Ornithophobes beware!

Every evening between 7 and 8 o'clock, the sky over Uzes fills with the sight and sound of thousands of black birds who descend on the town and then disappear again until the next night. If you happen to be walking the streets at that time, you can't help but hear them in the trees all around. It's like you're surrounded by the sound of cheering crowds at a rock concert. It wasn't the birds we first noticed though. It was the multiple cracks of what sounded like gunfire that caught our attention about a week ago. We heard the shots and then froze, waiting for the sound of police cars or ambulances that didn't arrive. "Don't worry," I told the kids, "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for it...it can't really be gunfire." The next night we heard the shots again, around roughly the same time and then noticed the black swarm pass by our window and made the connection. "Ohh, the shots are to scare the birds away."

I realize that they (and the poop they leave behind) can be a nuisance to the townspeople, but last night, while sitting in the hallway outside of Tomee's violin lesson, looking out the window, they appeared as a troupe of tiny sky dancers. I couldn't hear them. I could only watch as they swooped and glided through the air, as if they were moving to the sounds of the Brandenburg Concerto resonating from Tomee's violin. It was a moment of pure beauty.

Now I wait for them to make their short appearance every evening so I can watch them do their dance before they're given their cue to leave.

La Cathedrale Saint Theodorit et La Tour Fenestrelle

Uzes was a Bishopric from the 5th century until the French Revolution, making it a very rich town until the end of the 18th century. The Cathedrale Saint Theodorit was completed in 1090, destroyed during the War against the Albigensians, rebuilt, and destroyed again during the Religion Wars. The present Cathedral dates from 1652. There are many interesting paintings on the walls and ceilings, however, most of its furnishings disappeared during the French Revolution. When we walked in, Yanni was quick to point out that the inside contained many Roman arches. It also has one of the finest organs in the region dating back to the 17th century.

La Tour Fenestrelle is the Romanesque Cathedral Bell-tower that dates back to the 12th century. It was not open to the public.

The Cathedral overlooks the Eure valley. There is a pathway that begins just in front of it that leads into the valley, over the river, and past the remnants of a Roman Aqueduct built in the 1st century. (We haven't attempted that walk yet, but we will, if I can convince my kids to venture that far.) It was built to supply water to the town of Nimes and is part of the aqueduct system that includes the Pont du Gard, further down river.

Oh the horror!

We almost had a day without internet. Imagine the horror on Tomee's face when she realized she wouldn't be able to talk to her friends on Facebook or through gmail all day, or Yanni's when he realized he couldn't access his apps store on his Ipod Touch. (And here, I must admit that even I was perturbed at the thought of not being able to use my cute little white Apple friend to its fullest potential.) Here we are, in the middle of a gorgeous medieval town in the south of France with a beautiful, sunny Sunday to fill and we've entered crisis mode because the WiFi is down. After our initial 25 attempts to fix it by doing the same thing over and over again with the same result--no internet--we finally decided to call for tech support...not some 1-800 number to some guy in India. "Text Daddy quick!" was the order I gave. After twenty minutes of guided instruction and the plugging and unplugging of cords, we finally saw his face appear on screen. (I love Skype) We were saved! Uzes may have a Duke, but thankfully I have my own knight in shining armour just a phone call away!

The first crepe of France

Mmm...the first crepe of France. The first place we tried one at also happened to be the best Nutella crepe so far. I'm really happy right now since I found a toy store right near my school that has LEGO and Gormiti! Yay! As for school, French is a bit harder but I'll survive. My favourite part of the day, obviously, is recess. We always play soccer...same teams every recess. My favourite class, obviously, is sports. Next week I'm going to teach the class how to play DODGEBALL!! Second favourite class, will probably be English but I haven't had it yet. Math is pretty good too but a pinch harder. That's all from me. Yanni

Le Jardin Medieval

We visited the "jardin" on the jour de la patrimoine (free admission).

From the Tourist office's brochure, "Nestling between the two Towers, the Medieval Garden has been designed to represent plantations as they could well have been laid out in the Middle Ages. The Bishop's Tower (12th century) and the King's Tower (early 13th century) are part of an ensemble which served as a residence for the Lords of Uzes. Over the ensuing centuries, the various heirs sold part of the ensemble to the Bishopric (1280) and another to the King of France Charles VIII (1493). Used later as prisons, they were repurchased by the town of Uzes in 1941. The Medieval garden is set within the enclosure formed by the ramparts and is used for shows and exhibitions."

A large number of the plants here were used in the Middle Ages for food, medicine, dyes for clothing as well as ornamental uses. The garden's main objective is conservation of rare plants native to the region.

