A Day in Sion

Sion is a city in the Rhone Valley established first by the Romans over 2000 years ago. It's a beautiful old city over-looked by a basillica and the ruins of a castle from the early middle ages. From the point of the cliff where the castle stands you have an unobstructed view of the Rhone Valley, which was carved by an ancient glacier. The glacier also created the basin where Lake Geneva is now located and the Rhone River feeds the lake today. Over the centuries countless armies have traveled north-south routes through the Rhone Valley including such military luminaries as Hannibal (with his elephants) and Napoleon. The hillsides of the valley are covered with vineyards on terraces that were started by the Romans and expanded by the Catholic monks who controlled the wine industry for the church. The pictures included with this post are of the Rhone Valley, the vineyards and the castle.