UZES AND PROVENCE

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Monday, Sept 17, 2012 - Our last stop in the Loire, Gien, for faiance pottery, had to be cancelled - our drive to Blauzac in Provence was going to take about 6-7 hours WITHOUT stops. Just as well, how would I get it home? Spent the whole day driving, rolling in about 7:30. We stopped at a market in Uzes, a town nearby, and bought dinner and breakfast.

Our GPS can be a bit dodgy sometimes and combine that with a navigator who misses turns, or a driver who says THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT, or a GPS who sometimes takes too long to recalibrate, it makes for interesting trips. We end up often on backroads, but it is the best way to see the place, and find those wonderful little towns that you would never see if you stuck to the plan. Let yourself get lost every so often - it’s amazing what you will find. I digress…

We found our house, which was built into the medieval ramparts of the village, and is fabulous! The décor is beautiful and the feeling of oldness was kept with the original walls and ceilings. A lot of tile was uses, and it had great views as well over the valley. We had a quick bite and off to bed.

Tuesday - Sept 18, 2012 - To orient ourselves we went into Uzes, the nearest large town about 12 km away, and the Information Center. Wendy and I encountered a very rude woman, and we are trying to figure out why the French government has these people working in the Tourist bureaus. We walked around a bit, did a bit of shopping, had a bit of lunch…of course. Kevin had a (what he thought was) wonderful steak tartare and Wendy and I, trying to be good, had chicken Caesar salads. Wendy and I went on walk-about without the boys, and found, among other shops, an embroidery and cross-stitch shop and got a couple of cute things.

Wednesday - Sept 19, 2012 - This morning we were up and out to go to the Pont du Gard, an aqueduct built by the Romans, stretching from Uzes where the spring was, to Nime, about 60 km long. It was a beautiful day, and, aside from Kevin spilling the VERY HOT coffees over himself, most enjoyable. We went home and had quiet time…

Thursday - Sept 20, 2012 - I blew it. I thought the wonderful Market in Arles was today, when in fact it was yesterday, so we had a slight adjustment in plans for the next few days. Today we took off bright and early for Aix-en-Provence, 2 hours away, for their market and general big-girl shopping. Another beautiful day was to be had. The market was okay, nothing spectacular. We have been told, by various sources, that the market to die for is in Uzes on Saturday.

We found a restaurant on our wanderings that was really good. We sat on the Mezzanine and watched everyone go in and out - great people watching! Kevin had steak tartare (in search of the perfect one, perhaps?) Ed had a burger (natch…) and Wendy and I had the FABULOUS plat du jour, a chicken leg smothered in garlic and potatoes. Ed couldn’t handle the garlic. For dessert, since I was on the Prix Fixe menu, I had Fromage Blanc, while Wendy threw caution to the wind, and had a REAL Chocolate Fondant. Check out her YouTube video,

Afterwards, we went our separate ways, and went shopping, while the boys went walking. We then got in the car with the horrible Apple Maps program, and proceeded to get lost. The success of the driving trip has been measured by the number of u-turns we have had to do….

Friday, September 21 - Since the schedule got screwed up, we headed off to Arles today, half the distance to Aix. We goton one of those cute little trains that drives around, and it didn’t show us a lot, but we saw a couple of shops we wanted to head back to.

Lunch was another find by Kevin on the internet, A’Cote, in a row of boutique restaurants and cafes by Jean-Luc Rabenal, a famous French chef. The meals were exquisite…Wendy had a starter of tomatoes on a feta carpaccio (cut very thin, and spread like a paste on the plate). A lovely pesto topped the tomatoes…she couldn’t finish it all so she passed half of it off to her play friend (me.) Kevin had foie gras with a peach chutney, getting him in training for the Dordogne. For mains, Ed and Kevin had slow-cooked bull cheeks on a spinach and feta ravioli, Wendy and I had lamb chops, four on the plate, with potatoes and garlic and two petit tomate. There were too many chops, though I managed to finish mine….

After the huge meal we went our separate ways again, so that Ed and Wendy could go see the coliseum while Kevin and I took off on the Van Gogh trail. We saw a couple of places that he had painted and went to the hospital where he checked into after cutting his ear. We met up again to travel home. Arles, again, is at the top of MY favorite towns in Provence, of the ones I have seen.

Saturday, September 22 - So today was the Uzes market, which has been touted as one of the best markets in Provence, and people weren’t lying. We found LOTS of stuff to buy! Clothes, baskets, soap, you name it…of course I was looking at the food stalls as well, but knowing that we were moving on tomorrow and that we had a frig full of food to deal with, I stepped back. Another beautiful day with another beautiful meal, at Bec a Vin, a little restaurant that Kevin and Ed found the other day walking around. I had the prix fixe menu with cold pea cappucino (soup) and a lamb shank, while Kevin had steak tartare again. Ed was on cod while Wendy had Snapper. Beautiful presentation, again. Presentation is everything. Wendy and I took off to have a girlie afternoon, and left the boys to their devices. Today was a personal best….we only had to make ONE u-turn.

Tomorrow we are on the road again as we say adieu to Uzes and our friends Wendy and Ed, whom we will drive to Montpellier. The time has gone so quickly, and we will miss them tremendously…A toute a’l’heure, mes amis!!!

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Photos

Channeling mother
Are there words?

Pont Du Gard
Without anyone in the photo.

Foie gras
Kevin is in training for the Dordogne...

Lamb chops
Lovely, but too many

MUSHROOMS!!!
Uzes Market. When whole, these stood about 10" high. They were HUGE!

Pea Cappucino
A glamorous name for cold pea soup, but very good.

Tapas
All sorts of good stuff, but I unfortunately cannot identify them

Steak Tartare
In front are Kevin's beautiful pommes frites and my ratatouille

Comments

[Heather Stone]

Hi, I feel so full after seeing all that food! I'm hoping that Kevin, in his blog, will give some low-down on Uzes. It's great to get the feedback from you as it helps to sort out any future trip for myself. How do the cost of meals in France compare with Russell?

[Margot]

Eating your way around the world.
Yep, I figure it will take about a year to get all the weight off Just about the amount of time I could visit you and we could all do it together!

[powerquilter]

french food costs
We are finding food costs favorable to russell, along with much of everything else. but not cheaper than England. But different.... Economies of scale, ya know...