 
On Sunday the sun was shining brightly but it was windy and cold - autumn is arriving - so we stayed on the boat and continued with the solar panel installation.  In the evening, we enjoyed a bottle of wine which had been produced in Mirmande and kindly given to us by the local Mairie.  We toasted our visit to Valence and to the renewed acquaintance of Mireille & Serge and Anne-Marie & Philippe.
 
Ron & Elizabeth.
 
 
Ron & Elizabeth HOWARD
 
Eliza B, Moody 36
 
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