Over the holidays we took the kids ice skating at the "patinoire" that was set up in the "esplanade" in Uzès. They actually truck in a portable rink, together with a small selection of midway rides and games and set it up outside from the circular boulevard that runs in the footprint of the old city walls. Impressive, although the rink isn't exactly Olympic size. In fact, it's probably a lot smaller than dozens of backyard rinks set up every year in the Metro Boston area. Nonetheless, it was close by and the best option we had. The high point was Cole taking to skates like a fish to water and then bringing the house down by flat out grooving to Day Tripper – on skates – as it blared over the sound-system.
A few weeks back we finally got around to visiting the Cathédrale Saint-Théodorit d'Uzès (when it wasn’t packed wall to wall with Christmas Eve worshippers). It’s a good thing it was empty this day because we spent about 20 minutes lying face down on the dank cold stone floor looking for Cole's lost shoe.
We’ve tried to make sure we drove around to some of the less well-known areas near our village… the ones that never make it into the Michelin Guides. On one such adventure, we found ourselves driving from little village to little village trying to find a restaurant open for lunch (we finally had to drive all the way to Bagnols-Sur- Cèze, where we ate Indian pizza… yum). On one back road in between two very not-open villages, we came upon what can only be described as the world’s greatest retirement home for tractors. Yup, you read that right.
Last weekend we headed into the Vaucluse to discover the source of La Rive Sourges. The Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, swollen from the recent rains, was a pretty impressive sight as it mysteriously swells from an unknown source deep inside a closed valley. The whitewater roaring away from the source made for an excellent kayak course and some sort of local club or team was practicing running gates while we watched. It was quite a sight.
That same day, we wound our way south to the village of Barben for a visit to Château Le Barben, the self-proclaimed “most beautiful castle in Provence.” What was amazing about this 10th century castle, other than its dramatic setting, was that, after being in the same family for over 500 years, it was sold in the sixties to a wealthy businessman who opened it up to the public. The amazing part, however is that *his family still lives there!* His daughter and her husband are both in the art/design/history professions and they have kept the Château maintained and open to the public. They live there with their family and on the day we visited, while waiting for our tour to begin, there was a gaggle of grandkids playing soccer in the castle gardens. Some life.
Our tour of the Château went fairly well, having wisely remembered to pack lollypops for the kids. Hard to scream when you have a “sucette” in your mouth. I do think the guide was a bit nervous when Cole decided to heave his pop across the room. Life moved in slow motion as it spiraled towards a 16th century Belgian tapestry. Oops. Sadly, we’d packed but one set of child silencers and as the tour entered the subterranean passages that housed the military defenders of the castle, things went poorly. We told Ellie that the costumed Knight leading this part of the tour was there to save the Princess. “Where’s the Princess??” Um… I think she’s at school. Cole entertained himself by rolling around in the 10th century dirt and throwing rocks at the ancient armaments and shields. “Ooh… sorry… no, I think that dent was already there.”
These are but a few of the great places we’ve taken in. There are plenty more and should you find yourself in the South of France, you would do well to visit any of them: the Roman Theatre in Orange, a visit to a winery in Châteauneuf du Pape, the legendary Friday market in Carpentras, and a drive up Le Mont Ventoux as far as the snow-covered roads would allow so Ellie could see the mountain that Daddy rode his bike up. It was sunny an warm enough to enjoy a hot chocolate on the patio at Chalet Reynard… a little Apres-ski, sans ski.
Our last Day Trip was on Sunday and it may be the most amazing thing we’ve seen in France. We drove west to the Grotte des Demoiselles, the Cave of the Fairies. This massive cavern, which you actually have to go UP to get into, was stunning. I spent the bulk of the hour-long tour literally speechless. To say that it looked like a movie set from an Indiana Jones or Lord of the Rings movie doesn’t even do it justice. I had to continually remind myself that it was real.
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