UZES OOZES CHARM ,

Ha ! Sorry for the corny title !

Today's excursion was to explore the little town of Uzes.

I've tried to learn how to pronounce it and I think it's something like " Oooo -zeees" but it's a bit difficult for an Aussie !

Of course when we go to these villages we head straight for the Old Town and never bother with the more modern outer edges. 

We love the old doors and buildings 

Narrow streets for pedestrians only. 

 And narrow passageways that lead through to

delightful squares lined with cafes 

with beautiful fountains at their centre where people gather for long, relaxing lunches

like this !

Hard to pass up a French Omlette with cepes- a seasonal mushroom.

Down one of these little alleyways we stumbled on a Medieval Garden

where we wandered amongst the herbs and plants and tasted a herbal tea - a taste stayed with us for quite a while !

And the espaliered apple was full of fruit.

No visit is complete without a stop at the village church, often a huge edifice and in this case connected to the nearby residence of the local duke who still occupies a section of the very impressive castle next door !

Another lovely day.

Cheers.

AUTUMN COMES QUICKLY

It seems Autumn comes quickly in these climes.

We've been in lovely St Remy en Provence for a week now and we can already see the changes.

Suddenly some of the leaves have begun to turn to rust, especially the Chestnut trees. ....

and we've found to our peril that sitting beneath their lovely shade can become quite hazardous.

" Conkers" have been suddenly erupting from above and whizzing past our heads (so far !) to smash open on the ground disgorging the round, shiny brown nuts.

 The majestic Plane trees that are so commonly used for shade in the village squares and along the sides of the roads

are joining in the change by dropping rusty gold leaves that bring their own glow of colour to the stone pavements and delightful old fountains. 

Elsewhere green remains the predominant colour and the days have been delightful with deep blue skies and warm temperatures around the 25 degree mark.

Now, I'm off to collect some Chestnuts. I hear they are good to eat ?

I just need to find out how to cook and eat them.

Cheers. 

HILL TOP VILLAGES - GORDES AND ROUSSILLON

One of the major attractions of the area of Provence is its hilltop villages. 

Gordes is a major one so we thought we should begin our exploration with it.

We've learnt the wisdom of grabbing a car park just outside the village and walking in and we followed that plan today.

The whole village is constructed in imposing grey stone and at the very top is a very impressive fortification.

Tiny winding alleyways meander down the hill from the castle- all constructed from the same dark grey stone.

The approach to Gordes didn't seem very steep but looking out over the surrounding countryside you realise what a strategic position it occupies and the view over the surrounding area is spectacular.

We wandered and climbed on a perfect sunny day

So far the weather has been wonderful- warm and sunny , about 26 C.

After a bite of lunch- a grande salade- we drove on to Roussillon, names for the red soil which characterises this very pretty village.

There are several views of the red cliffs of the area, lovely amongst the green vegetation.

and look at the colour it brings to the village !

Everything in this village is coloured. No dull, drab grey here.

Red rocks, red mortar, rust coloured painted buildings.

All set off with green vegetation and even a scattering of colourful flowers have survived the hot, hot Summer.

It's no wonder that this area is a Mecca for artists, there is so much inspiration everywhere.

We have chosen a great time to visit as the crowds that flock to this area have gone now and the tourist numbers are very pleasant. Just enough people around to keep the shops and cafes buzzing but always room for you to grab a table, or a yummy gelato and sit at a table or on a stone wall and ponder how lucky you are to be experiencing it all. 

Cheers.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS ST REMY

First stop this holiday is St Remy en Provence, a little town about half an hour from Avignon on the south of France.

St Remy is a delightful, very old town with a beautifully preserved centre contained by a tree lined ring road. The modern town sprawls out from this in all directions.

Entry into this inner sanctum is via old arched gateways on " roads" only wide enough for one car which then become pedestrian only  walkways.

Once inside the old town you find it is dotted with lovely shops and cafes.

It is a very popular place for holidaying Europeans and overseas visitors during the hot Summer months but most of those crowds have gone now and the weather is warm and pleasant so we are happy. 

We are staying in a little apartment in the Old Town - very old and quaint but comfortable and well equiped. 

After our long flight we are just relaxing and exploring the town for the first couple of days.

St Remy is famous for its connections to three very famous men - Nostradamus, the Marquis De Sard and Van Gogh. Van Gogh spent his time here in a asylum after he had cut off his ear and many of his paintings were painted here. "Starry Night" is one of them. 

One of our favourite things about France is, of course, the food and we are taking much pleasure in sampling it in lovely locations around the town in the little leafy squares which are often lined with cafes.

Here is some of it so you can have a virtual taste !

Our first crepe - sucre etcitron   - for morning tea

Dinner-Tony's lamb with potatoes, zucchini and eggplant

and mine - risotto with prawns and scallops.

After one mouthful we just looked at each other, sighed and said, " Ah, we're back ! "

Cheers.