Yesterday, we walked the Ancient Path into Uzes...it had rained in the morning, but
the weather promised to be sunny as of, about Noon! So, off we went, 3 miles through the fields
and stone walls, in the sunshine! We had lunch, and shopped a bit. We signed up in
the club for new locals, so that we can take French lessons!...and about 3 o'clock, we
headed for home!
Oh My! There was ONE big black cloud off to the west! A bit worrisome, so we made a point
of walking quickly! My brother Roger has the uncanny ability to read the weather, as a result of
being a boater...his big sister....Not so much!
It started to rain about a mile from home, and down it came! A Spring storm, gully washer!
All the ditches on the side of the road which are about 3 to 4 feet deep were gushing with
water, within about 5 minutes! Problem was....there was absolutely NO shelter, and it started to thunder and lightning! Yikes! We took shelter about ten minutes after it started to rain, next to a house...a slight overhang, around the corner from the direction of the wind, helped to some extent, but
we were really drenched to the core!...clear through ALL our clothes!...to the skin!
We felt like we were in a romantic movie! ...except for the 3 or 4 lightning strikes, a bit too close for comfort! Next time, we stay in town and find a nice cafe!
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
This one if for Lauren, our lovely daughter-in-law!
Lauren is a graphic artist! She loves pattern and color! And, when I walked into our
bathroom upstairs, I saw tile that was something I think she would love! I asked the man
who owns our house, Moniseur Bouvard, if there was a story behind the tile, and he said yes!
His brother, lived in Algeria, and got them the tile. It is a fabulous combination of cobalt blue,
and ORANGE!!! Yes, I've always know that blue and orange go together...but not something
I would have picked! The tub is a Turkish bath style....I don't think I could live with it,
forever, but I must say, it makes me smile, everyday!
What do you think?
bathroom upstairs, I saw tile that was something I think she would love! I asked the man
who owns our house, Moniseur Bouvard, if there was a story behind the tile, and he said yes!
His brother, lived in Algeria, and got them the tile. It is a fabulous combination of cobalt blue,
and ORANGE!!! Yes, I've always know that blue and orange go together...but not something
I would have picked! The tub is a Turkish bath style....I don't think I could live with it,
forever, but I must say, it makes me smile, everyday!
What do you think?
Flowers and Color - What's happening to me?
OK! I've always loved flowers!..it's literally in my blood!...
I love having flowers in the house, and usually do, in the house in
California! I have my orchid collection too!
But, here, the colors are very vivid...and, I'm changing! I would NEVER
have put ORANGE and RED together before!...but here....Walla! The context of
color is different here, and it introduces some interesting combinations! The orange flowers
would never have stood out as well, without the red! I bought
rinunculas last week, and put them out on the terrace! The terrace is Terra Cota
tile, with 4 french tables and orange chairs...and they look perfect! My brother Jim
(a totally visual and artistic guy) and I had a conversation one time walking around Balboa
Island, during which I asked him what his favorite color is, and his reply was:"I don't
think I have a favorite color....what attracts me is the combination of one color with another,
and how they play off of each other." I think I am beginning to understand this!
Blues and yellows always have been a favorite together! For Easter, we had
Peach colored tulips and white freesia (for the fragrance)....here are some of the
other flowers we have had in the house, so far!
These are fresh lilies from the field, that our friends, Regina and Larry brought us when
they came to dinner! A real treat! They are still going strong, opening more and more, each day!
I love having flowers in the house, and usually do, in the house in
California! I have my orchid collection too!
But, here, the colors are very vivid...and, I'm changing! I would NEVER
have put ORANGE and RED together before!...but here....Walla! The context of
color is different here, and it introduces some interesting combinations! The orange flowers
would never have stood out as well, without the red! I bought
rinunculas last week, and put them out on the terrace! The terrace is Terra Cota
tile, with 4 french tables and orange chairs...and they look perfect! My brother Jim
(a totally visual and artistic guy) and I had a conversation one time walking around Balboa
Island, during which I asked him what his favorite color is, and his reply was:"I don't
think I have a favorite color....what attracts me is the combination of one color with another,
and how they play off of each other." I think I am beginning to understand this!
