Privas

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Kind of a quiet day today. Started off with a run and then hit the road headed for Privas. This is one of the villages named as one the most beautiful in France. The drive was very nice and when we reached the village, we found it to be quite lovely too! We found parking easily and were delighted to find that once again, we had arrived on a market day! Same fare, different village! What strikes us as really interesting is that these markets go until about noon, and then the village literally shuts down. The market is packed up, swept up and appears like there was never a market there earlier! After wandering around the market for a while, we went on a mission to find the terrace that offered the most appetizing lunch! After checking out a bunch of restaurants, we found one that sounded great. Kids ate steak haché et frites (kinda like a burger without a bun and thick fries). Nigel and I both had a salad with chicken on top, then tuna steak with veggies and rice, wine of course, then dessert - chocolate mousse for me and cheese for Nigel. Plus the kids had ice cream for dessert (citron et fraise). A really nice meal and we actually sat and enjoyed it for two hours. After lunch we wandered around the village again for a bit and it is amazing how all retail shops (except for restaurants) really shut down between noon and don't re-open until 3pm. They bar up the doors and everything! The pedestrian streets are pretty vacant during this time. Siesta.

Tonight's wine was a white, from St. Peray. Refreshing.

We eventually made our way back to the car and returned to St. Peray to relax for the evening. A good day. Tomorrow is a repeat visit to the Point Zero beach in Grande Motte on the Mediterranean.

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Photos

I ordered the small cheese platter
Nigel ordered the cheese for his third course (instead of dessert) and was brought this large platter of cheese to take what he wanted from. He was polite and didn't finish it off...he left the little round one. As it turns out, he was unable to eat supper tonight (something about feeling full).

Typical French balcony
Always lots of flower pots. We'd just finished the cheese plate at lunch so Nigel yelled up to the lady on the balcony what he thought was "your town has lovely goat cheese" but translated more directly as "you're as big as this town and smell like goat cheese." She threw one of the potted plants. No more talking to the locals.

Scenic driving
Lots of little villages tucked into hillsides everywhere we go.

Curvy roads
Often the roads curve like this and it looks like you'll drive right off the cliff. The roads are carved out of the side of a mountain and will curve along with the mountain.

Yummy market fare
This was the cheese and sausage booth at the market. The cheese, unlike our blue cheese, has mold on the outside which you are supposed to eat. It tastes good.

Kids having fun
Kids spent the evening jumping on the trampoline and giving piggy back rides.

Comments

[Elke]

Cheese pleeeeeease!
All my favourite cheeses - looks heavenly, Nigel. Reminds me of a similar cheese plate I had while sitting outside in a small café overlooking the Seine in Paris (it was meant to be a light snack and ended up looking very similar to your platter). Ah, France!!!