Announcer: Welcome to "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope," where you join us as we accept the world's invitation to visit.

Sante!

Sante!

[Cheering] Rosendo: Today on "Travelscope," I explore France's Rhone Valley.

an ancient land with a rich heritage, dynamic towns, picturesque villages, and spectacular food and wine.

Announcer: "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope" is made possible by Emerald Waterways.

It's been said that if experience is the best teacher, then travel is the best experience.

River cruising seeks to immerse travelers deep within a culture while moving gently through it.

With Emerald Plus, in-depth cultural experiences are included on every European cruise.

Emerald Waterways.

And No-Jet-Lag jet lag prevention.

Rosendo: The second longest river in France, the Rhone begins its 500-mile journey to the sea and the Swiss Alps, crossing into France after it flows through Lake Geneva on its southward journey to the Mediterranean.

My Rhone Valley adventure begins near where the Rhone meets the Saone and the wine region of Beaujolais brushes up against the vineyards of Rhone wines just 25 miles from Lyon in the town of Bois.

The rocky, limestone foundation give Beaujolais a terroir that imparts a spicy, floral flavor to its famous wines.

The red Beaujolais can only be Gamay grapes, and they have to be picked by hand.

There are more than 200 wineries in the Beaujolais area.

60 of them allow visitors to sample the wines and learn about the wines, but, of course, you can enjoy Beaujolais wine in one of the area's many famous restaurants.

Bois has been recognized as a beautiful village of France, an official designation which honors villages that preserve their town's charm, heritage, and viability.

More than 150 villages have been so named.

Many French villages were lost to posterity until locals revived their prosperity.

The walled city of Viviers in the southern Rhone is in the process of recovering its historic, old town's past glory.

Abandoned since 1950, the medieval village of Saint-Montan enlisted the passions of local artists and artisans in order to resuscitate their town.

In the case of Bois, as part of the Golden Stone region of Beaujolais, the hometown effort created a village that literally glows.

The ochre-colored villages of the Beaujolais countryside lend a warmth and calm to the landscape.

In fact, this part of the Rhone Valley is called the Golden Stone region of Beaujolais.

It's the iron-rich limestone that gives towns like Bois their particular glow.

Rosendo: Yeah.

This is a beautiful, little town.

It's a little paradise.

Yeah.

Yes.

It certainly is.

Here we are in what is basically the center of Beaujolais, and you were teaching me that there's a green Beaujolais where the forest starts, blue Beaujolais along the river, Mm.

red Beaujolais connected to The wine.

du vin, and the golden Beaujolais.

It's a tiny place in Beaujolais where you can find those houses made of that yellow stone.

The reconstruction of this town started about 50 years ago.

What was it that motivated people who lived here to make the effort to preserve the past?

We want to show our heritage to the tourists, sure, but also for-- for our children.

We want to show the traditional house where people used to make wine or weavers or even farmers.

We kept a--a nice style to show the heritage.

Rosendo, voice-over: From the picturesque villages of the Golden Stone region, I traveled to Little Paris-- Lyons, France's second city located on the confluence of the Rhone and the Saone rivers.

While Lyons may be one of France's major cities, its historic landmarks and colorful neighborhoods can generally be visited by bike or on foot.

The 19th-century basilica built to rival Paris' Sacre-Coeur stands on Fourviere Hill, the site of Lyons' founding Roman settlement of 43 B.C.

The Romans were in what is now France since Julius Caesar, and evidence of their presence can be found throughout the Rhone Valley.

From Lyons to Vienne, from the Pont du Gard to Arles, remnants remain of their settlements.

Here in Lyons, the Roman amphitheater dates back to 15 B.C., and there's a museum here that highlights Lyons' Roman roots.

Back in its day, this Roman theater would seat 10,000 people up here on these hills.

This was a place for entertainments like plays and music and those kinds of performances.

The Roman theater continues to serve Lyons in that fashion today.

There are festivals and concerts and performances that take place here throughout the year.

Lyons' 16th-century Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Anchored by the Cathedral Saint-Jean, its cobblestone streets make it a good time to park the bike and wander by foot.

Cafes and restaurants abound, and I meander through the neighborhood using the historic traboules, covered passageways that were a weatherproof way for silk merchants to transport their goods from weaver to buyer.

When you're following the path of the weavers here in Lyon, you end up eventually in a bouchon, which is a traditional restaurant serving what was peasant food.

Now, of course, in a restaurant like this, Daniel & Denise, it's become gourmet dishes, and, you know, this harkens back to the days where they made the most out of what they had, so there's tripe, and there's internal organs that are part of these dishes, and they've, uh, changed and modified them a bit for the modern palate but very in character with the Lyonnaise, and when you're in a restaurant kitchen, you got to keep your wits about out.

There's always something going on.

Ah, the chef's specialty-- pate en croute.

