Uzes (so far)

Max's house from the back

Sunday, we took an afternoon train to Max's home in the south of France, in the town of Uzes. It was a beautiful train ride past little villages, rolling countryside, vineyards and fields of yellow flowers used to make canola oil. Max's house is gorgeous, maybe I should even call it an estate with its twenty-six acres and full-time groundskeeper. The house was built in the 15th century and was originally owned by nuns. Our tour of the house included its ten bedrooms, pool, summer kitchen, regular kitchen, two offices, "the towers," gym, the living and dining rooms, tennis courts and the mini orchard. I feel very fortunate to be staying in such a lovely place in and out and with wonderful people.

On Monday we headed into Uzes to explore with Max. Uzes is everything I would expect a town in the south of France to be. It is so cute and quaint with narrow cobblestone streets and EVERYTHING shuts down for lunch between noon and 2pm. We ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the town square before Max and Francette bid us au revoir. Jeremy and I continued to wander around before attempting our way back to the house. We were eventually successful with a few wrong turns along the way.

Duche d'Uzes

In town we saw the Duche d'Uzes, which is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Uzes. It is clearly a residence, while still very much looking the part for its original purpose as a castle/fortress. We crossed the courtyard to climb the Bermonde Tower. This was perhaps the steepest and narrowest stairwell I have ever ascended. After defeating the 135 stairs to the top, we were able to see a panoramic view of Uzes. From this view we could see the homes dotted with colorful shutters and topped with ceramic shingles. The Duche d'Uzes dates from the Middle Ages and it was built on the site of a Roman fortress.

Duche d'Uzes stairs of Bermonde Tower

In the evening we went hiking around the Pont du Gard, which is a Roman aqueducte built sometime between 16 BCE and 50 CE. The next day (Tuesday) we went kayaking on the river that took us underneath the Pont du Gard. I thought it was special to get to see it from several vantage points. Kayaking was a lot of fun, but also challenging. Both Jeremy's body and mine are growing stiff with all the activities of daily life here. Before kayaking, Jeremy went mountain biking with Francette. At one point during kayaking, Jeremy and I managed to tip our boat. We got stuck in some undergrowth in the river and the water came over us. We came up laughing since the water only came to about my chest.

Pont du Gard

We end each night with a delicious meal prepared by Francette. Jeremy and I are loving her food and French food in general. So far, so good.