This morning we had a shore excursion in Marseillan this morning, a visit to the nearby Noilly Prat Vermouth factory near the harbor. Apparently, Noilly Prat is a very well-known brand of vermouth. The tour was interesting with the process being much different from making wine. In fact, they use wine to make vermouth.
Lots of big barrels inside,
little barrels of wine baking in the sun outside,
and lots of herbs and spices used to make the vermouth.
We ended in the showroom where there was vermouth for tasting. Mary tried a couple of sips. Paul passed.
Photos around the harbor area of Marseillan.
A bronze art piece showing lines with oyster growing on them...like we saw out in the Etang.
We were on board by lunch time. Each course was a work of art. The main course included a lentil muffin for the vegetarians.
Photos of our cruise along the Canal du Midi. The entry was pretty open with few trees and some industrial areas along the sides.
During the cruise we entered the “Round Lock”. This was a very wide place in the canal and it allowed boats to rotate so that they could like up when entering one of several canals that entered the lock.
At one point we say a coypu, also called a nutria. This rodent originated in South America and was brought to France in the 19th century to raise for the fur trade. The trade collapsed and animals either escaped or were set free. Now they love the French waterways.
We had dinner on the upper deck. Lovely setting and the food was again a masterpiece.
Sunset on the canal.
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