Uzès, once again

The bus passenger from Rouen (see yesterday's post) said it well when he commented -- you people in the south, you have this esprit de bonheur (spirit of joy, of well-being)!

I agree. Even though, arguably, all of France (at least the not unemployed part) projects to the rest of the world a confidence in having achieved a level of well-being not felt elsewhere, the further south you go, the more you come to believe that it's all very real.

In the States, if I may generalize (and I know the dangers in this) -- I don't think the barometer of "joy in living" goes up as you head south. But it does rise as you go west. Colorado folks seem to be pretty happy with their mountains and Californians are overjoyed with, well, just about anything Californian. I think the French love (northern) California as much as they do because the people there remind them of themselves.

I find it fascinating that the southern French get nervous when tourists descend. And that they collectively exhale when September 1st comes around, even though for so many, their livelihood depends on a busy summer season.

I do get it. I scraped a lot of my resources to be here, in Uzès this week. And my happiness in being here is high, really high. But I'm glad to be leaving Friday. There are too many visitors for me to feel the pulse of Uzès life. As my innkeepers tell me, the normal 8,000 swells to 30,000 in the summer -- many French people have holiday homes here -- and that doesn't count the day trippers who pop in for a coffee, a stroll, then leave.

I do have to say that if I got to know any habits and routines really well it was those of the staff at Terroirs. The proprietor asked, with some curiosity, about my compulsive lingering there -- it takes a long long time to load three dozen photos, using the old flickr uploader no less, then to move the whole batch to the blog. But the rest of the waitstaff did not have the benefit of my explanation and so when I strolled by with my iPhone and decided to purchase a few postcards at their store, one waiter said, grinning - you are always here, no?

(Another iPhone check resulted in the purchase of a bottle of vinegar. In years past, I'd buy wines. Not anymore. Pain in the ass to travel with. These days, I am delighted when I see that my very favorite vinegar, one that I just finished at home (it's a Banyuls and if you ever see it anywhere, buy it and use it sparingly on summer tomatoes. With olive oil, of course) --  is for sale here in a 100 ml bottle! What luck! Since I brought no shampoos or gels with me, it can fly in my carry-on as a body care product, no?)






Let's get back to the images from the day.

A pre-breakfast walk.






This is the time to see the fountain without a single person passing by. Maybe in a few days Uzès will look like this all day long...






Okay. I'm back for breakfast at l'Albiousse -- here, just look at how many owners have put in their own lock to their massive door! Six keyholes in this photo and two more below its range.






Breakfast. (Yogurt with peaches, among other things.)






And then I go to the Medieval Gardens -- just as they open at 10:30.  I climb the Uzès tower first -- it's part of the deal here and at this hour, it's all empty so that I can huff up the 100 steps at my pace. You do it, of course, for the views.






Magnificent, in every direction. Including looking straight down.






The garden here is planted with an eye toward the useful plants and herbs cultivated in, you guessed it, medieval times. (The women who work here take pride in all the odd specimens...






 -- they're picking tiny fallen fruits from this tree (and convince me to try a couple and I do and I'm alive and no, it was not tasty).






A few more garden photos:











There is a gallery here and, too, they've adopted the sweet habit of placing images of people throughout the property.
















Et voila! Would you believe it -- that was my big outing for the day!

The rest of the time? Well, I tried as best as I could do do some work off line and in between, I hovered at Terroirs -- for an early carbonated water (nursed for an hour!) and a late lunch...






And, too, I walked the streets.




















Lots of hours spent on that. Poking into stores (in addition to the vinegar, I purchased, I'm sure to Ed's dismay once he learns of it -- fabric for out porch sling back chairs...






...and rather predictably, a simple tablecloth. Some people like jewelry, I love tablecloths. No photo needed. You will so see it at breakfast time back home!)

Here's a photo depicting well, I think, how the French feel about their dogs (this is a shopkeeper and her beloved):






And here's one of a young woman carrying home what I would have loved to have purchased-- a baby olive tree.






