After a lovely stay in Uzès, we joined our host Christophe, Monique was in Paris helping decorate a friends home, for a French breakfast which consisted of baguette, bread, croissant, Pain a Chocolate, butter, orange juice, fresh strawberries and French press coffee. Damn, that’s good stuff!

Ok, on the road to Carcassonne, 3 hours down the road through the base of the Pyrenees mountains. Carcassonne is a World History sight, also a UNESCO sight. It is a walled city completely preserved. It has been a trading sight since 500BC as the river Aude flows to the ocean and links the Atlantic and the Mediterranean sea.

You can probably guess who took it over around AD, right the Romans! Again, the walled city had many occupants and wars and finally fell into total disregard in the 1800’s. Napoleons crew wanted to tear it down, but the French up-roared and the city was put under renovations. Another huge uproar was the chef architect in charge of renovating the city used the wrong material for the roofs.

Off with his head, all was completed and today it’s a big shopping mall with restaurants and shops, hotels filling the city, as the tour buses roll in.

Cindy tells me to ignore the people and visualize the town in 500 AD 😳

Cindy, our tour guide, and the trusty Peugeot, are taking us over the mighty Pyrenees tomorrow on a 6 hour trip to beautiful Barcelona. I’m dreaming of a Sangria on the patio 👍🍷😎

Au revoir from France 🥖

Last day in the Provence area of France as we are moving tomorrow to Carcassonne, France transitioning to Spain then Portugal.

So up, bright and early, (this is France, 6:3AM is early), and on the road at 8:00 AM, for the quick 25 kilometer trip to Nimes from Uzès.

The Nimes area was inhabited by humans as early as 400BC as it had a reliable water source all year long. The Romans invaded around 50 AD, and went about making Nimes a small version of Rome. This meant bringing in enough water for the city via the Pont-du-Gard, which we visited yesterday.

The Romans were accepted over time in almost all areas they conquered, as the infrastructure they brought with them changed peoples lives. Imagine never seeing running water, than having it in your neighborhood.

The Romans built the Arena in Nimes around 100 AD, it held 20,000 people when full, it was used the same as the coliseum in Rome, shows, gladiators re-enactments of battles etc.. it has the trap doors in the floor same as Rome’s.

It’s had many different lives, even functioning as a church with a village inside it for a period. In the mid 1800’s it was derelict and the task of rebuilding it started. It was in quite bad shape and the rebuilding is still going on today. It looks great however and is used for concerts regularly. Elton John is preforming here in several weeks. That would be awesome😎

Great city to walk, well maintained Roman ruins and a great indoor market. Safe, clean streets, and lots of safe parking. Highly recommend!

Home to pack late this afternoon, than a quick walk and beer to say goodbye to Uzès. What a lovely place. Three hour drive to Carcassonne than walking tour of the walled city, tomorrow PM. Then off to Spain and Barcelona. That means Sangria this weekend 👍😎

Osta lovista

With a forecast of partly sunny, and highs in the mid 80s, we set sail in the trusty Peugeot for a little pilgrimage I have wanted to take, Vergèze, the home of Perrier.

I’ve loved Perrier since the 80’s, and drink it almost everyday, sometimes with a little Canadian Whiskey or possibly a Mojito in the summer😜😎 sometimes by itself😳

So we drove to Vergèze (about an hour away) and took the tour. It’s only offered in French, but we were the only two visitors for the first tour. Our guide, Marie, gave us a tour in English 👍

The video above shows Marie explaining the water at the source. There are 8 sources on sight. Long story short, Perrier, had a long list of owners, starting with who else, but the Romans. After many years and owners, it came into its own in 1947 when it returned to French hands after the war. It was purchased by Nestle in 1992, and now produces over 1 billion bottles a year from this sight. I do my best to help.

We loved the tour , the movie and the museum and then ate lunch in the beautiful gardens of Perrier (notice the frogs), enjoying a bottle of cold deliciousness 😎

Then a quick hour drive returning close to Uzès, to visit Pont du Gard, the famous Roman aqueduct built to supply water to nearby, Nimes. It was built in the first century AD. The site is a UNESCO World History Sight and very recognizable.

The aqueduct was abandoned in 400 AD as it became plugged with debris and limestone deposits. The water is incredibly hard here.

