Old Haunts

Today, we were promised warmth but with cloudy skies, so it was a good day to take a car trip back to our stomping grounds of past years. Since we crossed the Rhone at Bollene, the first stop on our drive into the Gard was Bagnols sur Ceze. There happened to be a market here today, so we had a nice stroll through the market streets and actually came away with only carrots and tomatoes.

From Bagnols we drove the back way through the hills, to the Mas de Viales, our getaway for five visits to France. The new owner here is a lady from PEI who now lives here permanently. The mas looked pretty much the same as we drove past it, except for the name" ANNE" now at the doorway. We didn't stop, but noticed she was getting right into the French thing with a little Smart car.

Our next destination was lunch in Uzes and although we hadn't experienced it before, there was a market here as well, only confined to local merchants and only in the Place aux Arbres at the centre of town.

Uzes, maybe because it's on the opposite side of the Rhone from most of the more sought after destinations, always seems more authentic and less touristy - although it's not. What it does have is a pulse. You can feel it walking around the chateau or under the arcades or through the ancient winding streets. Uzes is always worth a visit!

After pizza and salad in the Place aux Arbres, our route home took us via Orange, where we picked up a few provisions and then headed back to Cairanne with Dawn at the wheel. The vendage is in full swing now, with the mechanical pickers and tractors littering the roads. It slows things down, but it certainly is a sign of the season and in France everyone yields for the grape pickers.