Saturday is market fun!	"L"Appartment" 2/20 Rue Jacques D'Uzes Our apartment is recently remodeled apartment in a historic building with high quality appliances, an extremely detailed operational manual to make our stay trouble-free. For any viewers planning a trip to France we can only suggest you visit www.frenchcottages.com to get ideas from Australian owners just how easy it is to make it all happen. David and Bryan who run the business have accommodation in three major tourism areas, but unfortunately we had left our planning too late to book more than one region with them. After a quick meal at a pizza restaurant virtually next door we returned to the apartment for a good night's sleep. A comfortable bed and double glazed windows made it happen! Sat 14th May "The Markets of Uzes" Uzes is famous for its Saturday morning markets. Overnight 200 stalls miraculously appear for trading in local artifacts, art crafts, clothing, foods and regional produce. We enjoyed purchasing a great variety of fresh produce as we intend to self-cater for the majority of the week. The feature of the day was lunch in a small café "Creperie Medievale". Our ability to communicate with the delightful middle-aged couple who spoke virtually no English was indeed amazing. Roger Politi, apart from being the crepe chef extraodinaire, was also a self-taught painter who had not only decorated the walls, but also produced the many paintings hanging. His love of animals and nature came through in vivid colors and bold strokes. We finished up having heaps of fun as we try to interpret each other's language. The cafe was in our street. After walking a circuit of part of the town we returned our apartment to catch up on some correspondence and take it easy. Tomorrow more left-hand driving (no problems now) as we begin to enjoy the many features of the surrounding countryside . Having decided to stay a full week in three different villages, we originally had some doubts about our strategy, but after just a day in Uzes we know it was the right decision. With a week here we will not have enough time to fully enjoy all that this region has to offer! From a tourism perspective Uzes has amazing architecture, history and local and regional assets to market. The locals certainly know how to make sure visitors get the most from their Provence experience. We look forward to a week of Uzes experiences.
Local artisan made sandels at the Uzes Saturday Market.
Margaret enjoying the company of Roger's mural ladies!
Roger the proudest self taught artist and crepes chef in Uzes!!

The Medieval Garden Uzes	The Duchy Drawing Room	A rose in St Quentin -La- Poterie	Le Duche D' Uzes
Images of Uzes

Sunday May the 15th At 10 a.m. we put out walking shoes on and strolled to visit the Medieval Garden ("Jardin Medieval"), a display complex has been developed between the King's and Bishop's towers which were originally part of the 11th century Ranyon Castle. The Bishops acquired parts of the castle in 1242 and King Charles VIII part in 1493. [We are dealing with real history here) A number of rooms within the complex have been utilized for static displays, and as with many Uzes buildings the medieval architecture and construction features. The main courtyard contains staple foods of medieval times, the “Hortus” garden room, pot herbs and condiment herbs used in the kitchen, and the Herbularium garden room herbs mainly used for medicinal purposes. It was here we saw our first lavender in full bloom, as of course we are about three weeks too early to see the countryside steeped in lavender flowers. We strolled home for lunch past "La Cathedral St Theodorit" dating back to the fifth century. The present cathedral dates to 1652 and features a Romanesque façade added in 1873. The organ is one of the finest in the region. We returned later for photographs as the Pentecost Sunday services where taking place. In the quieter part of the afternoon we took a drive and visited a number of the small villages that surround Uzes. These were all within 10 km and we enjoyed the scenery. Returning we undertook our favorite pastime, strolling the amazing narrow streets as typical tourists looking and photographing. Dinner was a self catered gourmet selection of local produce from the market and fine local wine. Voila! Monday May the 16th. I made an early start as we had no milk, having forgotten the warning about Monday being a public holiday. Eventually I found the one shop selling milk and groceries, and also wine. My second mistake was not buying wine at the time, as returning at 5:30 p.m. it was shut. "Saint Quentin La Poterie" The morning was spent in catching up on some Internet content, as only cafés and artifacts shops were open. Before lunch we drove to "Saint Quentin La Poterie", famous for its pottery. Unfortunately the museum was closed so we will have to return, but it was just interesting to stroll and to meet with several potters. A feature of the village is the very modern Terre Viva Galerie. This gallery was currently exhibiting works by three local artisans. For those who love art and ceramics it is truly a feast to behold! Le Duche D'uzes:( The Residence of the Dukes of Uzes). The window our apartment faces the walls and towers of the Duchy (Dukes Mansion). The House of Uzes goes back to Louis 1X, (1214 to 1270) and today the Uzes Title is the oldest in France and is often referred to as "The 1st Duchy of France”. The conducted tour of the Duchy is a must for all visitors to Uzes. The tour includes the amazing dungeon and cellar originally used for stocking food in case of the siege but later used as a conventional wine cellar. (40 barrels and 10,000 bottles were stored to maintain the moral of the troops in the nearby barracks) The ongoing restoration has produced a real picture of the arts and furnishings of the Renaissance Period. The drawing room features furnishings and portraits from the period 1694 to 1778. Local potter: On our stroll home we met Andrea in the one of the narrow Rue's. Andrea is a local potter who shares a workshop/studio "L'Antre Terre & Soliel" with an artist and a jeweler. Her pottery was exquisite, but unfortunately our luggage weight limits said we could look, but not buy! Andrea was loading her kiln for the first firing of a selection of her works, and we will return to view the finished product.	In the Medieval Garden
	We met a pottery lady in St Quentin
	The Cathedral bell tower
	St Quentin Terra Viva Gallery
	Andrea's pottery
	Pedestrians and one way only.