That's duck liver and sweetbreads.

You know, Lyon is considered the culinary capital of France.

As you can see, eating is a favorite pastime, so it may be wild and wooly in the kitchen, but that's because it's packed out here.

Sante.

Sante.

Rosendo, voice-over: The Lyonnaise say that Fourviere is the hill that prays, and across the Saone, La Croix-Rousse is the hill that works.

In the 19th century, there were more than 25,000 silk looms in the neighborhood.

A few are still operating.

In the 1750s, Lyon was the capital of weaving, at least in Europe.

How many small factories like this were they here in the Croix-Rousse neighborhood?

Um, there were more than 10, 000 families.

10,000, and how many looms would there be in one of these factories?

4, um, even 5 looms.

It's like listening to a musical instrument, the bells going on and the clanking back and forth.

You could hear all this music from the streets, and it was normal.

This was the weavers' music.

Can you explain to me what she's doing?

She's pushing down the pedal that can make all the mechanisms work.

Upstairs is a translator to the program which makes a pattern.

With the shuttle, she go to the right, to the left and make, uh, the weaving.

After, with the bar, she will go up and then again and make it very tight.

How long would it take to make, let's say, a 5x7 tapestry or something like that?

Depends on the patterns, the colors, how many traits we need.

Some fabrics can be made in days, another in months, uh, even years.

And this is wonderful to be able to still come here to Lyons, partake in one of the historic crafts of the city, and listen to the music of the loom.

Thank you.

Merci beaucoup, madame.

Rosendo, voice-over: As the Rhone weaves its way south from Lyons, at every stop along the way, there's another story to tell.

Vienne's tale dates back to pre-Christian times as a Gallic capital, a Roman colony, and part of the Kingdom of Provence.

50 years before Lyons was founded, the Roman presence was literally monumental, and its strategic location made it a major center for north-south transportation and trade.

A little-known fact is that the Acadians-- the original settlers of New France, also known as Canada-- originally came from this area.

It's easy to see where their joie de vivre-- their love of life, food, and drink--comes from.

de Gaulle famously said, "How can you govern a country that has 426 different cheeses?"

but there's many more different cheeses now in France, right?

Yeah.

Some people say 1,000.

And, of course, a little wine to go with it.

Sante.

Sante.

Ah, now, this is local.

What is it?

What is this?

Local wine, uh, organic wine.

It is, um, grape variety Viognier.

And you have a wonderful selection of local cheeses.

Oui?

Yes.

Of course.

OK. We've got, um-- Take the spoon.

Ha ha!

I'll take this one.

I'll--I'll get too much of it.

Saint-Felicien.

This is the cow.

Yes.

That's cow and really creamy cheese.

Mm!

Oh, my gosh, it's so rich, so wonderful, um, and this, too?

That's Saint-Marcellin.

That is same making, but without cream.

Without cream?

Now, how did you get into cheeses yourself?

It was, uh, 40 years ago.

Mm-hmm.

I was coming back from India, and I was looking for a job.

So you made cheeses.

Yes, during 6 years.

Yeah.

And this one?

[Indistinct] so the same place as the wine.

Oh, so these should match very nicely.

Yeah.

Of course.

Mm.

Well, I've learned so much today, and every time when I come back, I always learn again how wonderful, warm, and welcoming the French people are.

Thank you very much.

Merci beaucoup.

Sante.

Rosendo, voice-over: In 2010, UNESCO named the French gastronomic meal an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It is described as a festive meal bringing people together to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking.

La Pyramide's chef Patrick Henriroux shows me how he keeps this tradition alive.

Ah, so this is our first local pride.

Yes.

What are we making?

It's also local pride.

[Speaking French] MM-hmm.

Oh, good.

This is excellent.

It's Cote-Rotie, which is, uh, up in the northern part of the Rhone Valley.

[Speaking French] He said, "This is the flower of the salt," and this comes from the Camargue, which is where the Rhone empties out into the Mediterranean.

[Speaking French] Uh-huh.

Here comes the pullet, and you get the smell that's just absolutely wonderful already coming off of this.

It's fantastic.

What a wonderful, simple dish, so many different flavors and texture.

Everything on this plate is local, even the flowers and, of course, the chef that's creating it.

The emulsion of the local cheese.

[Speaks French] Garlic flowers.

Caramelized olives now as a final touch.

Wine... And the cheese.

and the cheese.

It's a good association... Ah, a good association.

and biggest portion for you.

Ah, merci.

One of the pleasures of my job is to sample.

Mm-mm.

Delicieux.

Merci.

Thank you.

Mm mm mm.

Rosendo, voice-over: A journey down the Rhone between Lyons and Arles is like stepping into the past.

Along the watery trail, you pass an ageless landscape with ancient castles and historic villages whose histories stretch back to pre-Roman time.