Blues and yellows always have been a favorite together! For Easter, we had
Peach colored tulips and white freesia (for the fragrance)....here are some of the
other flowers we have had in the house, so far!
These are fresh lilies from the field, that our friends, Regina and Larry brought us when
they came to dinner! A real treat! They are still going strong, opening more and more, each day!
This is my kind of place!!!
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Here comes the Wisteria!
Boy! The French have a GREAT sense of color and drama!
First of all, the houses are mostly stone, and masonry on the outside, so most of the time, the color is creamy stucco, or grayish stone...but they make up for the lack of color, with plants and paint! Shudders are painted a rainbow of colors...french blue, navy blue, lavender, teal, turquoise, brick red, Forest green, and all sorts of in-betweens!
Most houses have gardens, and they seem to bring the colors of the garden into their homes, and it's decor!
We had wisteria at the Cape, but it blooms the first week of June! We have a procession of bloom that moves across 2 months! Here, wisteria, tulips, daffodils, forsythia, pansies, bridal wreath, cherry trees, almond trees, apricot trees, ranunculi and poppies all combine for a burst of color, simultaneously! The French all value having a home with a garden, or a terrace or a place outside to sit, eat, relax and converse!
Color and style culminate in these gardens and terraces!
My favorite blooming plant right now (I know it's fleeting, and I'll love something else even more in a week!)...is the wisteria!!! Take a look at the spectacular wisteria here in our town and surroundings! Some of these are three stories high, and all the way down the lane! And the fragrance is divine!
First of all, the houses are mostly stone, and masonry on the outside, so most of the time, the color is creamy stucco, or grayish stone...but they make up for the lack of color, with plants and paint! Shudders are painted a rainbow of colors...french blue, navy blue, lavender, teal, turquoise, brick red, Forest green, and all sorts of in-betweens!
Most houses have gardens, and they seem to bring the colors of the garden into their homes, and it's decor!
We had wisteria at the Cape, but it blooms the first week of June! We have a procession of bloom that moves across 2 months! Here, wisteria, tulips, daffodils, forsythia, pansies, bridal wreath, cherry trees, almond trees, apricot trees, ranunculi and poppies all combine for a burst of color, simultaneously! The French all value having a home with a garden, or a terrace or a place outside to sit, eat, relax and converse!
Color and style culminate in these gardens and terraces!
My favorite blooming plant right now (I know it's fleeting, and I'll love something else even more in a week!)...is the wisteria!!! Take a look at the spectacular wisteria here in our town and surroundings! Some of these are three stories high, and all the way down the lane! And the fragrance is divine!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Sharing dinner with our friends who live in Uzes!
We are very fortunate to have lovely friends! Our friends, Larry and Regina, moved to Uzes, and subsequently bought a home here in Uzes. Three years ago, they introduced us to their lovely friend, Joelle! We have been fortunate enough to have the help of Larry and Regina, and subsequently, Joelle, in our preparation for our trip! Larry and Regina have given us great advice on property rentals (we got the house in St. Quentin through them) car rentals, how to ship boxes, get a Visa, a bank account, and a phone! All total essentials in this kind of a move! Joelle, met us at the bank and spoke to the bank Representative in French for us, and assured the bank that we were not bad people!!! As Regina says, in France, someone must vouch for you! Anyway, we wanted to have them over to dinner, to thank them for all of their hard work! Without them, we would never have been able to make the move as smoothly as we did!
So...those of you who know us well, know that we like to share, ...and entertaining in our home is one of the ways that we share the most! We invest our time and effort, and try to come up with a wonderful dinner! We invited our friends over to dinner on Sunday, at 1:00! I think it's traditional for friends/families to gather at this time on Sundays! It was a good deal of preparation, and a lot of fun for us!...all of us, I think we can safely say!
Here's the menu:
To start...we went up to the terrace, on the 3rd floor that looks out clear to the town of Uzes, and the castle! We started our get together with:
Champagne, Foie Gras with green apples as a garnish, sweet little French strawberries, and baguette toasts with olive tapenade, creamy garlic spread, and a touch of Spanish Jambone (which we know as prosciutto)!
