We spent our next four nights at Clos des Ocres in the little village of St. Siffret about 5 kilometers from Uzes. We visited this region two years ago and loved the area. Uzès is about 30 miles west of Avignon, and the major sites of Provence are close by. Uzès is a magical place. If Disneyland was going to add "Medieval Franceland" it might resemble Uzès. There is a combination of an old walled city, many medieval towers, a central arcaded square plaza with lovely fountains and a market on Saturday mornings that fills the town, every parking space and every square with vendors, shoppers and fun.
We arrived on Wednesday, so we had a couple of days to while away before we could hit the market. On Thursday, we went down for breakfast and were treated to homemade crêpes! They were heavenly. Of cousre, we still managed to put away a croissant and plenty of homemade fig jam as well. Then we headed out to Les Baux de Provence. We had somehow missed Les Baux when we stayed in the Luberon several years ago, and we did not want to miss it this time. 
The village, is set on a dramatic outcropping of rock capped with the remains of castle ramparts and a wind swept field now home to the biggest trebuchet in all of Europe. Les Baux also lends its name to "bauxite" -- a mineral discovered nearby in the 1820's. Below this area the village is inhabited primarily by day-trippers and souvenire sellers, so it suffers the same fate as many of the "most beautiful villages". Who would want to live there. As Scott asked rhetorically, "I can't stand walking around Seattle when all the tourists are there in the summer, how could anyone live here?"
The village, is set on a dramatic outcropping of rock capped with the remains of castle ramparts and a wind swept field now home to the biggest trebuchet in all of Europe. Les Baux also lends its name to "bauxite" -- a mineral discovered nearby in the 1820's. Below this area the village is inhabited primarily by day-trippers and souvenire sellers, so it suffers the same fate as many of the "most beautiful villages". Who would want to live there. As Scott asked rhetorically, "I can't stand walking around Seattle when all the tourists are there in the summer, how could anyone live here?" From Les Baux it was on to Arles. We had lots of fun saying this with our best french "r" sound so the name sounds like what a pirate might say when he stubs his toe.
We stopped for lunch in nearby St. Rémy where VanGogh spent some time in a psychiatric hospital, and turned his institutionalization into a artistically productive time. After lunch we moved on to Arles was where VanGogh also spent a bit of time in the asylum, painted some wonderful cafés under starry night skies. Scott found some absinthe and, in honor of Vincent, brought some home with a special absinthe spoon to put over the glass with a sugar cube before pouring the absinthe over all. It is unlikely this will lead to Scott morphing into a groundbreaking artist or losing an ear. Stay tuned.
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