Our friends Gerry and Kent were due to visit on Sunday, so with a limited ability to wash and DRY bedsheets, towels, etc...we embarked on a few days of preparation. Most fun is always going to the Marche in Uzes. We prepared for their visit by going into town to the market to buy olives, cheese, ham, fruit, and other yummy goodies! This is strawberry season, and cherries are beginning to appear in the market.
We picked them up in Avignon, and what do you know....the boys found a car show!!! Bruce has been in withdrawal!
We had a wonderful time with our friends, taking them to the Marche in Uzes, our favorite restaurants, and showing them the countryside. Our friends Larry and Regina had us over to their house for champagne and showed us their wine cave. Very fun, and very kind of Larry and Regina! Two days later, Larry took us to his favorite vineyard and winery in Liroc....an area just to the West of Chateauneuf-du Pape.
The winery is definitely a family business, and the owner, whose grandfather had owned the vineyard/winery poured us some lovely wines. We will be taking some back to the states for Roger and Abby's wedding! Most notable were the Rose and the Chateauneuf-du-Pape. French wine is a bit different from California wines, but we have found that most wine, although not as fruity as many of the California wines, are rich and flavorful, but a bit dryer and more subtle than California wines. Pricey? NOT at all! We have had lovely wines for prices that range from 5 Euros to 45 Euros, on average...and the bottle at the Eiffel Tower dinner was $180.00.
We mostly had dinners at lunch time (our French way) and had lighter dinners at home. One lovely night we went up to the 4th floor terrace, that looks out to the Duke's castle, and had cheese, 5 different types of olives, tapanade, a creamy garlic spread, crustini, salad and ham sandwiches on a baguette.
Kent and Gerry treated us to drinks, several lunches and a lovely dinner in a garden/cave that was superb!
The last day they were here, we wanted to show them the sea-side town of Cassis. The town is still as lovely as it was a few years ago with many boats, fishermen, a boules court, restaurants and a castle on the hill! The only thing that tempered the mood of the day was the traffic in Marseilles at rush hour! Ouch! My fault!
We had a lovely time with them, and miss them badly, as we do all of our friends! We love to share all the beauty and uniqueness of France. You are all welcome to visit!!!
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