A castle worth noting is Chataeuneuf-du-Pape, literally the new castle of the pope Clement V one of the 7 popes of Avignon.

30 minutes west of Avignon, the town of Uzes is famous for many things, but what it is loved for is its Saturday market.

Rosendo: Are these local cherries?

Man: Uh, yes, very brief, from, uh, uh, 7 kilometers.

Rosendo: Market day is a tradition throughout France.

It's where you get the produits du terroirs, the local specialties, including the people who live here.

Now, the Saturday market here at Uzes is a department store, a grocery store, and a flower mart all rolled into one.

The early bird gets the sights, the scents, and the scenes without the crush.

Rosendo: Maybe I'll have some of those.

Oui.

Just anything?

Yeah, a little bit of everything for me to eat here in the market, just--just a little.

OK.

So these are from Lyons?

Lyons' is black olives.

Ah, OK, but these are local olives.

Yeah.

Ok.

These are garlic?

Garlic and balsamic.

Perfect.

Ah, merci.

Merci beaucoup.

Ah, bonjour.

Bonjour, monsieur.

Do you make these yourself?

Yeah.

I make them.

Yeah.

I need the, uh-- the whole alphabet train.

The alphabet like this?

Yeah--I think so-- for my grandchildren.

I give you two trains and two carriages.

You have two hearts, as well, inside, like this.

Ah, how sweet.

Yes, and that's 5 extra letters.

I put it inside.

Oh, merci beaucoup.

Are you-- How long have you been coming here to this market?

17 years.

Why?

What--what do you like about this market?

Well, I mean, it is interesting market.

Uh, there's nice clients, uh... People from all over the world?

Lots of money.

Ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha!

That's a good reason.

That's a good reason.

France is a country of flavors.

You can see them here.

That's what's so wonderful about it.

Ah, very good.

Ah, merci.

This is the herbs of Provence, and this is a marinade of Provence.

I think, uh, put them both together and mix them up and have a wonderful meal.

I'm gonna get some of those.

[Speaking French] A teaspoon of this and two of olive oil, mix it all together, use it as a marinade for poisson, for fish, for-- for the meats, for whatever, barbecue grill.

It's like the, uh, solution to all of your cooking problems right here in this little bag.

Bonjour, bonjour.

Bonjour.

I know the area is famous for olives.

Would you like to taste?

Yeah.

I would, actually, so--so first of all, that's the olive branch.

Yes.

This is our olivier because we are olive forever, and this is our olive oil sales branch... OK. Good.

so this one is make it black olives... Black olives.

and then we will taste one with green ones, so the black one are really smooth, so everyday use.

Yeah.

It's really-- Oh, it's very creamy.

And the famous one, the Picholine, the local variety-- more grassy, and you have such a flavor.

Everything's olive oil here, Yeah.

so it's good for you on the outside and good for you one the inside.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Here you are.

There you are.

Ha ha ha!

Rosendo, voice-over: The spring water that nourishes the olive trees of Uzes once fed the aqueducts of the Roman Empire.

The Pont du Gard, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a beautiful remnant of this ancient water delivery system and a backdrop for water's recreational attributes.

Pont du Gard is quite a gift that the Romans left us, what, almost 2,000 years now, right?

2,000 years ago.

You know that "pont," it's the French word for bridge, but when it was built, it was an aqueduct, and it is just a section of the aqueduct of Nimes which measured 31 miles.

Water was kept in Uzes, 15 kilometers north from here, and then was canalized all the way down to Nimes.

What level was carrying the water?

The Pont du Gard is 3 bridges, one on top of the other.

The first one is there just to support the second one, and the second one is there to support the aqueduct, so-- Ah, we have a lot of wonderful things antiquity has left us, but many of them was ruined.

Why is this beautiful thing still here after all these millennia?

The Pont du Gard is just a piece of a system which included 17 bridges.

The others are, unfortunately, ruins today.

Mm-hmm.

Why?

Because in the Middle Ages, this one was used by the people who were living here.

You can still see people using it as a road today, so what kind of effort has gone into the preservation?

It's France, the local authorities, so the department of the region, and then, of course, it's the people.

I mean, French people, European people, we are aware of our heritage.

We feel these monuments like our history.

C'est magnifique.

Vive la France.

Rosendo, voice-over: Equal in fame to the Pont du Gard is the Pont d'Avignon.

In fact, to many, Avignon is synonymous with the French children's song that celebrates dancing on the foreshortened bridge, yet it's the intrigues surrounding the establishment of the Catholic popes and antipopes in Avignon during the 14th century and their massive popes palace that captures visitors' imagination.

Avignon has many attractions.

You know, there its beautiful location on the Rhone River.

Then there's the life in the city, Clock Square with the carousel and cafes and--and then you come into this, the popes palace, it's a fairly quiet, dead place.

It was built during the Middle Ages.

