Saint-Emilion

Saint-Emilion. We've been looking forward to visiting this town and its well-regarded wines. In contrast to Libourne with its center square and streets on a grid, Saint-Emilion is located on a hill with steep and narrow streets. Even with a map it was confusing. Its history goes back to prehistoric times and the Romans planted vineyards here in the 2nd century. It was renamed after the monk Emilion from the 8th century. He settled in a hermitage carved into a rock. The monks who followed him began the commercial wine production in the area. Today the town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our local guide gave us a brief tour of the town including the Collegiate Church and Cloisters. Then we set off to sample the wine. We found a little open air bar. Ron has been studying French on Duolingo. He ordered us a bottle of wine and four glasses. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed the sunshine and the wine. The streets were confusing but we just headed downhill towards the river to our ship.Read more