Monday 15th August

We decided to get up early – 7.30am, and go and get cereals, fruit, yogurt and the likes for our stay here because soon after we got here yesterday the supermarket closed for the day. The sign on the door told us that it should have been open at 7.30am but not so. For heavens sake it’s 8.15am and even French time in Uzes can’t be that late! So instead it was coffee and a shared pastry at the local boulangerie. Not what we are trying to eat at all. We wandered down the street and not much was open and we found out that today was a holiday. Hello – the Marche finally opened so we trotted back to get our carry bags from our apartment and went to get the groceries. Our apartment is on the first floor at 11 Rue de la Republique, downstairs there is a clothing shop and right outside our door the Boucherie was displayi ng a rotisserie full of chickens. In we went and got one for dinner as well as some Saussieson, like salami for lunch.

We decided that because we didn’t know where the bus stops were in the town we would do the town walk before it got too hot. Off we set with our map and English explanations of the route and local sites. We passed the Pharmacie and the neon sign outside already told us that it was 25 degrees and at only 9.30am. Far cry from the wonderful snowman that Stu sent us pictured in his back yard.

Uzes is full of cafes, bars or Tabacs and restaurants. Every street has them and every square also. The streets in Uzes are mostly pedestrian only with three and four storied buildings on either side, cobblestones on the ground and around the squares the ground floors are all open archways with the stores and cafes set back in under. There are, as in most places, lots of churches and most date back to the 11th and 12th centuries although the huge temple and ten other churches here were destroyed during the Religious Wars. In the seventeenth century the Cathedral was rebuilt on the site of the ruins. Most of the churches were ransacked during the revolution and many of them were used as public buildings and even prisons.

The Duche D’Uzes in one of the best preserved buildings in the town centre dating back to the feudal period. It was built on the site of a Roman fortress and was strongly fortified to withstand attacks that never eventuated. It has been added to over the periods but the architect was the same fellow who built the Palace of the Tuleries in Paris. We didn’t climb the tower to see the view over Uzes as they wanted €17 for the priviledge. Anyway it was too hot and there were too many stairs for us.

In the 18th and 19th centuries Uzes was a famous manufacturing town with a major oil mill but Sericulture, silk worm breeding and silk production, flourished employing some 2000 people. At that time Uzes specialized in the production of silk stockings. The last mills closed in 1936, following the general decline of the textile industry in the region. Now every ladies clothing shop seems to have heaps of linen clothing for sale, something that Jannie has yet resisted.

We completed the tour of the town which is not that big once you walk around it all and we were too hot and sweaty so we wandered back to our apartment for lunch and a beer and a rest. Feed and rested we wandered out later in the afternoon and Jannie tried the linen clothing!! We walked down an alleyway away from the village and turned a corner and there in front of us was a vineyard and winery. The vines were beside the road and were covered in green grapes. Will have to go back and taste the wine from here later on. Not more that 500m from our apartment. We wandered further down the hill and there were vines everywhere. The houses were typical Tuscan homes and looked great with the sun on them. Only trouble with walking downhill is that sooner or later we turned to walk back uphill and at the end of our walk we came out right opposite the end of our street.

We spoke with Ann and Graham this morning and it was lovely to catch up with them. We heard about the snow in NZ that is causing all sorts of problems. Ann said there had even been snow falling on the Sky Tower in Auckland - which must be a first! Stu sent us a picture of a snowman which told the story pretty well for Dunedin.

We also had a communication from Don & Debs in Canada which was a lovely surprise. Hey you guys we are well and had a great time with Jane & Paul on the canal. We have now parted ways and they are in Hong Kong and headed home. We still have a few weeks left to enjoy. Will send you an email soon. Lots of love J&K