The pope left Rome for political reasons, and they decided to settle here, so during one century the city became the second Rome.

This is kind of a difficult concept for people to understand.

There were popes here, but none in Rome.

All the papacy was here, Right.

and for the two last popes, because we had 9 popes who lived here during 100 years, you had at the same time one pope in Rome, one pope in Avignon, so it makes this story a little bit special.

Sounds like an Italian movie, and that's what really give Avignon its fame.

Now, what happened to all the furniture and all the tapestries?

When the pope decided to go back in Rome, he took everything with him, so that's why we don't have anything.

But the walls are still here, and it's still a landmark for obvious reasons.

Yes, and you can see this place from all the surroundings.

Rosendo, voice-over: After more than 100 years, in 1403, the papacy returned exclusively to Rome, and Avignon's pope palace lay bare.

Today it reigns as a city symbol, and, as a festival and classical music venure, its rooms are filled once again with heavenly sounds.

The Rhone was once navigated by coches d'eau, water coaches pulled from the banks by men or horses.

Arles, a major port on the Rhone since the days of Julius Caesar, was so important to the Romans, it was called the Little Rome of Gauls.

Anne, when was this built?

It was inaugurated in 10 years after the construction of the Roman Colosseum, that is to say, 90 in the first century.

Wow.

Oh, my gosh, so is this the entrance for the gladiators?

Oh, just right this way.

This is the vomitorium.

Vomitorium?

Yes, because the Latin word "to vomit" means evacuate.

Vomitorium.

Wow.

Now is this where they had the gladiators?

As Nero said, to the people, give them bread and games, and they would not think about rebelling against the empire.

It looks like they're still having games here.

Sure.

They have.

Yes.

The main show is bull games.

They are called courses camarguaises.

Nobody dies.

They take the flag off the bull's horn.

That's right.

This is the most famous show.

These are the remains of the decoration of the Roman theater.

When was this built?

20 B.C.

under the reign of Augustus.

He wanted to honor the memory of his great-uncle Julius Caesar.

OK. Oh, my gosh, look at this.

The monuments in this town are amazing.

Arles is the second city after Rome to have the biggest number of still-standing Roman monuments.

Merci beaucoup.

Je vous en prie.

Rosendo, voice-over: While artist Vincent van Gogh only lived in Arles for a year in 1888, his name is forever linked with the city.

The van Gogh walking trail markers lead you through town to the sites of a few of the wealth of paintings and drawings he created in Arles and during his stay in Saint-Paul-de-la-Mausole in nearby Saint-Remy.

In 1889, about two months after the ear-slicing incident in Arles, Vincent van Gogh checked himself into the psychiatric hospital here in Saint-Paul-de-la-Mausole.

He was at the hospital for about a year and, in one of the most productive periods of his life, created more than 250 paintings and drawings, replicas of many of the paintings on display here at the hospital.

He came for peace, quiet, serenity, and healing, and it seemed to work in the short term, yet within a year of leaving the hospital, he was dead at his own hands.

It is an honor to walk in his footsteps here at the hospital and in the town of Arles.

Thank you for joining me on my French Rhone Valley adventure.

On its 500-mile journey to the sea, the Rhone River is a pathway to experiences that embrace the grandeur of the past and the glory of a moment.

From ancient ruins to monumental masterpieces and modern cities to a bird's song, the breeze in the trees, and a starry, starry night, a mosaic of possibilities capture our attention, excite our imagination, and inspire our lives, and at a time when the world seems to be coming apart at the seams, the French expression "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose"-- "the more things change, the more they remain the same"-- rings true, for indeed, the more important things-- family, love, beauty, and France--remain the same.

Vive le France.

Until next time, this is Joseph Rosendo reminding you of the words of Mark Twain-- "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Happy traveling.

Announcer: "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope" is made possible by Emerald Waterways.

It's been said that if experience is the best teacher, then travel is the best experience.

River cruising seeks to immerse travelers deep within a culture while moving gently through it.

With Emerald Plus, in-depth cultural experiences are included on every European cruise.

Emerald Waterways.

And No-Jet-Lag jet lag prevention.

For a DVD of today's show, or any of Joseph's "Travelscope" adventures, call 888-876-3399 or order online at Travelscope.net.

You can also e-mail us at TV@Travelscope.net or write us at the address on your screen.

Rosendo: Now that we've explored the Rhone Valley together, learn more at Travelscope.net, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my e-magazine, blog, podcast, and on Facebook.

Stay in touch--888-876-3399 or TV@Travelscope.net.

This is a black olive?

It's kind of a brown olive.

Yes, but for me, it's very black.

Ha ha ha!

And how many different kinds of olives are in here?

You have 5... All 5?

5, but inside, you don't have the same, uh, percentage.

It's like Bordeaux-- 5 different grapes, different percentages.