Pique-nique, musique, vin et amis

"It'll be fun," I said, "a picnic at a winery with live music, and you'll get to meet my new friends." That's what I told my mom and sister we would be doing on their first Sunday in Uzès. I had no idea what kind of music it would be, where the winery was, what we would be eating or how many people would be there. In fact, I had no idea what to expect. We had arranged to meet Patrice, Rachel, and Garance in town and follow them to the winery in a tiny village called Donnat, about a half hour away. Sunday afternoon came...along with the cold pouring rain. As we huddled in the car waiting for our friends to arrive we couldn't help but wonder what we were getting ourselves into.

When they showed up, Patrice jumped out of the car and handed us a CD to listen to on the way. The musicians at the winery (friends of theirs) would be playing these songs as a tribute to the famous French singer, Nougaro. I had never heard of him before but after listening to the first few songs I wished I had. (stay tuned for more about him)

Because of the rain, the winemakers had move the picnic into their garage/wine storage room. Five or six rows of tables had been lined up and the four musicians had set up their instruments in front of the giant wine vats. There were probably about 60-70 of us crammed into the space, backs touching backs, elbows bumping elbows. Wine glasses were filled, everyone pulled out the food they had brought and shared around the table. A sheet of Nougaro lyrics were passed out and the music started.

It was magnifique! The musicians were extremely talented. They each played 2 or 3 different intruments and all four sang. In fact, I almost liked their versions of the songs better than the originals we had listened to in the car. Once the wine started flowing and the body heat warmed us up, everybody in the room began to sing along, except us of course. We were the Nougaro newbies so we just followed the lyrics, mouthed the words, and enjoyed the atmosphere. And though a light rain continued outside for most of the afternoon, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. We were cozy and warm, enjoying a French afternoon.

"La pluie fait des claquettes

sur le trottoir à minuit

Parfois je m'y arrête

Je l'admire, j'applaudi

Je suis son chapeau claque

Son queue de pie vertical

Son sourire de nacre

Sa pointure de cristal

La pluie..." Nougaro