The Lirac Wine Country and on to Avignon
A perfect final day of cycling. The final night was a time to dress for a farewell dinner and sing around our guide Thibault who sat down at the hotel's grand piano.
Time to pack for our morning TGV train to Paris.
Roadboy's Travels © 2019
We began Day 5 with a great breakfast at our hotel La Magnaneraie (the silkworms). Before setting out for our daily ride.
Our ride today was kind of wonderful. We cycled across the wide Rhone and through lush vineyards in full harvest. There were some some crews picking grapes by hand by day although we were soon to learn that most of the harvest is done from 3 am to sunrise using large harvesting machines. Harvesting in the cool of the morning delivers grapes that are chilled preserving crispness and avoiding premature fermentation.
La Magnaneraie
Our ride today was kind of wonderful. We cycled across the wide Rhone and through lush vineyards in full harvest. There were some some crews picking grapes by hand by day although we were soon to learn that most of the harvest is done from 3 am to sunrise using large harvesting machines. Harvesting in the cool of the morning delivers grapes that are chilled preserving crispness and avoiding premature fermentation.
Our first stop was at a local Tavel winery for a walk in a vineyard accompanied by a lesson on the Avignon vineyards including the famous local appellation Chateauneuf-du-Pape. the walk was followed by a tasting of the winery's renowned light dry rose wines.
The Rhone Valley vineyards were a passion of the Avignon Popes as early as 1308 with many featuring the use of the large smooth quartzite galets (pebbles) in the northern vineyards that cover the clay soil. The "pebbles" collect heat during the day, releasing it at night hastening the ripening of the grapes. They also retain moisture in the soil during the dry summer months when the local Mistral winds would otherwise over dry the land.
Tavel Vineyard Tour
After our wine tasting we were treated to picnic lunch at the winery. Sated, it was time to continue our ride up into the higher elevations through vineyards filled with pebbles.
Vineyards Using Galets "Pebbles" to Cover the Soil
The ride ended on a hill with a spectacular view of the Popes palace and Castle St. Andre. The separation of power is evidence as each is on one side of the Rhone from the other. One side was controlled by the church and the other by the king. The French Revolution ultimately took all of the churches and ended the monarchy using the guillotine.
Upon arriving at the hotel we decided to venture to a nearby cafe for a dinner of crepes. My savory dinner crepe was filled with scallops and cheese. The desert crepe was a sweet liquor infused delight I could not really translate right. But, who cares. it was great.
A View of Avignon's Papal Palace (left) and Villenueve's Castle St. Andre (right)
Having glimpsed Avignon from the hills, our last day of cycling took us past the famous "Broken Bridge" and directly into Avignon itself for a walking tour of the Papal City followed by lunch at Avignon's Les Halles Market.
Avignon was pretty crowded as it is an extremely popular stop to passengers on the various river cruise lines, and the city was a focus for students participating in the global warming protest. We quickly realized how overrun it Avignon can be and continued our ride through the large adjoining parks and on to Castle St, Andre in Villeneuve.
Avignon and the "Broken" Bridge
St. Joan of Arc in Eglise St. Pierre
Walking the Walls at Villeneuve's Castle St. Andre
Abbey of St. Andre
A perfect final day of cycling. The final night was a time to dress for a farewell dinner and sing around our guide Thibault who sat down at the hotel's grand piano.
Time to pack for our morning TGV train to Paris.
Roadboy's Travels © 2019
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