Uzes and Chateauneuf du Pape

There are always little glitches in travel and on our way to two great destinations we ran into one. Caused by the fact that the Garmin is not updated for temporary road work so that meant that we got in a horrible loop and drove around in circles in the old section of Nimes for 1 1/2 hours. Around and around screaming at the Garmin to shut .......up but afraid to turn her off. Fortunately she doesn't take it personally so eventually we got out of Garmin hell and were off on a little narrow road lined with plane trees with no room to meet a car much less the few trucks we ran into. Driving in France is not for sissies. We dipped into a valley and on the opposite crest was a wonderful hilltop village. The journey is amazing. A valley of huge rocky outcroppings and then a plain filled with grape vines and cypress trees. It is like gliding through an impressionist painting.  Wonder if there is any connection to the fact most lived and worked here.  Villages of cream colored stone, tiled roofs and blue shutters. It is hard to believe it is real?

Uzes is just a Provencal village over run with charm. A great square filled with trees that is quiet in a cool October morning but it is easy to imagine the warm summer nights when it is so packed that one has to wait for a chair to sit and enjoy the parade. Jon was excited to get to C du P because we had a memorable day there a few years ago. The journey on 101 was almost as memorable as the visit . Today we did totally different things and had another wonderful day. Tiny and set among the vines of one Frances most famous wine regions it has a special ambiance.

Then a castle pops up with a tiny village nestled at it's feet.

Uzes

Much needed reward for the driver after 1 1/2 hours in Nimes

Lots of caves

Fantastic lunch in C du P

View from our table over the valley filled with vines.

Walking in Arles at night does look like a Van Gogh painting.

The day in Aix en Provence. Pretty, too crowded, too touristy, not our cup of tea. Back home we visited the Arles Roman museum and it is excellent.

Aix

Jon thinks best part is the bathroom in the car park in Aix.

A children's garden on site of old Roman circus in Arles.

The Venus of Arles (copy) orginal is in Luvre but in storage because an artist restored it to the point of ruining it. It was discovered in a well in the 1600's.

A model of the amphitheater showing it had a retractable roof just like the one in Rome. Jerry eat your heart

out. They had the Roman navy to pull the ropes

Dining room floor

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