Nîmes

Elle and Andrew had a day in Nîmes on their 1996 backpacking holiday with Rachel DaCosta, and although they can remember enjoying the Roman Arena the city didn’t leave a strong impression.  As such, despite being only a 30min drive from Uzès, it wasn’t until the 5^th June, 6 weeks after our arrival, that we made our first visit (the timing prompted by the commencement of the Feria, the town’s most famous festival).  It was a relatively short visit, perhaps 3 hours, but enough to make us change our view of Nîmes.

After parking our car centrally in an underground carpark we headed towards the Arena.  Along the way we spotted a house with ceramics embedded into the external walls, which appealed to us.

Although we didn’t enter the Arena, we had a good look at the outside, and took some photos nearby.

Moving on from the Arena, we headed into the labyrinth of narrows streets that make up the old town, but which is now home to many nice shops.  We spent about an hour walking through this area, which we couldn’t remember from our previous visit, and which impressed us greatly.

Andrew enjoyed the ‘mon papa champion’ advertising at this store.

The streets were filled with people of all ages, and cultures.  Andrew stood for a while at this location trying to capture the essence of the experience, with this being his best effort.

Before heading home we wanted to see the Maison Carriere, Nimes other famous Roman building (which I think we had forgotten from the 1996 visit).  Although again we did not go inside (it now holds special exhibitions), we had a good look from several angles and spent some time in the portico area.  It is truly a spectacular building, and in excellent condition.

It was at this time we noticed people were lining the nearby road, which runs between the Maison and the Arena, and we saw a small group of people on horses.  We checked the Feria program and noted that something was supposed to happen at about this time, but the name in French name was quite non-descript (or perhaps just difficult for us to interpret).  So we decided to move closer to the road and wait a while to see what might happen.  Shortly after gettting a good position, we noted a larger group of horses, without riders, and a few minutes later we witnessed the event – a mustering of about 50 (mostly) white horses down the street.  With the Maison as the backdrop, it was quite spectacular.

On our way back to the car, we walked alongside a nice canal, visited a park, and ‘lounged’ on a narrow new landscaped strip above the carpark.  The former two were definitely there in 1996, so once again we scratched our heads and wondered why Nîmes hadn’t left a better impression.

Not even our struggle to depart Nimes, because of road closures for the Feria, could dent our positive experience.  So, upon our return to Uzès, a second visit to Nimes was added to the ‘to do’ list on the kitchen blackboard of level 3, 2 Rue Pelisserie.

On the 27th June, Andrew, Elle and Xavier headed back to Nimes (Grace and William were at school).  We parked in a different location this time (hoping to minimise the risk of a difficult exit), and upon exiting the carpark, found ourselves staring at Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Castor de Nîmes.

Without a map, we were not entirely sure of our location (despite being next to the massive Cathedral), however made a few calculated assumptions and successfully found the ‘old city’ area.  After a short walk around, and some window shopping, we decided to have lunch in the Place du Marche which we had liked walking through on our previous visit.

We settled on La Magador, at the eastern end of the place, and we both opted for different  ‘menu de jour’.  Andrew ate what was described as a local favourite, octopus in cream sauce; while Elle had Brandade, an emulsion of salted cod and olive oil, mixed with potatoes.

Xavier was more interested in the nearby crocodile fountain.

After lunch we again wandered through the old city streets, where we noted it was sales (soldes) time.  Elle bought a nice red pair of sandals (not at Mellow Yellow).

Prior to leaving Nîmes for the last time, Andrew discovered Fontaine Pradier in Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle, near the Arena.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Tavel, our local AOCs

Châteauneuf-du-Pape (CdP) and Tavel are two Appellation d'Origine Contrôlées (AOCs) in the southern Rhône wine region.  Tavel is 27km east of Uzes, with CdP a further 18km to the east, across Le Rhône.

On the 26^th of May we had our second visit to CdP, this time with Neil, Gee, Theo and Isabella.