Our first "Greve"

Yesterday, we experienced our first "greve". Not sure what it is? I first saw the word on a sign posted at Yanni's school advising parents that on the 23rd they would need to make sure their child's teacher was at school before sending them. Then, Tomee came home and informed us that she had no school on Thursday "a cause du greve". Thursday arrived, Tomee stayed home, Yanni had school (he wasn't happy about that). It was a national strike day and many teachers, transportation workers, etc were on strike. For what, I'm not quite sure but it was amusing to watch from our window as they marched past, chanting and waving their flags. I wonder how many more we'll experience before our time is up?

Too many books, not enough time!

My favourite part about our apartment, besides its proximity to everything and its quintessential provencale furnishings, are the books! There are stacks and shelves filled with books in every room of the house. English books, French books, travel books, classic literature, too many for me to be able to read in a 3 month span (unless of course I spend every waking minute on my comfy chaise lounge reading). After perusing all the shelves, I decided to start with Carlos Ruiz Zafon's, The Shadow of the Wind seeing as it takes place in Barcelona and we will be visiting that city at the end of October and because it comes highly recommended (Lex). It is a beautifully written mystery about an obscure forgotten book discovered by Daniel, a ten year old boy. His discovery sends him on a quest to find out about the mysterious author and his bizarre circumstances. This quest consumes his whole life and puts him in grave danger. I'm not usually a fan of mysteries but this one has totally sucked me in! I'm afraid of the end. What to read next...My Name is Red...Snow...The Great Gatsby...Atonement...Fasting, Feasting...Dubliners...Sir Vidia's Shadow, Sepulchre, Revolutionary Road, etc, etc?? For a teacher-librarian, this place is a dream come true!

Town of many fountains

Uzes is a town with many fountains, some of which clearly state that the water is drinkable (eau potable). La Fontaine Saint Theodorit is a very ancient fountain, where it is said that the story of Uzes began. There are remnants of ancient Greek fortifications nearby. We couldn't actually see this fountain as it was down some steps and closed off by an iron grill but the inscribed post marks its spot. The largest fountain stands in the middle of Place aux Herbes, which is the hub of the town where the market takes place every Saturday and Wednesday. The square is surrounded by many cafes and restaurants. We had some delicious burgers there at Bistro Burger this afternoon. ( I know, not very French, but I do have a picky 10 year old with me.)

The Duchy of Uzes

Grade 4 Medieval Times unit comes to life! Uzes is an excellent example of a fortified medieval town with the Duke's castle in the middle, surrounded by the inner walls, the town itself, and the ring road (Boulevard Gambetta) which used to be the outer walls. The Duke's castle is actually one of the best preserved buildings in town dating back to the Feudal period as it has never been attacked or suffered any damage. The present Duke and his family still use it as a residence when they're in town. We were fortunate enough to go on a tour of the chapel, the decorated apartments, the wine cellars and the dungeon on a Jour de la Patrimonie (reduced rates--bonus!) We also climbed the 135 steps of the tower, called the Bermond Tower, for a view of the entire town and the surrounding countryside. Yanni, having built a castle last year for class, made sure to point out all of the castle's features: keyholes, the keep, roman arches, the dungeon, the coat of arms on the roof of the castle, narrow windows on the tower, etc. It was really neat to see what he learned come alive before our eyes.

Les premiers jours

We are finally here and thankfully each day has progressively gotten better and better. Day 1-our trip here- was exhausting. We left the house in Athens at 8 am and arrived here at our home at 10 pm greek time-- much longer than originally planned (we missed our train in Paris and had to wait 2 1/2 hours for the next one!) Advice #1: Never take 3 large (heavy) suitcases with you onto a TGV train unless you have the manpower to get them onto the train! Those were the most stressful five minutes of the whole trip. We arrived exhausted and hungry, in the dark, with no idea where to go for a bite to eat and not a stitch of food in the fridge. And to make matters worse, I couldn't figure out how to lock the front door so we sat at our window like Tiny Tim looking in on a Christmas feast, and watched the people in the hotel restaurant across the street enjoy their french cuisine in the warm glow of candlelight. Tomee had a meltdown, Yanni fell asleep on the chair and I stood there thinking, "what have I done!" I barricaded the door with a few kitchen chairs and we went up to bed (all 3 of us in my bed) to wait for Christina the landlady to return our call. The call finally came around midnight...door problem was solved. Advice #2: French door handles need to be turned up in order to release the locking mechanism before turning the key to lock. Thankfully things looked much brighter the next morning and have continued to look better since. Today (Day 4) was market day (every Saturday and Wednesday) and it was an assault on the senses...herbs, olives, fish, roast chickens, giant pans of paella, sausages, cheeses, freshly ground coffee, fabrics, clothing, soaps, jewelry, ceramics...the sights, smells, and sounds were overwhelming. There were stalls set up right from the top of our street (first picture), right into the middle of town (Place aux Herbes) throughout all of the nooks and crannies on the surrounding streets. We finished off the afternoon with crepes and cafe au lait.

