DAY 22 24 June Viviers - Châteauneuf-du-Pape

We did enjoy a very SLOW walking tour of Viviers that included a lovely organ recital in the town’s cathedral.  Unfortunately a number of people in our group should have been in the actual slow walking group.

Elizabeth on the parapet of the Belvedere Chateauxvieux. It was an easy climb up from the fountain given the speed of the group..

We had a lovely organ recital in the Cathedral of St. Vincent who is the patron saint of wine. It is the smallest cathedral in France still in operation and was founded in the 12th Century. They usually have French Gobelin tapestries from the end of the 18th Century up on the walls, but they are currently being restored. In 1974 the four tapestries were stolen; three have been recovered, while the fourth is in private hands.

We visited a lavender museum and then drove through the Ardèche National Park and saw the canyon that canoeists and kayakers used; we had a good view of Viviers as a hilltop medieval village.

Below, fields of lavender zooming past from the bus.

Inside the lavender museum they explained and demonstrated how the lavender oil is distilled. The sheep is less of a sheep and more of a seat.

 Apparently you do not water lavender at all and it seems to grow in very shallow soils. They also were infested with unwanted moths from Africa but they don't eat the lavender.  It used to be once a very labour intensive industry, but mechanisation has replaced the need for harvesting with sickles and children. They had child-sized sickles on display. Our host seemed to be disappointed that they were no longer used. Elizabeth tried the lavender ice-cream which was a little like cinnamon, with overtones of honey. Our host listed the numerous benefits of lavender, so many that it made lavender seem like the next "Windex".

The image below was downloaded as we could not get a view from the bus.

Our cabin steward Lusisa made the best towel animal we have ever seen, she used several items from our room to decorate it with Elizabeth's book and sun visor, complete with wineglass and do not disturb sign.