Then, we came down to the dining room for:
Coquille St. Jacque
Ratatouille
Fresh white asparagus
Fresh Chinese pea pods cooked with fresh ginger
Jasmine rice with parsley and spices
Followed by A green salad...
And dessert, and cognac were served on the lower terrace/garden that is off the dining room. We bought the pastries for dessert! All Bruce's picks! Yum!
Well...it was a big hit, and we critique our own food...and both of us have to say it was all very good!
First, I must tell you of the adventure it is to cook here....everything is in Metric measure, and although
the Internet is very helpful in interpreting the differences, YIKES! On the plane, on the way to Paris, we had juice in a little plastic cup that was 4 Oz...and decided to take it as a measuring cup, of sorts! (As my friend Regina says....here...you improvise! ) Well, it was a really good decision, because I have used that little measuring cup allot!
We went to the market on Friday, and I cooked a great recipe for ratatouille on Friday...it took more than an afternoon of chopping and baking! But GREAT flavor!
We bought fresh scallops, as well, to make the Coquille, St. Jacque...and fabulous recipe with shallots, mushrooms, and a cream sauce (with a touch of cognac) that is so good, you could lick your fingers! Well...we have never bought the entire scallop in the shell before! Bruce opened them, and cleaned them!! ( my hero!) and I made a scallop soup base with the broth...and went on from there! The recipe is delicious! It's Ina Gartnen's Recipe that can be made ahead of time! Great for a dinner party! We used the shells as baking dishes for the Coquille St. Jacque! Just terrific!
Bruce was a BIG help, as usual! He helped with the house, and with the dinner!
He is a wonderful host!
If you are interested in the recipes, I'd be glad to pass the links along!
We really enjoyed Larry, Regina, and Joelle's company! There is far less television, and people here depend on talking and personal experiences for their entertainment! It was a lovely day for conversation, and friendship! We all shared our stories, and experiences, and a good time it was!
Sorry we didn't get pictures of our friends, and the dinner! We were so engrossed in eating and entertaining, that we forgot!!! so...
Here are some pix of the house, and the downstairs terrace!
So...those of you who know us well, know that we like to share, ...and entertaining in our home is one of the ways that we share the most! We invest our time and effort, and try to come up with a wonderful dinner! We invited our friends over to dinner on Sunday, at 1:00! I think it's traditional for friends/families to gather at this time on Sundays! It was a good deal of preparation, and a lot of fun for us!...all of us, I think we can safely say!
Here's the menu:
To start...we went up to the terrace, on the 3rd floor that looks out clear to the town of Uzes, and the castle! We started our get together with:
Champagne, Foie Gras with green apples as a garnish, sweet little French strawberries, and baguette toasts with olive tapenade, creamy garlic spread, and a touch of Spanish Jambone (which we know as prosciutto)!
Then, we came down to the dining room for:
Coquille St. Jacque
Ratatouille
Fresh white asparagus
Fresh Chinese pea pods cooked with fresh ginger
Jasmine rice with parsley and spices
Followed by A green salad...
And dessert, and cognac were served on the lower terrace/garden that is off the dining room. We bought the pastries for dessert! All Bruce's picks! Yum!
Well...it was a big hit, and we critique our own food...and both of us have to say it was all very good!
First, I must tell you of the adventure it is to cook here....everything is in Metric measure, and although
the Internet is very helpful in interpreting the differences, YIKES! On the plane, on the way to Paris, we had juice in a little plastic cup that was 4 Oz...and decided to take it as a measuring cup, of sorts! (As my friend Regina says....here...you improvise! ) Well, it was a really good decision, because I have used that little measuring cup allot!
We went to the market on Friday, and I cooked a great recipe for ratatouille on Friday...it took more than an afternoon of chopping and baking! But GREAT flavor!