The 17 century found it looted and unusable, Napoleon stepped in and repaired the sight. At that time, a roadway bridge was added, you see it in the pictures. That lead to a rise in tourism and the eventual closing of the bridge to cars in 1996. That’s right, cars were driving across this bridge until 96. Ok, quick trip through Uzès to get to the lovely small village of Lussan, located above Uzès about 20 kilometers. Walled city, built in the 13 century, newer😎 great walking, no tour buses, everything we look for😎

Off to Nimes tomorrow. It’s like a small Rome, built by you know who, as they missed home😎😜🍷

Au revoir

A bright, but windy, Sunday had plans for us to drive the famous Cotes du Rhône wine road. The road runs from Vienne to Avignon and produces over 450 million bottles of wine a year 🍷😎

But first an early morning walk through Uzès. Got to get those steps in😜

Remember today’s Sunday, that means what in France? Flea market! Hundreds and hundreds of people descend on all the big and small towns in France for outdoor flea markets.

Uzès is no exception. There had to be over 600 people with stuff out for sale. Unbelievable

Next to the Boulangerie for bread for our picnic 👍

We stopped at a place for a tasting, turns out it’s a co-op for local vintners.

They sell wine by the bottle, case, 5 liter box, 10 liter box or bring your reusable 5 liter plastic bag and refill it from the tank. White, Rose or a blend! Never seen that before. Inexpensive also, €4.50 for 5 liters🔥

The wine road is lovely and it’s amazing how many millions of grape plants are growing here. Mile after mile after miles.

Fun day, unbelievable scenery. Tomorrow a tour of the Perrier source!

Au revoir

Ok, ok, I know bread is the root of all evil, carbohydrates, gluten intolerance, and Keto, all say bread is bad. I know, I know, but I LOVE crusty bread, crusty rolls, baguette, Batard, ciabatta you name it. If it’s crusty, I love it😋

I was in the bakery business for 25 years, 15 in merchandising, but for 10 years I was a bakery manager for Safeway. We used to actually bake back in the day. Not like now where everything is par baked, frozen or what I call Fakeries!

Since I retired, Cindy has encouraged me to bake again and I really enjoyed it!

Breads, rolls, pasty and pizza doughs have all been fun to work with. However, the 5 weeks here have been very humbling, the Germans, Austrians and Swiss can all bake.

They all pale however to the French when it comes to bread/rolls. The French are the best at bread!

My greatest bread/bakery pictures 😎

Uzès is our home base this week to tour the Rhône river area of Provence, France. Uzes is a lovely little city (8000 residents). It was established by the Romans in 100 BC to build a aqueduct from Uzès to Nimes. Uzès was quite involved with the religious wars in the 1200-1500 period. It was also a textile manufacturing area and enjoyed great wealth and prosperity despite the war conditions.

The Duke of Uzès is the highest peerage in France and is responsible for defending the crown. Now they are really, really rich. Their home is one of the pictures below😳

We love Uzès. It’s quiet and scenic with just enough action to keep it interesting. My favorite city so far. highly recommended 👍

We stayed home in beautiful Uzès all day, and caught some much needed rest. Walked the city, enjoyed the renowned Saturday market which is huge, over 400 venders easily. No flea market here…clothes, produce, meats, cheeses , bakery, prepared food, you name it, it’s here! Including the French specialty, Escargot, which is pictured below😏

Wonderful 👍

We spent a couple of hours this afternoon sitting in one of the city’s squares enjoying a beer 🍺😎👍Our wonderful hosts, Monique and Christophe, the best 👍

Tomorrow, the Cote du Rhône wine road, and possibly some wine tasting 😎🥖

Au revoir!

Wine from the rocks, thats what the Châteauneuf-du-Pape area is famous for. One of the biggest wine regions in the world, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is home to dozens of Appellations, each with their specific wine identity. Red wine is the vast majority of the production here, and delicious by the way!

Leaving Uzès, driving northeast past Avignon, we passed the lovely city of Saint-Victor-La-Coste and stopped for a quick peek. Lovely city.We then headed to the city of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The destroyed castle on the hilltop was built in the 1300s for one of the Popes residing in Avignon during that time. The castle proved too costly to maintain as the Popes moved back to Rome in the late 1300s. The castle was demolished and used to build the village below. During WW2, the Germans tried to blowup the castle with dynamite, but only destroyed 1/2 until they ran out of munitions.