And I want to note this curious thing: Uzès has two regular bookstores and one used one. How is it that book buying has survived in France? And for how long?






The other surviving institution is the Tabac -- a store that sells newspapers, cigarettes, Lotto tickets and stamps. I received the most cheerful greeting and prolonged bonne soiree ever, all for the purchase of one stamp.






How many more years though? It's still rare to see a nose glued to the screen here (I photographed both episodes and those were the only times where I saw families this devoted to their techonologies and in this last shot, I thought I overheard one of them speaking American English, though I can't be sure...):






...but I'm thinking our habits will make their way to the squares and cafes more often here. Or maybe not: they do love their conversation!


Dinner? There are many ways to manage a meal (or at least a snack)...


 


...and for a moment I thought I'd go to Terroirs without my computer, just to show them that there are times that I do not need their WiFi, but in the end I thought I'd let them fill their tables with someone who'll actually eat and drink more than I'm willing to eat and drink on my last night in Uzès. And so I go, instead to a very funky, very lovable place -- recommended by my excellently informed innkeepers -- Le Logis des Arts.






It's a gallery really, with a dedicated couple who cook a few things each evening -- I choose the endive salad with walnuts and blue cheese, followed by a light dish of fish chunks in the style of Provence.















Inexpensive and yes, so very fresh and honest!

No moon tonight. My last night walk to the square is without the help of its bright light.  No matter. The stars are out, the air is cool. It's a lovely night to be checking your email on your iPhone in the shadows of the beautiful, delectable, and for me -- very beloved Terroirs.

out and about

I'll start with the good.

Breakfast, in the courtyard, artfully prepared.











I wished Ed was across the table, helping me with the bread and cakes. Or, just there, reading something and saying, mindlessly, "yes gorgeous" when I ask something, equally mindlessly.

The market. Today's is supposed to be the more agreeable one. Saturday's is larger, with stalls of junk (not my words) competing with produce and foods from Provence. (You may ask -- is Uzès in Provence? They tell me it's considered the western most Provencal town. Incorporated out of a historic generosity rather than reality: Languedoc is Languedoc, not Provence.)






I went twice to the market and predictably, the early, pre-breakfast trip was quieter, funner.




















I've said this before -- the French like to rate, rank and reward their foods. This woman received the top prize for her haricots verts.






And these oils from Nimes took top honors in Paris. I wont tell you how tempted I was to take one home.






Other market favorites -- note the theme here...
















Okay, other good points to the day: I publicly acknowledge my deep gratitude to the staff of Terroirs -- the best restaurant-bar on the square and the most popular lunch place by far -- for letting me stay and work on my laptop all the way until noon (when the dining really begins).






They put up with me again, when I returned for a late late lunch (after 4), with computer again. I did eat a lot, including the best salad ever -- artichokes, tapenade, tomatoes and goat cheese in a slice of prosciutto.






And I even ordered dessert to show my commitment to remain as a paying customer (and because the idea of fresh fruit topped with melon and apricot ice cream and raspberry coulis sounded too good to pass up).






If you're in Uzès, eat at Terroirs. Food's great, the staff is professional, competent and so very good natured about the idiosyncrasies of patrons.


Another favorite moment: returning on the bus from Pont du Gard to Uzès.

This needs a clarification: I decided to do one and only one trip outside of Uzès (I'm here for three nights). Where to? Well, it's the obvious choice: Pont du Gard is possibly the best preserved Roman Aqueduct, nearly 2000 years old, once carrying water from a spring in Uzès all the way to Nimes. You don't need to read details here, but imagine this: the incline across the river is only 2.5 centimeters! How would a Roman engineer be able to build with such precision? Amazing.







So I bite the bullet and go to this fantastic and very very popular tourist spot (I saw a bus from the Czech Republic). It's a mere 12 kilometers from Uzès.






The appeal is also in the river itself: a vacationers paradise on the hot days of summer here.