We bought fresh scallops, as well, to make the Coquille, St. Jacque...and fabulous recipe with shallots, mushrooms, and a cream sauce (with a touch of cognac) that is so good, you could lick your fingers! Well...we have never bought the entire scallop in the shell before! Bruce opened them, and cleaned them!! ( my hero!) and I made a scallop soup base with the broth...and went on from there! The recipe is delicious! It's Ina Gartnen's Recipe that can be made ahead of time! Great for a dinner party! We used the shells as baking dishes for the Coquille St. Jacque! Just terrific!
Bruce was a BIG help, as usual! He helped with the house, and with the dinner!
He is a wonderful host!
If you are interested in the recipes, I'd be glad to pass the links along!
We really enjoyed Larry, Regina, and Joelle's company! There is far less television, and people here depend on talking and personal experiences for their entertainment! It was a lovely day for conversation, and friendship! We all shared our stories, and experiences, and a good time it was!
Sorry we didn't get pictures of our friends, and the dinner! We were so engrossed in eating and entertaining, that we forgot!!! so...
Here are some pix of the house, and the downstairs terrace!
Monday, April 6, 2015
The Ancient Path to Uzes
As most of you who know us well, we love to walk! When we got here is was quite chilly, and
rained off and on for the first ten days or so. Now, the weather is a bit warmer (55 to 60), and
most days have been sunny!
One of the things that attracted us to the little village, in which we live is that it is
about 3 miles from our Village of St. Quintin la Poterie, (population of 3,200 people)
to the larger town of Uzes (12,400 people). We had heard there was an ancient, Roman path
from St. Quintin to Uzes! We were able to look it up on the google map, and follow it into town.
Now, it has become our thing! Our walk into town takes just under an hour. We have lunch, and walk back! Very enjoyable country roads welcome us, as we walk out of our Village.
Every day, day by day, the trees, grass and fields are turning greener! We see apricot, almond and cherry tree orchards, in bloom. There are vineyards, olive orchards, and newly plowed fields. Most days the ONE LANE road has some traffic, and there are tractors in the fields. Dogs bark at us as we walk by, and morning doves coo at us from the trees! Occasionally we have spotted a hawk! Many of the houses are small farm houses, but there are several huge French country Maisons along way with long driveways, pools and terraces. Many have orchards and fields that are plowed, as well. Many of the fields are growing alfalfa, and every day it is an inch taller!
One of the gorgeous country Maisons had fields that had been plowed, and there were rows of white
plastic on top...we didn't think much of it, until on Friday before Easter, there were workers in the field. We realized they were picking white asparagus! They picked a huge field about the size of 3 football fields! We think there may be more asparagus, in that they rip the sections open when they pick, and not all areas of the plastic was ripped! The Marchés were filled with freshly picked white asparagus!..thick as a quarter, or thin as a dime...all fabulous!
One of the fun things we have discovered is a frog city!...NO, not a city of Frenchmen, real frogs! Ribbit! Ribbit! Last week, we heard a frog jump into the drainage ditch as we walked by, so on the way back we stopped to really look at the area. We realized there was a Mama, Papa and 2 baby frogs
right in front of us! And...as we stood there, and made a little noise in the gravel, we saw about 5 more frogs...in fact there are 20 holes in the mud on the side of the hill, and we think they are frog houses! Very cool!
Walking suits us! Check out the lovely stream, and the fig trees that are espaliered to the stone wall!
rained off and on for the first ten days or so. Now, the weather is a bit warmer (55 to 60), and
most days have been sunny!
One of the things that attracted us to the little village, in which we live is that it is
about 3 miles from our Village of St. Quintin la Poterie, (population of 3,200 people)
to the larger town of Uzes (12,400 people). We had heard there was an ancient, Roman path
from St. Quintin to Uzes! We were able to look it up on the google map, and follow it into town.
Now, it has become our thing! Our walk into town takes just under an hour. We have lunch, and walk back! Very enjoyable country roads welcome us, as we walk out of our Village.
Every day, day by day, the trees, grass and fields are turning greener! We see apricot, almond and cherry tree orchards, in bloom. There are vineyards, olive orchards, and newly plowed fields. Most days the ONE LANE road has some traffic, and there are tractors in the fields. Dogs bark at us as we walk by, and morning doves coo at us from the trees! Occasionally we have spotted a hawk! Many of the houses are small farm houses, but there are several huge French country Maisons along way with long driveways, pools and terraces. Many have orchards and fields that are plowed, as well. Many of the fields are growing alfalfa, and every day it is an inch taller!
