(Pronounced – OM-pwoo-ee). And why Ampuis?

Because it is close to the start of the Northern Rhône Wine Region.)

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We were woken by the smell of freshly baking bread from the small bakery beside our hotel; it was wonderful. However it did not induce us to get up too early. We had breakfast included here and it was very tempting – with lots of pastries, of course, but also some interesting yogurt from the Alps. I tried a piece of the local Savoy cake I had seen in all the markets over the last two days, this one was gluten free, unsure if they all are, and it was a big disappointment. It was like a sponge with a hint of citrus and it really needed loads of cream.

Our check out time was midday – very civilised for a Sunday we thought. And as we had two spare hours we headed off to visit the Musée des Beaux Arts.

The collection was quite small, but there were a few pieces that caught my eye.

The statue of the Virgin Mary was one of three statues of the Virgin Mary, each depicting a different pose, was made for a Chambéry hospital in the early 18th Century. The three were classified as historical monuments in 1911 and were installed in the city’s museum when the hospital was demolished. But then comes the drama – all three were stolen in 1979 and only this one was found, in Italy in 2016, and returned to Chambéry in 2018. A great story.

The painting on the right was painted by Xavier de Maistre – the younger brother in the statue from yesterday that we saw in front of the Castle. He obviously was very talented.

And my absolute favourite was this one, painted by Henri Gervex in the early 20th Century.

We almost had Chambéry to ourselves this morning. Being a Sunday, most things were closed, and that posed a problem about where we might buy something for dinner tonight as we were booked into an apartment in Ampius.

We were booked on a train, with first class tickets, from Chambéry to Lyon Part Dieu, and we’re pleasantly surprised to find that it left on time and arrived exactly on time. We were a little early to collect our hire car, so I left Mick and the bags near the hire car place and I walked to the only small supermarket (Vival), about 400m away, and bought us some goodies for dinner.

Then a few issues arose regarding our electric car. It was not fully charged – only 68% – but we decided we could cope with that as we were not going too far tonight. It took almost 40 minutes to get the paperwork completed. Then we needed to catch the elevator to the 6th floor of the car parking station – yes, the 6th floor !! – to pick up our car. Getting out was a challenge and I said to Mick that I needed a stiff drink after negotiating that.

Another challenge was that the MG car we were allocated did not have bluetooth access for Apple phones. We needed a cable. Tomorrow – as everything was closed.

But with Mick’s help, and with my iPhone, we were able to avoid tolls and drive from Lyon to Ampius. The last half of the trip was gorgeous as we travelled alongside the Rhône River, but there was nowhere to stop for a photo.

Once settled into our accommodation for the night, with the car safely parked, I headed out for a look around the little village, as I’d read there was a castle here. I have borrowed this next photo from the E. Guigal website.

Nearby I found the Rhône. I was looking back towards the château.

Ampuis has fewer than 3,000 people, but we were very happy to being staying somewhere quiet.

This is the central square in the township, and across the small roads from here are essential shops and businesses, like a restaurant, a bar, a boulangerie and a newsagency. And, I also spotted two EV charging stations. Phew

I was keen to take a closer look at the vineyards just behind where we are staying. It is obvious that autumn has well and truely arrived. All the grapes have been picked here, unlike in Barbaresco when we were there last week.

I recognised a few names on this hill, but not all of them. The Côte Rôtie is the coolest Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC)*, and the wines grown here on the slopes near the river are shielded from the Mistral winds.

*AOC – sets the rules on all French wines.

Tomorrow we are booked into a wine tasting near Condrieu. We are hoping to learn a lot about the Northern Rhône wines over the next few days. Our destination is Tain l’Hermitage where will base ourselves for this important research.