Sunday, June 04, 2017

Another Potential Home


Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

We were afraid, as we visited charming city after charming city, that we were being seduced with the beautiful, sunny weather. Maybe the towns weren't as fabulous as we thought.
So on a cloudy day, we pulled into the small mountain town of Uzès.
The drive there was gorgeous and the history is amazing. Celts created a settlement there before Romans moved in and then a duchy or kingdom was created. Parts of the castle remain
Perhaps if we hadn't parked in the parking garage just a few feet from this restaurant then we wouldn't have been smitten.

The restaurant once served as the stables for the castle. 

But we did park there at 2:30 and began to walk toward the village when the restaurant's proprietor stepped outside and motioned us into the restaurant assuring us that, of course, it was not too late for lunch. Many French restaurants have strict hours for eating. 12:30- 2:30 are general hours. Since the French take a couple of hours for lunch or dinner, there isn't a lot of leeway for stretching those hours. 
After we were welcomed in, we sat in the restaurant with the white stone arches stretching over our heads and enjoyed our meals with a few other stragglers. Each course being served in its own time, in spite of the late hour that we began to eat.  
Earl had lasagna Bolognaise and I had a cod and potato dish mixed together in a casserole called gratinè de brandade de morue, along with salad on the side.

For dessert I had goat cheese while Earl chose tiramisu. Of course, we shared both. 

After a photo, the restaurant owner gave us directions for finding the tourism office.

The tourism office gave us a map and a bit of history, but we stopped at a chocolate shop and the man behind the counter gave us a route to take as we walked around the town. We wandered through the charming town, where the sun still wasn't shining, past the castle  



and a Medieval Garden
We made our way to the cathedral, dominated by a high tower,

 

and we spent quite a bit of time lollygagging at the overlook. Somewhere in the distance was the Pont du Gard, which carried water from this village, Uzès to Nimes, about 16 miles away.

We walked back through the village, the skies still cloudy and had coffee in a charming square where the students gathered after they got out of school.

And my overwhelming feeling throughout the day as we walked the cobblestone streets was that I could live here too.
Darn it! I feel that way about so many of the towns and villages.
As we walked back to the parking garage where we had left the car, I saw a parking garage Zamboni. Just a guy on a little blue cart, making sure the parking garage is spotless.

He's under the red arrow -- not that I planned it that way. 
How can you not love this country?
So there's another small town where I could happily live. 
Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France. Please leave your link below and visit each other's blogs to share your love for France.

5 comments:

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

How are you going to make a choice ? So many fabulous places to live . I love many. Just don't forget to tell me where you are moving too!! ♥ ..Looking forward to reading more and seeing your fab photo.

Just Me said...

Oh my gosh, it sounds fabulous. I'm thrilled you have so many choices. Just remember, no matter which village you choose, you and Earl will be so happy. Don't let FOMO cause you any stress. You can visit all the places you where you don't live. And you would be happy in all these places. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know. 🤗 I just want you to enjoy all the possibilities. Btw, I'm relieved you have a few more months, "I" was beginning to stress as soon as you were on your way home.

Philippe F. said...

Bonjour Paulita ! Uzès est une très belle petite ville ( 8 000 habitants ) qui serait parfaite pour votre futur maison. Avec toutes les commodités à disposition ( 300 commerces !), un air sans pollution ( pas d' industries dans cette région ), une magnifique campagne alentour ( pour courir ou se balader ) et la grande ville de Nîmes avec son Université très proche ( 25 km ), la ville d' Uzès serait l' endroit idéal pour votre installation. Mais d' autres villes d' Occitanie comme Carcassonne, Perpignan, Quillan, Pézenas, Béziers ou Montpellier seraient d' excellents lieux pour votre "Dream home" !!! Nous ( vos followers ) avons hâte de savoir quelle sera votre choix de ville. Ensuite nous suivrons attentivement votre recherche de la maison idéale.// Hello Paulita! Uzès is a very nice little town ( 8 00O inhabitants )that will be perfect for your next sweet home. With all the amenities available ( 300 shops ), air without any pollution ( no industry around ,)a gorgeous countryside surrounding ( to run, hike and bike )and the big city of Nîmes with University nearby ( 25 km/ 16 miles ), Uzès will be the ideal spot for your installation.But others cities in Occitanie like Carcassonne, Perpignan, Quillan, Pèzenas, Béziers or Montpellier might be also excellent place for your Dream home! Then we ( all your followers ) shall carefully observe your hunt for a perfect house.Bonjour de Lyon et de la France. Philippe.

Jeanie said...

It looks and sounds wonderful, Paulita. However will you make a choice? I suppose weather might be a factor, and the spot to live but oh, I think choosing will be far harder than one could imagine!

Paulita said...

Thanks to everyone for your comments.
Anne, You will definitely know where I am.
Just Me, Yes, I'm trying to just be happy that we have so many possibilities and they all will be fabulous. We are thinking about renting for the first six months or so to see how we like it and where we want to stay.
Philippe, Yes, Uzès delighted me. I thought it would be snooty and touristy, but it seemed very down to earth and the prices were within our budget in places. Definitely worth a further look. Plus, it's closer to Provence, too.
Jeanie, It's so hard to narrow it down. Everywhere we go in France, they warn us about the weather in other places! In Aix they say the weather is bad in l'Occitanie and in l'Occitanie they say Provence winters our too windy. Who to believe?

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