Saturday, March 9, 2024

 Saturday March 9, 2024

We had a tour planned with Francois to go to Chateauneuf  du Pape. He met us at 9:00AM. In 1309 The Pope lived in Rome Italy, he no longer wanted to stay in Rome due to rival clans, constant riots and uprisings. The choice of Avignon as a permanent residence was the result of politics. The Pope remained in residence in Avignon until 1378. There were 7 popes during that time period. The Chateauneuf du Pape was his summer residence during that time. The stately palace stood proudly on top of the hill until it was blown up by the Nazis as they left France during WW2. Now it is home to 300 wineries. The soil of the vinyard is unique in that it is all cobblestones. They were left there millions of years ago from glaciers coming down from Switzerland. They are unique to this region. The stones collect the heat from the sun all day and then keep the grapes warm all night long. How smart were they to use these cobblestones!



Francois give us a detailed way of tasting wine. Color, swirl,  smell, taste and then swallow. We tasted rosé, whites, and reds. We also tasted olive oil. 










We then went to another winery in the grotto right under the blown up palace. We tasted whites and reds. They were all good.



We got back in time before the skies opened up and it rained for the rest of the day. We went around the corner to a crepé place to get our lunch to go. We got 4 different types. Chicken, cheese, cordon blue, and Nutella and banana. They were really delicious.




It rained all day. We played 5 Crowns and watched a movie. We didn’t want to venture out in the rain for dinner, so we went just outside our door to the restaurant E.A.T. It was ok. Not the best
Meal of the trip! Too bad as it is very convenient.

Off to bed after another game of 5 Crowns. The score to date is:
Steve 3 Susie 1 Jeff 0  me -0.  I HATE THIS GAME!
 Bonne nuit!





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