Trois. August 20, 2015. Uzes and Other Wonderful Villages

Bon soir… .

It’s about 7 pm in Cairanne.. and soon we will be headed to the “rehearsal dinner” to be held in a little restaurant at the base of the hill atop which sits the ramparts and the “donjon” where the wedding ceremony will take place tomorrow.

Today was somehow totally filled… We had our petit dejeuner at the “hotel” — and then Mike and I took off for Uzes — a wonderful village about an hour from Cairanne. I’ve been there before, and it’s been one of my favorites..

First a few words about Cairanne since several of you have asked about it..

Cairanne dates back to the 8th Century and it’s about halfway between Orange and Vaison-la-Romaine ( a little more on the latter later since I was there today as well). Cairanne is noted for its fine wines… and this is the economic driver of the town (and the region).. There are only about 800 residents of Cairanne.. and Mike’s sister-in-law is an elected member of the town council.. Because of this, she and the Mayor will jointly perform the wedding ceremony (which I hear will be done bilingually since some guests only speak French and others only speak English). The village vieux (old “city”) sits at the top of the hill surrounded by the original ramparts.. there is a church (Christianity plays a big part in the history of the town).. The town’s history is filled with lots of wars, diseases, and other unpleasant tales.. It was taken over by one of the popes in about the 14th century and it was ruled by several different families..

There is a lower village and an upper village… The lower village became the center of the town and the upper village fell into disrepair.. until about 60 years ago… The old church was rebuilt.. and the old apartments built into the ramparts were sold to private owners (Mike’s brother owns one of them.. hence the reason the wedding is here)… About 80 people (including Mike’s brother and wife) live in the upper village and the remainder live in the lower village. There are great views from the upper village.. and you can walk from the lower to the upper, but it’s a bit of a steep climb.

OK.. enough about Cairanne.

Uzes is yet another medieval village that retains its great complex of winding, narrow streets and squares.. but it seems to have become overwrought with tourists and shops which is unfortunate. I remember being here just a few years ago and it was much calmer and less commercial than today. I was even in Uzes once in winter and it was extremely cold.. but far more beautiful because it was pretty deserted and felt more like a real place.. In any case, Uzes’ history is tied to its civility and tolerance and urban life that is documented as far back as the 5th-century. Jews were apparently settled there as early as the 5th century, and they were welcomed in the town, and because of the Bishop’s position on this a complaint was made and he was forced to change his ways forcing all who would not become Christians to leave the city. After he died.. many who had been baptized returned to being Jews and were then expelled from the area. Uzes rose to become a center of textile with many of the well-known Provence cloths being woven here.

Today Uzes — with a population of about 8,000, still has traces of its walls.. and a chapel built in the 1600s to house the remains of the dukes who presided over the area…

We stopped in a little out-of-the-way bar in Uzes and had a simple brandade quiche with salad and melon.. Huge portions.. Mike and I shared.. And then we headed back to Cairanne to pick up the bride to take her to Vaison for a mani/pedi… She and lots of her friends and bridesmaids and spouses and boyfriends and groomsmen and spouses are all staying at a wonderful huge house in the vineyard just out of Cairanne where the wedding dinner will take place tomorrow… So we got to see everyone and to get the behind-the-scenes look at the pre-wedding activities. Everyone was busy dealing with flowers, and seating arrangements, and the wine, and final set up of the dance floor and the tent where the toast will be made.. very busy… None of them really drive and even fewer have cars with them since many of the guests are coming from London (where Em and Hem live and where they both went to university)… so we offered to drive Emma to Vaison.

Mike decided to nap in the town square (oh.. sorry.. to read or do some work… ??) while I kept Emma company. Very big decisions needed to be made.. like what color polish to use on toenails.. My expert advice was truly invaluable.. (actually not).. We then meandered through the town to find Mike who was enjoying an apricot ice cream cone.

Drove back to Cairanne to get ready for tonight’s dinner.. More later.

A few fun things..

The iPhone GPS has been our life-saver. Even though we’ve been here many times, it’s so easy to get lost… But the voice on the iPhone pronounces all French words as if speaking with a Brooklyn phonetic accent.. Example .. she pronounces “Marseilles” as “Mar-Sales” and “Nimes” (Neem) .. as “En-i-mess”.. and “Cairanne” as “Karen” so it’s been fun driving.

The whole wedding would be lost if not for texting and iPhone… Emma has every detail photographed and logged in.. While at the pedicure, I saw a picture of the shoes so that we could figure out the best color polish. And she is constantly dealing with texting taxi drivers to pick up friends and drop them off.. because the friends from London cannot communicate in French to the drivers. It’s a riot to watch it all unfold..

That’s it.. Gotta get dressed for the dinner.. Will describe that tomorrow.

Fern