Blogs from Uzès, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Europe

€There was a little drama in our arrival at L'Autre Maison involving an impossibly narrow, winding lane, concern about side mirrors and an ultimately harrowing reversing exercise. As I suspect we were completely blocking access to his house, we were helped by a lovely old man who spoke no English but walked alongside the car until we were safely on the left fork in the lane, rather than the right. I eventually pulled the car up at an impossibly gorgeous Mairie (town hall) in a little place which seemed too small to actually warrant having one. At once, springing down the steps came what looked like a nimble, red-headed Irishman. In fact, it was our very French host, Benoît. So much for stereotypes! The welcome we received immediately let us know something special was in store. ... read more

Hi All Finally found the time to write the next bit - it is hard work being on holidays! For our overnight stay in Provence we headed to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie via Gordes, both very pretty towns. Gordes is a monument in stone - walls, houses, with some very nice houses and gardens perched on cliffs that we noticed were propped up underneath with massive pillars. I don’t think I would feel secure living in those, though the views would be magnificent. Then onto Moustiers which is built into a cliff wall with a monastery perched above it - a good climb that really got the heart rate going! We had one of our nicest meals here (fine dining). Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is very close to the Verdon Gorges, known here in France as Europe’s Grand Canyon. The gorge really ... read more

It is amazing how infectious someone who loves life can be. The colourful and eccentric Peta made us all laugh a little harder and let go of some of our inhibitions for a while. For someone who had sounded a bit frightened about planning a market tour which included four adults and five children, she soon settled into her new role as Mother Hen, and our tour became something the children rated as one of their "Top Ten" holiday things to do. We had been keen to visit the market after talking to Brad and Jane, and my correspondence with Peta over the months before our trip resulted in us settling on a market tour so that we could buy what we needed for a picnic at Carcassonne Castle. "You'll have to go very early", Peta ... read more

Sundays are lazy days for us. After driving for two days we always look forward to rising and eating late and spend the day just looking around the house and gardens. Our investigations began by looking at the swimming pool attached to our property. We had been assured it was nice and I looked forward to using it during the fortnight as it was still hot enough to swim. It was empty of water but instead full of leaves and mud. The owners assured me that it had only just broken down and would be repaired shortly however it didnt take a genius to work out it had been out of order for some time. I held out no hope of it being repaired whilst we were there. The gardens though were pretty full of lavender ... read more

Here we are in the South of France. Having picked up Cousin Carol qt St Exupéry airport at Lyon (She flew in from Vancouver; we were enroute from Annecy to St Gervais). Now we are all 5 staying in a converted coach house from the 16th or 17th century in the small town of St Gervais near Bagnols (just across the river Rhone from Orange). There is no access to internet there so today I grabbed the opportunity at Uzès, little Medieval town near Pont du Gard which we just visited. Robin and I had been there in 1992, but it is such a thrill to see this magnificent aqueduct 2000 years old! 50 netres high, it carried fresh water from Uzès to Nimes (15km). Food, wine, and coffee all continue to be excellent. I will ... read more