Approximately one hour by car from Uzes, we had already confirmed that CdP was an easy day trip from Uzes. Once in the region, it is amazing to observe the varied terroir in which they grow grapes in this region. From large rocks (called gallettes), to clay soils to very sandy, thay have it all.

Our first stop was Domaines Mousset just outside CdP, where Andrew hoped to be able to taste and buy some wine from Xavier Vins.  On entry to the property we noted a Xavier sign, which lead to an area where a mobile bottling plant was in operation.  This ingenious plant was fully enclosed in a semi-trailer housing, and we had a lot of fun watching it operate.  Unfortunately, although we could see them bottling a Xavier red, it must be a separate business from the chateau as we were unable to taste or buy our little man’s namesake wines.

Driving back in to CdP and parking the car, we initially had a very nice tasting at Domaine Durieau (where group photo below was taken), before heading up the hill to see the old Chateau of the Popes and associated views across the Rhone Valley.

Then we made our way to Les Caves St Charles, to meet Guy Bremond for a personal tasting session.  Andrew found Guy the night before as a highly recommended person to meet via Trip Advisor, and was surprised to get an immediate positive response for an appointment via an email exchange after midnight!  Guy is an ex-sommelier, who worked in Hong Kong, with very good English, and a great passion for the wines of Chateauneuf des Papes.  When returning to France he decided to set up a cave in CdP, built strong relationships with several local producers, and agreed to market and sell their wines through his cave.

The cave itself (called St Charles) is built into the hill, atop which sits the Chateau.  It has two tasting rooms, both of which consist of a central table, a couple of wooden benches, along with surrounding boxes full of local wine.  Atmospheric music plays and the lighting is low, which all adds to the experience.

The tasting session covered ~10 wines, with Guy attempting to cover a broad range of styles for us to compare and contrast.  In general, the tasting once again confirmed to Andrew, that CdP may well be his spiritual home in France, greatly assisted by his love of grenache (this will be tested one day when he hopes to visit Bordeaux).  Neil ordered a box of his favourite vin rouge from the tasting, to be delivered to London, and Andrew purchased 3 bottles to be consumed in Uzes.

On the 17^th of June we had our 3^rd and final day trip to Chateaunuef du Papes, this time with Tanya and Terry Christofides, which we augmented with a visit to Tavel, and a very nice lunch at Sorgues (which will be covered in the upcoming post on great meals).

Tavel is roughly half way between Uzes and CdP, approximately 30min drive from each, and is famous for its Rose.  First stop was Domaine Mordaree, where we had a very enjoyable tasting, where our host even took the time to amuse Xavier with a cork balancing competition.

The wines of Mordaree were very nice, particularly the 3 different versions of Rose from different soil types.

After Mordaree, we headed straight to Les Caves St Charles in CdP, for another tasting session with Guy.  We had told Tanya and Terry about Guy and St Charles, and the second personal tasting session was as good as the first (or better; this time we didn’t have to leave in a rush to collect this kids from school).

Andrew and Terry decided to buy a case of their favourite vin rouge from the tasting, which Guy will send to Melbourne after the hot summer months have ended.

On Sunday 25^th June, after spending the day with Rachel, Christian, Lucy and Alex in Avignon, we again visited Tavel (while waiting to collect William from a birthday party he was invited to at a nearby winery!).  As previously indicated Tavel is famous for Rose, even going as far to claim itself as the ‘first city of Rose in France’.

Andrew got out of the car to have this photo taken, showing an old vine happily growing in very rocky soil.

Prior to collecting William we visited the co-operative tasting centre, where it was possible to taste an incredibly varied range of Rose’s (take a look at the colour difference between the 3 bottles on the counter below).  Elle was very taken by the artwork used by the co-operative on specific bottles, including the painting in the background of the picture below, which was being used for a specific wine this year.

Two great days in Avignon

Monday 2nd June
During our first five weeks in Uzès we had visited Avignon five times, however all of these were to pick up or drop off family members at the TGV station.  On only one of these occasions (when dropping Elle off to visit Kate in Paris), did we venture inside the old city walls.

