Au Revoir Uzes

The days leading up to our departure from Uzes were a mixture of work and play.  We had consciously decided to complete our final day trips well before our departure, to enable a final immersion in Uzes; to review our favourite areas and to explore the few remaining areas where we had not been or spent much time.  We also had to compress our belongings (old and new) into our suitcases, send them home, or give them away.

Memories of ‘play’ included:

• Having a great Italian meal with the Christofides and Bracken families, in a restaurant tucked away to the south of the Place aux Herbes, and accessed by small alleyways.
• Saying our goodbyes to the Christofides family, who left Uzes for London and then Camberwell 4 days before us.
• Having some nice meals out in the evening, along with final glasses of rose (adults) and ice creams (kids).
• Visiting two art galleries (Oliver Bevans and Raphael’s step Mum’s exhibition) and the Bande Dessinee (Comic strip festival).
• Shopping for items to remind us of our time in Uzes

Memories of ‘work’ included:

• Deciding to leave our largest suitcase (old and damaged) in Uzes, and (inclusive of unwanted large toys, such as Xavier’s tractor and roller) giving it to a woman just outside the Red Cross.
• Andrew mimimising the cost of sending items home in La Poste boxes or envelopes, by compressing everything with glad wrap, maximising the allowable weight in each box, and bending the rules to take advantage of cheaper envelope rates for ‘documents only’ (inserting clothes between books!).
• Returning the apartment to a state hopefully like it was when we arrived (especially as the owner Marlene had driven down from Brittany – perhaps for a holiday, perhaps to meet us, or perhaps to inspect the property).

The night before our departure Andrew drove the car around the ring road and into the central area, gaining a park about 30m from our front door.  This was only the third time in 10 weeks the car had come inside the largely pedestrian centre of Uzes, but it greatly assisted with our getaway.

On the morning of Sunday the 6^th July we completed packing our suitcases, and made our way down the staircase at 2 Rue de Pelisserie for the final time.  After packing the luggage and kids, we drove out of the village centre via several narrow roads/laneways, completed a final 360+ degree circuit of the ring road, and said our goodbyes to Uzes.

On route to Avignon we stopped to take some photos of a sunflower field in full bloom, and the nearby Roman ruins in Argilliers we had driven past many times without stopping.

After dropping Elle, Grace, Xavier and our luggage at the TGV Station, Andrew and William drove into the centre of Avignon to return the car.  The Peugeot 5008 had been a great selection and we had no issues (accidents, damage, fines) during the 11 week lease.

The long but very easy train journey to London comprised two legs.  The first on a French TGV from Avignon to Marne La Vallee (near Euro Disney), then a Eurostar train to St Pancras.  When not having wonderful family conversations (!), the children played games on the ipads and Dad edited photos and worked on the blog.

After arriving at St Pancras station we were met by our good friend Ruth Cooke-Yarborough, who took us to her apartment near Russell Square, which she and husband Peter graciously allowed us to use for our week in London.