How this trip came about:
BJ met Tracy at a Petanque Tournament in February in Thibodaux, Louisiana and we became instant friends! Tracy rents an apartment the South of France every summer and invited BJ and Aggie to join her for part of the trip. Aggie couldn't go, so BJ invited Janet to go in Aggie's place. Janet's response was a resounding YES! So we booked our flights to Marseille and off we went!
Leaving Fernandina Beach
Tony agreed to drive us to the airport which was fortunate because on the way, we got a notification from Delta that our flight to JFK was delayed and we would not make our connection to the Air France flight to Paris and our Paris connection to Marseille, so BJ had to scramble to figure out how to rebook our tickets. We ultimately decided to fly to Atlanta and connect with a Delta flight to Amsterdam and then a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Marseille. We would get in a little later, but were able to still get the seats in the First Class cabin we had booked! The lie-flat seats are very important to us on an 8+ hour flight!
The Atlanta flight was a bit later than the JFK flight we had originally booked so we had time to enjoy the Jacksonville Sky Club! We are always happy to see our friend Thea who works there!
We had enough time in Atlanta to enjoy a little time in the F Concourse Sky Club. We could see our airplane right below us!
We were in high spirits when we got on our flight to Amsterdam and joked with the other passengers about all of the trouble we were going to get into on our trip!
We both enjoyed the Spinach Artichoke Ravioli for dinner and then tried to get some sleep. BJ got about 4 hours of nap time but Janet was too excited to sleep!
South of France Day 1 - Marseille to Cassis
Tracy picked us up at the airport and whisked us off to Cassis. Tracy was very worried about being able to find a parking spot near our hotel, but Janet and BJ had "Parking Karma" and we got a spot right out front! Our room at the Best Western Plus La Rade wasn't ready so we changed into our swimsuits and floated for a couple of hours.
Then we walked to the waterfront.
We watched some folks playing petanque around the fountain in the center of town. We later learned that our friend Rick has an apartment that overlooks the fountain and petanque courts but he was out of town when we were there.
Janet & BJ were starting to fade from the long trip over the ocean so a nice sugary treat was in order! We had ice cream cones from Amorino shaped like roses! They were very pretty but we had to eat them quickly because they melted pretty fast in the 90 degree heat!
Thankfully when we got back to the hotel, our rooms were ready so we could fall right into bed!
South of France Day 2 - Cassis to Uzès
We met in the lobby and admired the view before walking down the hill for a cappuccino at Monsieur Brun by the water.
We thought this little dog was so cute, waiting patiently under the table while his owner enjoyed her morning beverage!
We enjoyed the local street market with its colorful fruits, vegetables, meats, jewelry and clothing! The girls talked me into a dress that I was about to buy but another lady was looking at it. No worries, Tracy snatched it (almost) right out of her hand, so I bought it!
We decided we needed to buy some of the wonderful produce, cheeses, tamponade, champagne and a baguette to take back to the hotel for a leisurely breakfast overlooking the pool.
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and drove to La Ciotat to see Enzo at his petanque shop. If you follow BJ's posts, you may remember a previous trip where BJ and Song won a petanque tournament in La Ciotat. One of the prizes was a commemorative petanque boule made by Enzo at his shop L'Atelier de la Petanque. BJ wanted to thank him in person for the commemorative boule. La Ciotat is the birthplace of Petanque!
Next we drove to Le Clos Saint Michel, a winery that Tracy had corresponded with before the trip. They were supposed to stay open for us, but apparently decided to leave for their vacation before we got there. We walked around the grounds, peeked in the window of their tasting room and admired (tasted) their grapes.
Just down the street was the Chocolaterie Castelain Boutique Bar a Chocolat, where we tasted wine and chocolate.
Tracy had made a reservation for us for a wine tasting at Les Caves St. Charles at Chateauneuf de Pape. Les Caves St. Charles is housed in the historic cellar of the ruins of a 13-century building.
We had fun chatting with Guy Bremond, the owner & Maitre Sommelier about wine and petanque while listening to Gregorian chants!
We made our way to Uzes. Tracy was, once again worried about where we would park because of the festival in town but our Parking Karma got us a spot close to town. Tracy had rented the most amazing apartment!
Our apartment overlooked the Place aux Herbes, the main square and the heart of community life with the beautiful Fountaine de Uzes, restaurants and shops.
We had a little afternoon snack of the goodies we had purchased in Cassis along with wine from Les Caves St. Charles.
We met Peta Mathias, a fun and entertaining friend of Tracy's who has written books, done cooking shows and led tours!
Peta joined us for dinner at Le Ten where we had some wonderful dishes!
We had a delicious bottle of wine with the label Enfant Gate which means Spoiled Child.
After dinner, the Fete votive d'Uzes was in full swing with an elaborate lighted parade of huge animals and talented performers!
Back at the apartment, we soaked our feet in the claw foot tub and talked about the fun we had today!
South of France Day 3 - Uzès
We woke to the sound of the vendors setting up for the market outside our apartment. We had cappuccino at Le Vieux Cafe and did some browsing at the very crowded market.
We stopped for a beverage at Asiette, one of the few places we found where you could get a glass of wine without ordering food.
We had a delicious lunch of open faced sandwiches at Terroirs.
