Nasty niffs and a blue blue sky

We've had our first motorbike ride of the year. Our intention was to ride over the long Easter weekend, but what with rain forecast on Sunday and an exhausted DB, we decided to make it an afternoon on a sunny Saturday ride.

Languedoc-Roussillon, Uzès in the pink Gard

In the end, we chose Uzès, named 'City of Art and History' in 2008, because it's lovely and gets packed during the tourist season, and we could pass through gorgeous little villages like Ste-Croix-de-Quintillargues on the way there.

 Ste-Croix-de-Quintillargues

It has a rich history and a coal-mining tradition, the vestiges of which can still be seen, restored by the community.

 Ste-Croix-de-Quintillargues

We continued our ride along the back roads to Sommières, another medieval pearl of Hérault, where we stopped for petrol.

So far, my enjoyment of the ride had been somewhat marred by the niff of male cat-spotting pee. How on earth? you may wonder. Well, my dear little Ulysse, over winter and probably at Christmas when I dared to take leave of absence for a week (leaving my eldest for most of the days) undoubtedly took umbrage at my absence, and spotted one corner of the living room where my motorbike helmet sat.

I had already discovered the evil evidence and dealt with the soggy box, but I had not sufficiently cleaned the helmet. For example, I had forgotten to clean the visor... So, when we stopped for petrol, I found a tissue in my pocket, got the bottle of San Pellegrino (sacrilege!) and tried to rectify the issues of visibility and pong.

I succeeded with visibility, not so much with the pong, so had to keep the visor partly open for the rest of the ride. I admired the scenery and azure blue sky accompanied by the pungent odour of cat and tea tree oil (which I had optimistically used at home to try to neutralise the niffs).

Pretty road, blue sky

The Gard département is extremely varied in its geography. It ranges from the flat coastal plains of the Camargue and Nîmes to the mountains of the Cévennes. The roads to Uzès passed through the flatter plains, some of which were lined by plane trees growing at an angle, forced to struggle against the strong winds that regularly sweep over the region.

Rocky outcrops

The monotony of flatness and bare-branched vineyards was relieved occasionally by rocky outcrops, and in the far distance we could see just about make out the first mountains of the Cévennes, and snowy peaks.

Cévennes in the distance, snowy peaks

We reached Uzès, the first Duchy of France, at about 4pm and had a brief stop. It was a relief to remove my helmet which is very tight against my jaw and makes it ache after a while.

Uzès and a very blue sky

According to the tourist office:

Uzès was a Bishopric from the 5th century to the French Revolution. The Bishops of Uzès were very powerful. They had the right to mint coins, dispense justice and even bought part of the Uzès domain in the 13th century. There was continued rivalry between the Lords and Bishops, which resulted in various conflicts and lawsuits. In the 18th century, the diocese of Uzès included 193 parishes and was one of the largest in the Languedoc.

Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

Uzès, not too busy

Uzès out of season

The main road circles around the town, so we did that because it's a very attractive place, and then left to go back home via Quissac.

Uzès

The views were similar to the ones earlier, but we did come across an extremely attractive domaine - Domaine de la Rouvière which I can't find on the map.

Domaine de la Rouvière (I think)

There was no panel giving the name of the place either, only 'Private property, keep out' signposts. A welcoming bunch. I only know the name because there was a public right of way and a signpost giving the direction and distance of walks, marked 'Domaine de la Rouvière'.

Who knows what goes on behind the iron gates...

We didn't dawdle there as it was getting a bit chilly, but kept on and got home to a delicious glass of red wine and the end of the artisanal Turron, a toasted almond and egg-yolk sweet that my youngest brought back from his school trip to Valencia, Spain.

My DB also found out, thanks to Google, how to remove the inside of my helmet so I could submerge it in a bucket of washing liquid and soak it all night. It is now pong-free. HURRAH!

A Special Un-Welcome Back

I'm just back from two lovely weeks in the UK: one week chez mum, and one week in Rhossili with my big bro and his family in a fantastic house for nine, including four teenagers...

Yesterday, it was back to France on the train. My suitcase had finally given up the ghost on the journey over, and been taken to the dump, so I was going back with a massive one my mum didn't need any more that used to be used by my dad on his visits over when it had been filled with goodies. It was heavy... and unreliable. Sitting in a train on the Circle line, my eldest, who'd been given the task of hauling it around, realised the trolley handle was stuck and wouldn't retract. Ah.. We decided to worry about how to get it into Eurostar's luggage space later.

I popped into M&S in St Pancras to pick up a couple of their tasty salads for the journey, and found myself also paying for four bottles of ale that my son added to the basket. He discovered ales such as Gower Gold, and 1555 this summer and took to them like a bee to honey.

Almost first on the train, my suitcase found a home in the roomy empty luggage space but had to be jiggled about later to make room for others as the train was heaving. Crossing Paris was as ghastly as usual. I'm so glad I don't live there and have to travel on the RER every day! We had enough time before our train to Montpellier to venture outside Gare de Lyon to buy the boys some kebabs and chips at their favourite Turkish place next to a sex shop...

The TGV was half an hour or so late much to my eldest's disgust as he was planning to go out and see his buddies when we arrived home - I don't know where he finds the energy! Eventually we were let on, and I managed to get the recalcitrant suitcase snugly stowed on the luggage rack as I was one of the first in that carriage too. Thank heaven!

Back home, my cat welcomed me with neurosis and revenge poo on the bed. Not the first time either, the little sod even though next door pop in and keep his dishes full and give him attention. Shame catteries are so expensive because he'd be in there like a flash!

Next up was the fridge. My eldest had joined us (just) in London, travelling by himself from Montpellier to London. He nearly missed the train however, as he partied the night before he left and didn't hear the alarm, or me calling his phone. As a result, he didn't do all the things on the list I left, such as to put all uneaten chicken breasts in the freezer, and ten days later, they were not a pretty sight, or smell. You can imagine how happy I was throwing out six raw chicken breasts!

He also left the dishwasher full and unwashed despite me telling him not to use it. It was a repulsive sight in there, I can tell you, and the smell was foul. One wash was not enough either, and one of my wooden spoons has been consigned to the bin covered as it is in mould even after everything the dishwasher could throw at it.

Finally, this morning, my car wouldn't start so I had to call out the Assistance, then watch as the car was taken away to deal with the battery, and wait for a taxi to take me to the car rental office. A morning's worth. As I was in the taxi heading for the centre of town, I saw the truck with my car on the back that I'd seen off an hour before going in the opposite direction to where Toyota is located in Montpellier. Bizarre. I presume it's all okay... and will get to where it's going eventually!

The rental car is a snazzy DS3 which is black with a white roof, runs on turbo-charged diesel and goes like a bat out of hell. All paid for by the Assistance. Could be worse...