One of the gorgeous country Maisons had fields that had been plowed, and there were rows of white
plastic on top...we didn't think much of it, until on Friday before Easter, there were workers in the field. We realized they were picking white asparagus! They picked a huge field about the size of 3 football fields! We think there may be more asparagus, in that they rip the sections open when they pick, and not all areas of the plastic was ripped! The Marchés were filled with freshly picked white asparagus!..thick as a quarter, or thin as a dime...all fabulous!
One of the fun things we have discovered is a frog city!...NO, not a city of Frenchmen, real frogs! Ribbit! Ribbit! Last week, we heard a frog jump into the drainage ditch as we walked by, so on the way back we stopped to really look at the area. We realized there was a Mama, Papa and 2 baby frogs
right in front of us! And...as we stood there, and made a little noise in the gravel, we saw about 5 more frogs...in fact there are 20 holes in the mud on the side of the hill, and we think they are frog houses! Very cool!
Walking suits us! Check out the lovely stream, and the fig trees that are espaliered to the stone wall!
Our Easter, April 5, 2015
We had a nice Easter! We missed our family, and our family of friends but we had a nice day!
We tried to go out for a nice long walk in the morning, but it was pretty
chilly, and unbelievably windy!!! It was a mistral with no rain! The winds are much like our
Santa Ana winds, but they get mistral winds more often than we get Santa Ana's.
We wound up going out for about an hour walk later in the day when it was a bit warmer, and a little less windy!
I finished my first book yesterday, and cooked.I went out and bought a small crown roast
of lamb at the Marché in town on Friday! The oven is a bit of a crap shoot!!!
I can handle the C to F conversion,...the web has everything!...
BUT, the oven has three ways to change the settings...and
even though you know one setting, when you change another, it can change EVERYTHING!
Anyway...through the luck of the Easter Bunny, we succeeded! The roast was perfect!
We had white asparagus, broccoli, and oven roasted potatoes....later we had 2 small
desserts, and only ate 1/2 of each...one was an apricot tart, and the other was what I
have seen called a Napoleon, in the States. (More about the white asparagus will be in
the Blog!) The lamb and white asparagus were a bit expensive, but the rest of the food
is embarrassingly inexpensive! We'll have another dinner from the same tonight, and
probably soup from the bones, and extra cuttings, later this week.
We had bought a chocolate hen for Easter, filled with little chocolates from the special CHOCOLATIER
in Uzes, and, although pricey, we both felt, it was worth the price!
I also had a bit of fun walking around town, and putting out little foil wrapped chocolate
Easter eggs! They were all gone by the end of the day!
We were surprised by the fact that the church bells continued to ring on Friday and Saturday...we
had read that that would not happen...I guess the French are outgrowing the tradition!
Also, the little supermarket, Carefour was open until noon on Sunday! We were shocked, and had
stocked up on everything possible, beforehand!
Hope you all had a wonderful Easter filled with family, fun, and chocolate!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Our First Week - March 16th, to Sunday, March 22nd, 1st Markets
We have ventured forth several days this week....not wanting to just stay in the house. The weather has not been the best, being cool and raining off and on many days! We have had one sunny day, and two days with a bit of sunshine!
The Pont du Gard
One, rainy day we took off to go to see the Pont du Gard...a stone bridge & aqueduct, over the Gordon river, about 25 minutes from here. The bridge/aqueduct itself is quite impressive...it is built of limestone, and, of course, we knew it was quite old...being a rainy day, we visited the museum. It was shockingly impressive! The bridge dates back, from before Christ!! Approx. a century BC, and then, updated by the Romans! The Romans evidently figured out how to use limestone mortar to build. The limestone is quarried a few miles from the bridge, and either floated down to the bridge site, or hauled in by cart!
More importantly, the top layer of the bridge is an aqueduct, bringing water from the mountains, to the town of Uzes, and the entire area nearby. The aqueduct on top is closed most of the time, but if there was too much water, it would spill out and over the bridge.