French cheeses are yummy.	The butcher has the farm in his window	A group of older touring cyclists take a break in the square	Modern shopping in buildings of antiquities.
More images of Uzes
Wednesday the 19th of May: Today we visited the City of Nimes located some 25 km south of Uzes. This is a city famous for its Roman amphitheater Jardins (gardens) De La Fontaine, Roman Magane Tower on the rise overlooking the city, and other fine examples of Roman architecture. Arriving around 11 a.m. we parked the car underground and commenced out walking tour of the city. Nimes is a city that combines ancient narrow laneways and the majesty of wide thoroughfares and Gardens. The open areas at the base of the Fontaine Gardens included many statues and the influence of French Renaissance landscape architecture was evident. The Temple de Diane was a fine example of Roman ruins, but its exact role it played as part of the imperial temple is not known. At the top of the hill containing the Gardens is the Magane Tower, which is a landmark as you approach the Nimes and provides a great view of the city from the top. It is quite a climb and as usual towards the top quite narrow steps. What a coincidence to meet Bruce, an Australian from Wollongong at the top of the tower, and more so the fact that he was staying in one of the other two "French Cottages" in Uzes owned by David and Bryan from Melbourne the owners of our accommodation “L' Apartment”. We arranged to meet with Bruce and his wife Mary back in Uzes early evening and swap stories .On returning into the city we visited Maision De La Carree (the square house). This building dated to the first century A.D. and was dedicated to the grandson of Emperor Augustus. The entry doors some 6 meters in height where indeed impressive. The amphitheater built at the end of the first century was one of the largest in Roman Gaul and more than 20,000 spectators were unable to attend spectaculars including the feats of the gladiators. The Amphitheater is still used today for various events including bullfighting, as Nimes has retained a strong Spanish influence. Once again, spending the best part of the day in a French city was not nearly enough to cover all of interest. Our decision to stay in a location for a week has given us the opportunity to really understand the local history architecture and cultural attributes of the region. Late afternoon returned to the Crêpe Medieval Café to show to Roger and his delightful wife the Internet presence of his Café and art. They were both terribly excited and immediately rang the family and friends to check it out! The evening was spent planning our last full day in Uzes, and mapping the trip north to the Bordeaux region on Friday. Thursday the 20th of May: The morning was spent at Pont Du Gard approximately halfway between Uzes and Avignon. This is the side of the amazing aqueduct constructed in the third century to supply Niems with water. This amazing structure rises 49 meters above the water level and construction involved raising enormous blocks of stat weighing 6 tons to this level. The construction of course did not use cement. This is a major tourism summit home in the region and caters for thousands of tourists per week. Returning to use is we had a quick lunch and at last sightseeing trip was to the medieval village of Vezenobres some 25 km west of Uzes. The previous day we had met a couple recently retired to Vezenobres from England and South Africa. They had suggested we visit the village because of its beauty and medieval history. Then invited us in for coffee and showed their works in progress as they renovate a three level apartment. It was interesting to hear their reasons to retire as a reasonably young age to an isolated village in France. Heart to leaving Carolina and Jon we climbed to the top village to experience the 360° vista of the surrounding countryside. It was then back to Uzes it is for the sad task of packing our bags. We could have spent weeks more exploring this wonderful region filled with historic architecture and culture. My last task was to upload the latest travelogue entry at the local tourism office. I had a brief meeting with the director of tourism and we agreed to exchange weblinks. Our last evening we enjoyed the company of Andrea, a Uzes potter who joined us for drinks at our local pizza Café. Both Margaret and I enjoyed a lamb dish with the meat suspended on a stainless steel skewer a above the plate. A memorable last day and evening in Uzes! For more information on Uzes visit: 1. Our Uzes additional Uzes images album 2. The local Tourism website (With english language option) www.uzez.com			Roman Ruins and Middle Age church backdrop in Nimes
			Painting of the Magane Tower Nimes
			The magnificent retored organ in St Theodorit Cathedral

This travelogue will document a months experiences in The Dordogne and Provence France with a short transit through UK.

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