October 11 - Sailing down the Rhone

Statue to M. Seguin

The most famous resident of Tournon is Marc Seguin.  He designed and built the first metal cable suspension bridge in Europe.  This bridge spanned the Rhone River in Tournon.  There is a plaque in his honour on the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  Equally famous for his engineering designs must have been the fact he had 18 children with two wives.  Of interest to us is the fact he is a distance relative of a good friend of ours Gilles Seguin of Ottawa. 

Suspension bridge designed by Seguin

This morning we went to a wine tasting in Tournon Castle.  The lady in charge of the tasting was an instructor in the prestigious Association de la Sommellerie Internationale.  She presented three different wines from the hills around Tournon.  All the wines were made from the Shiraz grapes. Most of us agreed that the best was a blend from the St. Georges area that she had blended herself.

Tournon Castle is large and its elevated position gives it an imposing appearance from the Rhone River.  Built between the fourteenth and sixteenth century, its architecture reflects the changes in styles between the medieval period and the beginning of the Renaissance.

The lords of Tournon lived in this castle. An inventory established in the seventeenth century, when the last descendant died, shows the importance of property possessed by that family. There was a library of some 800 volumes, hundreds of paintings, antique medals, marble statues and busts, tapestries and other objects many of which still are on display in the castle rooms.

Later the castle was turned into a prison.

On way back to the boat, we stopped in a local flea market in the town square. There didn't appear to anything that you couldn't find in any local flea market in Canada.

Our favourite waiter’s name is Ricardo.  We've been following him around like teen-aged groupies.  He is a thirty year old from Portugal.  He has provided us with tremendous service and has a great personality.  Sue and Dave have joked with him that he should have been their son and this has been on-going joke for the entire cruise. Joan is still not feeling very well, so Ricardo asked the kitchen to send her a hot drink of lemon juice, honey and garlic.  He said it was an old home remedy that had worked for him.

Sabina is his assistant.  She is a beautiful young lady with an infectious smile.  Our wine glasses are rarely empty with her around. Actually all the staff has been great.

Sue, Marg and Joan enjoying a drink

During the afternoon we sailed from Tournon on our way to Viviers. During the cruise, John & Ellen hosted a party in their cabin where we sampled different local liqueurs.  There was a peach liqueur, a chestnut liqueur and a cassis cherry liqueur.   It was way too sweet for my tastes.

Ellen, Dave and John enjoying a drink

The geography has continued to be very mountainous but the river valley is quite wide and plush. The hills are filled with vineyards.

For dinner tonight we both had Duck a la Orange.  For dessert we had Crepe Suzette.