Day 3 Monday 9/12

Woke up late (8:00 am) and went for a run.  There was more traffic on the road since it's a workday.  Today we plan to go to Libourne and St Emilion.  We are scheduled to meet with Fabian at 6:00pm for a wine tasting class set up by our host, Carol.  Any wines that we select from our tasting we can take to dinner with us.

Touring the city of St Emilion was breathtaking!  The view of the vineyards in all directions mixed with the ancient stoneworked walls (some still existing from the original 10th century construction)was stunning.

We toured the old church and walked along it's cobbled hallways.  I saw a statue of Joan D' Arc which intrigued me.  We discussed the statue with a local guide at the church and she told us that Joan D'Arc was so venerated in France that her statue was placed in most churches throughout the country, but Joan D'Arc had not been known to have travelled to this region. (more toward Rennes)

Tami found a linen store, "Les Dames d' Aquitaine" and sa Garnier Thibout brand of linens that she has wanted ever since seeing it at Epcot Cente in Disney World in 1978.  We had a nice conversation with the shop keeper who was so patient with our broken French.  We chatted about the linen and about living a simpler life;  one not surrounded by so many "things". The shopkeeper said that I was young, but in time would come to a less complicated life.

We met with Fabian as planned and the wine tasting and class was a great eye opening experience to how important wine is to the French and how tradtion and awareness of the land and pollutants plays a part in their ways of wine cultivation.

We learned about the different apellations within France, how wine growers must present thier wines each year to the jurande to maintain their inclusion in the appellation.  We also learned that Crus and Grande Crus maintain their distinction for 10 years.
  We alo learned that the roses at the end of the row of the vineyard will tell the farmer if the soil is sick or healthy.  If the roses start to die the vines will soon be affected within the week.

We left St Emillion and found a grocery store in Libourne and bought some provisions for dinner but since it was already after 10 pm, we decided just to drink our bottle of Esprit d'Eglise (Pomerol ) and snack on cheese, fruit, and bread;