Amazing! Napoleon needed more room to crowd the bridge, so he built additions at the base to be able to move his supplies and troops more easily! Simply amazing!
The aqueduct has not been in use since the early 1900's; and the bridge is one of France's beaux sites, and has been declared a World Heritage site, as well.
St Remy du Provence
On Wednesday, it was sunny, very cool, and blustery day, we headed to our first outdoor market in St. Remy du Provence. It is a weekly market in the middle of the town...full of color, and vendors with tents that they set up about 7:30 to 8:00 am., and promptly remove at 12:00 noon! But, of course, they must break everything down to go to lunch!!! Everything stops for lunch!
The market wanders from a central location in town, down the stone streets and into another little stone square. We are lucky in getting parking spots since people come and go. But here, we saw vendors with: Colorful woven market baskets, clothing, linens, jewelry, fruit and vegetables, olives, lavender, cheese, breads, pastries, spices in open burlap sacks, original watercolors of Provence, furniture, fish vendors and butchers. ALL Fresh! Fruits and veggies are from France, Spain, Israel, Morroco, Tunesia...all over the globe! There were 2 vendors who also had antiques.
A bit shocking was the whole skinned rabbits in the butcher cases! The fish vendor had everything from huge scallops, 20 different kinds of fish (fresh water and salt water), shrimp, skate, squid, mussels and oysters! One of the vendors sold nothing but oysters, and there were about 6 different kinds!
We had a lovely Plat du Jour lunch on the main square, of brochette of beef, polenta, and a mixed vegetable side of zucchini and green beans. Bruce had a salad as big as a dinner plate with olives, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, ham, and lots of other things! A little wine, and bread, and who needs dessert!?
We eat heavier at lunch, and lighter at dinner. I bought a roasted chicken at the Charcutrie. For a two days we had chicken and salad for dinner. Then, I bought fresh vegetables for soup from our market (marche) on Friday!...a real challenge was trying to figure out what kind of vegetable stock I would use for the soup, every word on the box is in French...and about 20 different kinds! HA! Took me at least 20 minutes! Anyway, the soup was fabulous! Much thicker vegetable stock than we have, but VERY tasty!
A successful week! We have been to the supermarket most days, but prefer to buy our fruits, veggies and meat/fish from the outdoor markets. Most of the things that we buy at the market are for the house.
Bruce's first purchase was a car vacuum!....his car buddies will love that!
Observations
- The markets, especially on sunny days on the weekends, are PARTIES!!! They are a riot of color, great food odors, and people, who dress up a bit for the fun! Many people go out to lunch on those days! A place to see and be seen! Everyone is out for a good time!
-DON'T TRUST THE GPS!!!! The navigation systems are in valuable, but they take you through the COW PATHS!!!!! We have gone down more dirt roads, through forests with hunters, and followed tractors to the bigger roads....(please read 2 lane roads, because NO roads are as big as Jamboree road in Ca.!)
- Although our village is smaller, and not fancy, the larger town of Uzes, on market day, is a bit fancier! More blonde women, and women who looked like they were from Paris...jewelry, very fine clothing and handbags, etc.
- Except for pure tourist spots, DO NOT try to go out to lunch on Sunday, without a reservation! You will be turned away! Families all go out to lunch,...Mama, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, and kiddies! Young and Old! All together for at least a good 2 hour lunch!
- EVERY young child is picked up from school at about 11:30 to 12:00 for lunch! They ALL walk home, holding hands with their parent/grandparent! Every child hold hands! Even older children walk holding hands with their parents...perhaps, up to about age 13 or 14! It is very dear!
Lots of Love!
Irene, Bruce, Easy and Breezy
The Pont du Gard
One, rainy day we took off to go to see the Pont du Gard...a stone bridge & aqueduct, over the Gordon river, about 25 minutes from here. The bridge/aqueduct itself is quite impressive...it is built of limestone, and, of course, we knew it was quite old...being a rainy day, we visited the museum. It was shockingly impressive! The bridge dates back, from before Christ!! Approx. a century BC, and then, updated by the Romans! The Romans evidently figured out how to use limestone mortar to build. The limestone is quarried a few miles from the bridge, and either floated down to the bridge site, or hauled in by cart!
