Today is going to be a little hectic, we have a wine tour in the afternoon but in the morning both Melanie and Robyn wanted to go to the Notre Dame de Fourviere Basilica. Last night the AC had not been turned on in the hotel because it has been cooler. Robyn was not happy, our room became "The Room of Sighs", there was just a lot of huffing and puffing. I was comfortable in the room and slept fine, thankfully it was cool in the morning and for once we woke up without rain. The rain really has been devastating central Europe with floods and the Rhone river appears to be higher.

We started the day by taking the metro over to Vieux Lyon (or old Lyon) and then taking a funicular up to Fourviere. As soon as we got out of the funicular there was a street musician playing the accordion. Of course Melanie had to have a picture with, so I paid him two Euros to pose with her. One of may favorite lines from a 1981 movie called "My Favorite Year" is "There are two people in the world, those that can tell a joke and those that play the accordion."

A few fun facts about Lyon. Lyon is sometimes referred to as little Paris, It sits at the confluence of the Rhone and Soane rivers, and was founded by the Romans in 43 bc. The initial settlement was built on Fourviere hill, the Notre Dame de Fourviere Basilica was finished in 1884 on the top of Fourviere where the Roman forum once existed. As Basilica's go in Europe this one is not that old, however I will admit it is very beautiful inside and more inviting than average catholic cathedral. Near the Basilica is a replica of the top third of the Eiffel Tower which is used as a communications tower. On the opposite side sits the remains of a Roman arena which has been partially renovated and is still currently used for concerts. From the plaza to the sides of the Basilica there vantage points that provide stunning views of Lyon.

After the fun of visiting the Fourviere and the Basilica, we started heading over to where we were to meet for the wine tour. The meeting place was at the Tourism Office at the Place Bellacour. We found Bellacour and a sign pointing towards the tourism office which sent us walking all over the square, we finally had to go into a hotel and ask where the tourism office was located. Our tour group was being led by a young man named Olivier, there was an older couple from North Carolina and two young men around Melanie's age from Pittsburgh. One of the Pittsburgh guys was actually working in Slovakia. I like these smaller tours because you get to know the people you are traveling with. The plan was to go to two winery's and get a tour of the operation and then start the important part tasting the wine. On the way to the first winery, Olivier took us to Vienne which is another city that sits on an old Roman settlement. This is a very hilly area of France and what Olivier explained was that when the Roman's settled in the area they planted vineyards to make wine. Due to the hills the vineyards had to be supported by stone walls so the grape vines would have a spot to grow. The Gauls who lived in the area had previously only produced a type of beer to drink, they adopted this process because they liked the taste of the wine. A little history about drinking, until sewage treatment became a possibility, water from rivers was not drunk. If well water was not available, beer or wine were consumed by all ages because the alcohol killed any bacteria.According to Olivier the stone walls built by the Romans still hold up many of the vineyards in this region today. However after WW II many of the vineyards were abandoned and overgrown with trees until about 30 years ago when new winery's bought the old properties and started re-growing the grapes. When they cleared the land many of the walls were still there but just needed some rebuilding. Because of where the grapes grow against the sides of hills everything is done by hand, it is a lot of hard manual work. When we got to the first winery Robyn was carsick and didn't do much but sit there. She wasn't going to be drinking any wine because it gives her migraines. So Melanie and I continued with the tour of seeing the vats used to make the wine, the process of squeezing the grapes, and which grapes are blended together to make the various types of wine. Then we went into the barrel room where 2015 vintages were being aged. Olivier explained that 2015 is considered a premium year for wine all across France. The weather was ideal and the grapes regardless of type are yielding a very fine wine. He said 2016 is turning into a bad year, most of the Beaujolais crop was destroyed by hail (which is a rarity in France) and the rest of France has been receiving too much rain. Because of this the French locals will be buying up all available bottles of 2015 and not much will be exported. The 2015 wine that is exported will be expensive. We went back to the tasting room and tasted two fantastic whites (and I normally don't like white wine) and four superb reds. Melanie bought a bottle and the Pittsburgh guys bought two bottles. When we left this winery Robyn finally felt better so things were looking up. At the second winery we had to walk up a set of stone stairs to get to the vineyards and the tasting room. The winery had a golden retriever and a tabby cat that were greeting us. The cat was hysterical, she would come bounding down the stairs to greet each person and then follow us back up. Of course Melanie went nuts as she found a new friend. The owner of the winery (actually one of the sons) gave us a explanation of how they tend to the vine plants, and how they harvest them. He said his family bought the land in 1990 and started clearing forest away to reveal the areas where the grapes had previously been grown. They rebuilt the Roman walls and replanted new grape vines. It is grueling work because we were on at least a 10 percent grade. After that it was off to the tasting. The Pittsburgh guys had stopped at a market before coming on the tour and bought a bunch of cheese, sausage, bread, and duck pate and they spread it out and we had a party. Sipping wine, eating cheese and pate, wow what a day. Some of the cheese was to the stronger end, one was a blue cheese and the other was like a mild beer barrel brick. My family will know what I am talking about with the brick, it will stink but the taste is very mild. The two Pittsburghites were a little leery at the cheeses, but I told them to trust me on this these were really good and tasty cheeses. I think Olivier was having the best time of all snacking on the cheeses and sausage, he couldn't drink because he was driving but he could eat. When all was done I bought a bottle of white 2015 vintage that is one of the best wines I have every drunk. When we got back to Lyon it was after 7:30, and as usual when traveling with Melanie and Robyn there are discussions (i.e arguments) that go on for ever about where we are going to eat. At times that is just my life. Tomorrow we lose Melanie as it is time for her to start her journey back to the states.