In the first week of June, after dropping William and Grace at school, we again drove to Avignon, but stayed well away from the TGV station.  This visit was to see some sights and explore.

After getting a good carpark below the Rocher des Dom (park on top of the only raised ground within the city walls), we decided to start the day by scaling the stairs to this city high point.  The photo below from a lookout in the park shows the famous Pont d’Avignon bridge extending most of the way across the Rhone River, with a tower in the city wall also visible.  When we first (and last) visited Avignon in 1996, we stayed in ‘backpackers’ accommodation on the far side of the river (top left in the image below).

At the same location an elderly gentleman was displaying and selling his etchings, many of which included famous Avignon sights.  We liked the images, and enjoyed engaging with him in French, so we decided to buy a small etching featuring the Pont.

We then walked around the elevated Parc, before descending to street level.  The stairs we took led us to the rear of the Palais du Papes, and we decided that was next on our list to see.  However, our access to the building was unconventional, as Andrew noted an open door being used by some workers at an adjoining flower show and decided it might be a short cut.  It was.  So short in fact that it bypassed the entrance hall where you pay to get in!  We noted three options:

a)      Backtrack, walk all the way around the Palace, then enter and pay

b)      Find the entrance hall and try and explain that we hadn’t paid but would now like to do so

c)       Push on and hope nobody requested to see tickets

We opted for c).

We had visited the Palace in 1996, and could remember some locations or elements, but 18 years is a long time, and a lot about the visit felt new to us.

Eventually we made our way to the top of the building, to the Terrace Café, where we had a light lunch.

Outside of the café there were great views, and a kind person who took a photo of the three of us.

On our way out of the Palace we found ourselves (by design) in the gift shop.  It was here that we thought we should compensate for our free entry, and seek good karma, by making some purchases.  Although Xaxier was very keen on the helmet and sword, we opted for a more practical medieval knight shirt (which was soon to become his favourite for the remainder of the holiday – you can see him wearing it in Avignon in several photos from the second great day below).

When we finally exited the building, just next to the correct entrance, we were able to admire the famous façade.

Wednesday 25th June

Our 1996 visit to Avignon was part of another large holiday.  For Andrew it was part of a 2 month post-MBA trip to Italy, France, Spain and the UK.  For Elle it was part of a 6 month post-LLB trip to most of Europe, with her good friend Rachel DaCosta.  And so when Rachel and Christian told us they were visiting France and Italy late in June, it seemed appropriate (if not unlikely) that we catch up in Avignon.

The catch up was logistically challenging, as they were only visiting Paris in France, and around that time we had arranged to visit Pilar in Andorra.  However, they were prepared to do a TGV ‘day trip’ from Paris to Avignon, and we did a big day trip back from Andorra (via Carcassonne) on Tuesday 24^th, such that Avignon on Wednesday 25^th worked for all.

With Wednesday being a non-school day, we should have had a full complement of children; however, William was invited to Raphael’s birthday party at his home next to their winery and vineyard.  So, he was dropped off first, then Elle, Grace and Xavier near the old city, before Andrew drove to the TGV station (yet again) to collect Rachel, Christian, Lucy and Alex.

After parking the car outside the old city walls, we ventured inside and rendezvoused outside the Hotel de Ville, where the children had several rides on the old carousel.

We then headed for lunch and found Nina Spoon, which looked like it would suit us (not too busy, separate tables for adults and kids, a separate room with retro games, and the option of both savoury and sweet crepes).  It was perfect, and we had a great time catching up while enjoying the food and largely leaving the kids to themselves.

After lunch we wandered past the Palais des Papes, where the kids enjoyed the silver men playing statues, before climbing up to spend some time in the Rocher des Dom and take in the views over Pont d'Avignon and the Rhone River again.

The logistics then occurred in reverse, with Andrew dropping Rachel, Christian, Lucy and Alex back at the TGV (for the 3-4hr journey back to Paris), then returning to collect Elle, Grace and Xavier near the old city, before driving to collect William.

A busy but fantastic day to remember.