It was a 20 minute drive to the village across the river, and into the Ardèche department, so we could attend the weekly market. Saint Péray is slightly larger than Tain, but what it has in common is wine.

Despite Mick’s concerns, I was able to find a great park and as we walked to the market area, it was obvious that some of the buildings were very different to those in Tain, where they are mostly rendered and often painted.

Reading the plaque and translating it with my limited French, it said “wise woman”. Mick and I wondered if it might be a sign for a fortune teller. But Google helped with the answer, that term refers to a mid-wife. A new French term for us today.

The markets were not huge, but they were in full swing. Here the two most popular stalls were a boutique boulangerie and a cheese producer. The lines were quite long and orderly. I joined one line at another stall to buy a cake of soap (as I am not partial to the liquid soap that is provided in most apartments and hotels), and just loved listening to how people ordered – a few dried prunes and then a handful of dried figs, but make them the white ones. And so on. And yes, that one stall holder was selling dried fruits, olives, nuts and soap!

Mick was happy to see the poissonnerie, but was reluctant at first to buy any oysters as they were more expensive than usual at €13,90 a dozen. I talked him into buying half a dozen, and just in time, as he bought the last six.

I loved this little van selling artisan beers. The name on the side of the truck was “Emotion’Ale”. Very clever.

We had a coffee in the little bar near the markets, and as is typical in most of these café / bars, it is fine to bring food from other retailers, such as the neighbouring boulangerie.

Spot the man in the back, enjoying an early morning glass of wine – sporting the same style as Mick, with his sweater over his shoulders. Très français!

We sat here for quite some time listening to the conversations of the locals and observing that here the cheek kissing (faire la bise) was a three kiss affair. It can differ depending on where you are.

Next stop was to taste some wine – bien sûr.

I had read months ago that we should visit Rémy Nodin, a young local wine maker based in Saint Péray. He is the fourth generation of this Domaine. The cellar door is located in a one-time fortified farmhouse dating back to the 12th Century.

We were the only ones there and we were met by a lovely young woman who could speak no English. But it worked; she was able to provide a page of notes (in English) on each of the wines Mick tasted. He tried the three whites including a sparkling wine called Ernest. It had been made using methode traditionale but was different to any he had tasted before because it was made from the grapes from Saint Péray, Marsanne (80%) and Roussanne (20%). Mick thought it would pair beautifully with the oysters tonight. He chose the bottle of Cornas from the three reds he tasted. It had been aged in oak barrels for 16 months on fine lees.

As we were paying for the two bottles, a man entered the tasting area. Mick was saying to the young woman how helpful the notes had been and she indicated that they had been the idea of Rémy Nodin – and pointed to the man. So of course I asked if I could take a photo, but she insisted on getting all three of us.

After lunch, I went for a walk to explore where we could charge the car tomorrow afternoon before we head off to the Southern Rhône on Friday for our next stop. (We will spend five days in Vaison-la-Romain.) I spotted this rare sight – an old Cadillac being driven along a small street in front of this factory that makes wood-fired pizza ovens.

This walk fortuitously took me straight past La Cité du Chocolat Valrhona – a very famous place in Tain that has nothing to do with wine.

This is one section of the display case where the more than 100 different handmade chocolates were displayed and where you could buy one to as many as you wanted. The price per kilogram was €106.63 ($175.50AUD)!. I would have bought Number 91 – with ginger had I not been so mean. Plus, I am trying to be ‘good’, as holiday eating and exercise regimes at the moment are not helping the waistline.

The first EV charging station I found was not going to be suitable. I was after a fast charger. My next destination took me across the pedestrian bridge (Passerelle Marc Seguin) to Toulon-sur-Rhône where there is a Château.

It is promoted as “one of the most beautiful castles in Ardèche”. It was built in several phases between the 14th and 16th centuries by the various lords of Tournon. In 1644 the castle was abandoned following the death of the last family member and converted into a prison, which only closed in 1926.

Directly across from the castle was this fabulous looking building – translated it means “Savings Bank”.

Later in the afternoon, Mick and I walked down to a bar called Vineum, in the centre of town which was open today. I had read that it was one of two places owned under the label of Paul Jaboulet Aîné where we could enjoy a glass of wine. The other place is called Bar Emphemere and is a very, very stiff walk to the top of Hermitage hill, near the Saint-Christophe chapel. Mick did not care how good the view was from up there looking down to the river. He said his knees would not allow it.

Here I had the best Condrieu (Viognier) so far, and Mick agreed. And then we went for broke and had a glass each of their two best wines. I reminded Mick that it was still way cheaper than buying a kilo of the chocolate I had seen afternoon.

Mick voted them both “outstanding” and the best red wines he has tasted in this region so far.

We had dinner at home – oysters and the Rémy Nodin bubbles, followed by trout and veggies with a glass of Hermitage.

We are definitely enjoying our stay here.