Meet Mat and Chat

Mat and Chat...a brother and sister combo that showed up every morning, afternoon and evening for a meal or a snack. Much to my uncle's dismay, when there were no leftovers to give them, we resorted to feeding them cans of smoked tuna! No wonder they never left the back door! Why the names Mat and Chat you ask, well...Mat as you can see in the first picture liked to climb into our straw beach mats and poke just his head out. Chat (his sister)...that should be self explanatory. She was the mouthy one, always meowing at the door as soon as it opened. She never shut up! Mat just let his sister do all of the talking while he sat back and waited for the chow. (I later suggested we call them Liz and Bill, but the names Mat and Chat had already stuck!)

To yialo

Prosilia, (or Artsina, as it used to be called) is often referred to by the locals as "to yialo" (the beach) because it is much closer to to ocean than Ano Doliana, which they refer to as "to horio" (the village). As you can see, the ocean really isn't very far away, so it's much lower in altitude and a lot hotter! Very few people live here, even in winter and many of the stone houses are empty and falling in on themselves. The one coffee shop down the road is the hangout for the 5 or 6 oldtimers who gather there for their morning and afternoon coffee...and of course gossip! It always amazes me how quickly news travels from the yialo to the horio and back! Time may move slowly here but gossip certainly does not. Olive trees stretch as far as the eye can see and my uncle even has orange, lemon and pomegrante trees in his yard. The small stone house on the right in the second picture was where my father and his four siblings were born. It was built in 1892. During our tour of its two rooms, it was hard to imagine how eight people lived, ate and slept in such a (for our times) small home. Now it is used for storing hay and the goats in winter. Favourite things: feeding the cats, chickens, rabbits, ducks, dogs, playing cards on the balcony, listening to the mourning doves, finches, and other birds, watching the sun rise on the ocean early in the morning. Not so favourite things: wasps, smell of the chicken coop, sleeping in 40C weather.

To Horio

Traditionally, Ano Doliana was the summer village for most of its' inhabitants. At an altitude of approximately 1100m, they were able to graze their livestock and plant crops here during the long, hot, dry summers. Horses and mules were packed up and made the 5-6 hour trek (now a 1/2 hour drive) through the mountains in early spring. Many would remain here until late fall, after the harvests were complete. Then they would make the long trek back to the winter village, where the olives awaited harvesting. Now more people visit in the winter when it's cold and has some snow on the ground, and many residents have chosen to stay in the winter village year round which is close to the beach. Now, in summer it has a population of maybe 200 or so people, except the week leading up to August 15th when many of its' children return home for the Feast of the Virgin Mary, to attend church, catch up with fellow villagers, and of course go to the panigyri, which this year was held on the soccer field with a live band (my cousin's), roast pig and lots of beer! Definitely one of my favourite birthdays...with my family, dancing under the stars in Ano Doliana! From our balcony we have a view of the entire village and the plains below, all the way to the city of Tripoli and because it faces west we get a fabulous sunset every night. No matter how many times I try to capture it on film, I can never do it justice. In the picture on the right, Tomee is standing on the balcony of St. John's church which sits across from the village, where Nikitaras ( a hero from the war of Independence 1821) rested with his men before taking on the Ottoman Turks in the battle that took place in the village. Though outnumbered, they defeated the Turks in that battle and helped hold them off long enough for Drobolitsa (Tripoli) to fall. (At least,that's the story I've been told.) I love this place...it is the village of my childhood visits and some of my fondest memories. Favourite things: long walks, drinking wine with my uncle, the view from the balcony, sleeping with two blankets at night (it's a nice break from the 40C elsewhere), playing tavli with my kids, karidopita at the kafenio, and, and, and... Not so favourite things: spiders (too many of them), mice running across the floor, belehia (don't know what they are in English...some kind of nocturnal squirrel-like creature that live beneath our floors and squeak and scurry all night)

My poor neglected blog!

We are back in Athens today to a house with internet! The month we spent in my village(s) and the surrounding area already feel like a dream. Saying good bye to my uncles, aunt, and parents was difficult for us yesterday but we are now ready for the next stage of our journey. Without an end, there can be no new beginning.