After lunch, we relaxed at the apartment before heading over to Peta's to help her film a video for her upcoming tours. Her home was, like her, very colorful!
We went to see the Abrivado (running of the bulls) at the Fete Votive. There was a band and then the bulls ran by in a big hurry!
Dinner was pizza at La Pizza du Duche. We were fortunate that Tracy had made reservations during this busy time in Uzes!
Dessert was Baba Au Rhum back at the apartment. We soaked our tired feet in the big claw foot tub and then Madam Tracy gave us a tarot card reading.
South of France Day 4 - Uzès
We had cappuccino at Margaritas on the square in front of our hotel and then hiked up to the soccer field to the flea market. We checked out the horses that were in town for the fete on the way.
It was already hot, so we went back to the cool apartment for a snack and a cold drink.
After relaxing for a bit we went back out to explore and shop.
We saw the Place du Duche (Duke's Castle)
The local bike race was about to start and we scored a table at La Cave du Duche near the beginning of the race!
At Le Marche Aux Truffes, we bought truffle potato chips and at Autrefois, we bought candy to take back to the apartment for our afternoon snack.
Tracy started getting the apartment ready for our departure the next day. We took a few things to Peta who lives in Uzes.
We had dinner reservations at Galerie de L'Uzege at 7 which just happened to be next to the place where they were releasing the bulls. We tried to get more videos without getting kicked by the horses.
After dinner, we walked around and listened to music.
South of France Day 5 - Uzès
We woke up to find the square covered in bounce houses!
After a leisurely cappuccino at Au Suisse d'Alger, we watched the horsemen getting ready for the closing of the fete. Ribbons had been awarded to the winners.
We struck out for Saint-Quentin-La-Poterie hoping to have lunch. Saint Quentin is filled with pottery shops but the town's only two restaurants were closed on Monday. We enjoyed exploring the town and browsing in the pottery shops.
The potters had decorated the drainage pipes with lips!
We drove down the tree lined path to Les Pots d'Uzes.
When we got back to Uzes, we found a huge bubble bath going on! I couldn't talk anyone into jumping in so we went back to the apartment for lunch.
Dinner was at La Voute. We shared a fish dish and a beef dish. The food was excellent, but the flies seemed to like it as well as we did. We had the bestest chocolate mousse brownie dessert, though, and by dessert, the flies had moved on to another table so we could eat in peace!
South of France Day 6 - Uzès to Saint Remy
We packed up, then went to Nougatine for cappuccino before saying goodbye to our wonderful apartment on the Place aux Herbes.
We drove to Saint Remy with a short delay when some poor soul's car was upside down in a ditch.
We dropped our bags at the beautiful Hotel Gounod since our rooms were not quite ready yet.
We walked around town for a bit to get our bearings. Our hotel was just down from the church.
There was a church at the entrance to the Asylum.
The tour included the many rooms of the Asylum.
Janet considered trying on the habit in Mother Superior's Room!
We explored a bit more, admiring the works of art & exited through the gift shop.
The show was an Ocean Immersive Experience. Not only was the show interesting but it was nice and cool inside! It was a great place to spend the afternoon!
We relaxed at the hotel for a bit before exploring the town.
We had drinks and dinner at Bistrot Les Pieds Rans L'eau. The name translates to "Feet in the Water" but they do not actually let you put your feet in the water! It was a fun place though, very popular with the locals.
The hotel has a beautiful garden and pool area that was right outside our room. We said good-night to the sheep before turning in!
We had coffee in the beautiful breakfast room at the hotel.
There was, yet another street market to enjoy!
We also met Leonard, Tracy's saxophone playing friend from New Orleans!
It is very difficult to find a place that will allow you to have a drink without ordering a meal so I trailed after the shoppers until we found Cave a Cigares where we could get a glass of wine. We met some nice folks from Germany and chatted about our trip!
Further along, I found Bar du Marche, a great people watching spot!
Afterward, we went back to the hotel for a well deserved nap. We met Tracy's friend Julie, the founder and owner of Provence Post Travel, for dinner across the street at Da Peppe.
We made instant friends with July and had a great time swapping stories and laughing!
Too soon, it was bedtime because we had a 4:30AM ride to the Marseille airport the following morning!
South of France Day 8 - Au Revoir!
The trip home was fairly uneventful. Our spacious limo arrived on time at 4:30AM for the one hour limo ride to Marseille. We had a coffee in the lounge and then caught our Air France flight to Paris. There was a ground hold in Paris waiting for a gate which made us have to hurry to our connecting gate. We took jetways, escalators, moving sidewalks, passport control and finally at the gate, had to board a bus to get to the plane! We barely made it!
The flight to Detroit was enjoyable. BJ had the halibut for the hell-of-it and said it was one of the best meals she's had on an airplane. Janet wouldn't recommend the pasta. We watched a few movies and before we knew it, we were in Detroit.
We got through passport control and security screening in time to spend a few minutes in the Sky Club near our gate but discovered that it was closed for renovations so we headed to the gate.
We made it back to Jacksonville & Tony was there to pick us up! We were very happy to get back to our little island paradise!
Another fabulous trip! Thank you so much to Tracy for a wonderful experience!!!