Today the city is a wine tourist tasting village, with dozens of Wine tasting caves, that offer various wines from the numerous Chateaus. It’s

Its a lovely area, rather touristy however, so we drove out to visit the area chateau’s, which are numerous 😎🍷

First, Domaine de Beaurenard, a lovely chateau with spectacular wines (very expensive)

Then went to a lovely spot, Chateau de la Gardine, where our new friend, Judy, gave us some great knowledge (and lots of tastings) from the numerous wineries they own.

Last stop, Clos du Caillou, lovely place, but the wine was €60 euro to €200 euro, a little rich for our blood.

FYI, all tastings are free and no appointment needed on weekdays. Everyone is very welcoming and hospitable for the French😎 The belief here is a wine tasting should be offered to guests as the wine makers welcome.

A drive of about 1 hour returns us to lovely Uzès, which is my favorite city we have stopped in. Small, walkable and very little tourists.

Tomorrow, the market here in Uzès, some laundry and possibly a nap👍😎🍷

The lovely dessert our hostess, Monique just brought us 😎👍

Excellent!

Au revoir 👍🍷🥖

We woke to a beautiful, sunny day in the south of France (forecast 82 degrees) and had a delicious French breakfast of fruit, yogurt and baguette at the Abnb and headed to the world famous city of Avignon in our trusty Peugeot!

Our GPS guided us to the city through about 99 round-abouts😳 While it was only 40 kilometers, it took almost 1 hour to get to the city with traffic and construction.

We arrived safely and parked the car in the theater district. We took a walking tour of the city, stopping at sights as we walked.

Avignon is World Heritage site as it has an intact walled city from the 1300s. It was the home of 7 different Popes from 1309-1377 as bad stuff was coming down in Rome😳

On our walking tour, we came to the Palais des Papes, (the Popes Palace). Then Pont Saint-Bénézet, The bridge of Avignon. The city is beautiful, with just the right mix of tourists and locals. Lovely!

We decided to take the back way home and visit some winery’s and smaller villages on the way!

We visited Tavel for wine tasting ( this is Rose country) and than Pouzilhac, a lovely village in the middle of nowhere 😎

Then, relaxed by the pool with a glass of vino. Stop it! I’m making myself sick😊

Tomorrow the Cotes du Rhône wine road and tour of the Chateaneuf-du-Pape😎🍷supposedly the world class vino. We will see😎🍷

Au revoir 😎🍷

We changed locations in the Provence region from our lovely Airbnb in Aix-en-Provence to Uzès in the northern Provence area.

Aix-en-Provence, then on to Uzès.

It’s only 1 1/2 hour trip, so we took the back roads and saw the lovely scenery and missed the Tolls👍 We are in Uzès for a week to visit the Avignon area.

Uzès is a small town established by the Romans for a viaduct to send water to Nimes. The Pont du Gard still exists from that. We will visit it later in the week.

We arrived and walked the city, small but quiet and lovely (no tour buses)!

We have been in Europe for a month and I thought it would be fun to share the stats we keep for our information.

Airplane trips – 1

Automobile trips- 20

Kilometers driven =4427 or 2700 miles

Bus/ Mass transit trips-13

Airbnb’s-5

Miles walked-221

Bottles of wine drank-😎

Tomorrow we visit Avignon.

Au revoir!

Woo-Hoo! We awoke to a day of sunny skies in Aix-en-Provence. We decided to visit the city center one last time. Of course, it was a street market with clothes/flea market and a farmers market, wonderful.

What a great city Aix-en-Provence is. Some tourists but not overwhelming like some places. Highly recommend!I’m always on the lookout for great Pizza and saw a place, Manlios. So, we tracked them down and enjoyed a slice. Possible change upcoming in my pizza program 😎🍷🥖

The patisseries and Boulangeries are without question, superb!

Remembering we are in the south of France, off we go with a picnic for wine tasting. Four wineries within 10km 👍

Fantastic time and wines very reasonable priced.

Travel day tomorrow. Headed to Uzes, about 2 hours from Aix-en-Provence, still the south of France. Its unbelievably beautiful here. If you get a chance, visit, it’s what Cindy and I have always dreamed of😎🍷

Au revoir