But that's not a favorite moment. That one came on the inter-village public bus ride back to Uzès. This particular bus takes a circuitous route so as to hit all the villages and connect them with the big towns of Nimes and Avignon. So that the 12 kilometers by main road is for some buses, but not for this one, which, because of its village hopping becomes, in normal circumstances, a forty minute ride.

These were not normal circumstances.

A young man is training for this route and a more senior driver sits up front to tell him which way to go. The trip is made exceptionally difficult by the narrowness of the road. In one village, the experienced driver tells the newer one: if one person has their shutters open, you wont make it; you'll have to get out and close it.

These buses are scheduled to accommodate school children and during vacation, the afternoon bus is nearly empty. There is, however, a young couple with their son and they, too, sit toward the front (as do I). Such friendly, chatty types! They entertain the driver and teacher with endless stories of their harried road trips (they are from Rouen -- here, you brag that you have 300+ days of sunshine, in Rouen we brag that we have 300+ days of rain!), so much so, that I really could have continued this journey all day long. (My French improved tenfold just listening to their chatter!)


One village en route...






And the last stretch home. (He was only twenty minutes behind schedule. He took those turns very slowly!)






Home, meaning Uzès, with another (for me at least) Renoir moment:






Not done with the good points to the day!

In the early evening, before the sun set over the garrigue covered hills, I took a walk outside the town walls. There is a suggested path by the river l'Alzon.






After a kilometer or two, I come to a trail marker pointing up, with the enchantingly simple name of "la montagne." So I follow it. Up up, in the breeze of a summer evening. No one's here. It's quiet, but for the noise of the cicada and the chirp of a bird. And slowly, the view emerges. Uzès skyline. It's tough to photograph, as the sun is just starting to set right behind it, but it is incredibly beautiful nonetheless.






And as I climb higher, up this magical mountain, I see the hills and mountains to the south, to the west, famous peaks that probably mean nothing to you but they remind me of notable trips to this area and in any case, it's just so beautiful here!






It's not an intense climb, but it does take a while and by 8:30 I think it surely is time to head back.






Down to the river again and here, there's a different kind of enchantment -- of ducks, kids, local kids, families too, bringing their bikes, their soccer ball, their swim suits, to the river, dappled with the golden evening light of the reflected limestone hills behind.
















There are many many photos that would show off this river walk, but I know about a reader's limits, so maybe just one or two more?











Okay. Back to town.






And dinner. Another high point! I had asked my innkeepers where I can eat something light, given my late and copious lunch. They suggested the Italian place, Via Curti. You can just have a main dish or a couple of appetizers.

Well maybe he can!

The setting is lovely -- under a fig tree and grape arbor...





The menu is small, but so tempting! I choose the tomato mousse with a tomato sauce, over fresh tomatoes swimming in olive oil. (I asked for the recipe. I got a smile and a shake of the head.)





Then a pasta dish with warm arugula pesto. Oh my.






I was good enough at least not to order dessert.

I walk briefly to the square, so vibrant, even now, so full of vacationing people...






...and, leaning against the noble walls of Terroirs, I can check my phone  for messages from home. And it is a sweet little pause. In the center of the square, a man is entertaining children with his various gadgets and tricks.






I note that it is maybe 10:30 and all the little tykes were up still and not at all grumpy at this late hour.






It's what they're used to, right?  Long hours at the table, long evenings. (Though I had to smile at this family, with three teenagers, this afternoon at Terroirs: they all had iPhones and they ordered Coke Zero.)






Were there weaker points to the day? Not really. The WiFi issue has arrested my work progress, but I can't truthfully call that a bad thing! I suppose I was a little taken aback by the whole approach to the Pont du Gard. The Tourist Center is rather massive and though it offers refreshments and shopping opportunities for the ever ready to spend Euros visitor, for me at least it takes away from the experience of the Aqueduct.

Oh! I can't leave you with a photo of kids drinking Coke Zero! How about the moon? I looked it up: it was full on September 19th. But you can pretend, right? Over Uzès, it looks mighty bright tonight.