More importantly, the top layer of the bridge is an aqueduct, bringing water from the mountains, to the town of Uzes, and the entire area nearby. The aqueduct on top is closed most of the time, but if there was too much water, it would spill out and over the bridge.
Amazing! Napoleon needed more room to crowd the bridge, so he built additions at the base to be able to move his supplies and troops more easily! Simply amazing!
The aqueduct has not been in use since the early 1900's; and the bridge is one of France's beaux sites, and has been declared a World Heritage site, as well.
St Remy du Provence
On Wednesday, it was sunny, very cool, and blustery day, we headed to our first outdoor market in St. Remy du Provence. It is a weekly market in the middle of the town...full of color, and vendors with tents that they set up about 7:30 to 8:00 am., and promptly remove at 12:00 noon! But, of course, they must break everything down to go to lunch!!! Everything stops for lunch!
The market wanders from a central location in town, down the stone streets and into another little stone square. We are lucky in getting parking spots since people come and go. But here, we saw vendors with: Colorful woven market baskets, clothing, linens, jewelry, fruit and vegetables, olives, lavender, cheese, breads, pastries, spices in open burlap sacks, original watercolors of Provence, furniture, fish vendors and butchers. ALL Fresh! Fruits and veggies are from France, Spain, Israel, Morroco, Tunesia...all over the globe! There were 2 vendors who also had antiques.
A bit shocking was the whole skinned rabbits in the butcher cases! The fish vendor had everything from huge scallops, 20 different kinds of fish (fresh water and salt water), shrimp, skate, squid, mussels and oysters! One of the vendors sold nothing but oysters, and there were about 6 different kinds!
We had a lovely Plat du Jour lunch on the main square, of brochette of beef, polenta, and a mixed vegetable side of zucchini and green beans. Bruce had a salad as big as a dinner plate with olives, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, ham, and lots of other things! A little wine, and bread, and who needs dessert!?
We eat heavier at lunch, and lighter at dinner. I bought a roasted chicken at the Charcutrie. For a two days we had chicken and salad for dinner. Then, I bought fresh vegetables for soup from our market (marche) on Friday!...a real challenge was trying to figure out what kind of vegetable stock I would use for the soup, every word on the box is in French...and about 20 different kinds! HA! Took me at least 20 minutes! Anyway, the soup was fabulous! Much thicker vegetable stock than we have, but VERY tasty!
A successful week! We have been to the supermarket most days, but prefer to buy our fruits, veggies and meat/fish from the outdoor markets. Most of the things that we buy at the market are for the house.
Bruce's first purchase was a car vacuum!....his car buddies will love that!
Observations
- The markets, especially on sunny days on the weekends, are PARTIES!!! They are a riot of color, great food odors, and people, who dress up a bit for the fun! Many people go out to lunch on those days! A place to see and be seen! Everyone is out for a good time!
-DON'T TRUST THE GPS!!!! The navigation systems are in valuable, but they take you through the COW PATHS!!!!! We have gone down more dirt roads, through forests with hunters, and followed tractors to the bigger roads....(please read 2 lane roads, because NO roads are as big as Jamboree road in Ca.!)
- Although our village is smaller, and not fancy, the larger town of Uzes, on market day, is a bit fancier! More blonde women, and women who looked like they were from Paris...jewelry, very fine clothing and handbags, etc.
- Except for pure tourist spots, DO NOT try to go out to lunch on Sunday, without a reservation! You will be turned away! Families all go out to lunch,...Mama, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, and kiddies! Young and Old! All together for at least a good 2 hour lunch!
- EVERY young child is picked up from school at about 11:30 to 12:00 for lunch! They ALL walk home, holding hands with their parent/grandparent! Every child hold hands! Even older children walk holding hands with their parents...perhaps, up to about age 13 or 14! It is very dear!
Lots of Love!
Irene, Bruce, Easy and Breezy
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