July 4, 2009 – Uzès

Wendy knows I like to cook. She’s heard me talk about the fresh produce and meats that we have been buying at the local markets and has told me where some of the better Paris markets are. She’s even had a few meals of mine so her plan was two-fold. One, take us to the weekly Uzès market so that we could buy stuff to take back and cook dinner. And two, take us to a bistro to sample the local fare at her friend Tom’s restaurant.

The drive to Uzès was like our drive to Masmolene. Alternating fields of grapes, apricots, corn, asparagus, etc. and sunflowers which, in French is Tournesol because sunflowers turn their heads away from the sun! And the trip wasn’t nearly as scary since Wendy did the driving.

Uzès is a large hill town compared to Masmolene and it was built in the 5th century by the Romans, among others. It actually has shops, restaurants, bars, banks, pharmacies, etc. unlike Masmolene which has only one single post box! Now Uzès is a typical hill town. It has a circular road around it with spokes leading from that road to the town center [think of a wheel with spokes]. Park your car anywhere on the circular road and walk down any spoke and you hit the town center. And as you walk down these spokes, each one is filled with stalls selling clothes, craft items, plants, hardware, candles, and, of course, fresh produce and meats.

As you get to the end of a spoke, you hit the town center. The market is in full swing. You can’t see one side of the square from the other side. It’s hard to appreciate that the buildings that surround the square consist of dozens of restaurants and a few more shops that were built in that Roman “amphitheatre” style [at least to me] with those curved arched roofs undulating from shop to shop.

Wendy has her favorite merchants; she’s been coming here for 15 years. She explains to me each merchant’s specialty. What’s unique to Uzès. But best of all, she knows I want to speak French so she tells me to watch what the locals do and say when they order their stuff. “Trois têtes des artichauts” instead of me asking for three artichokes. Or “une cuillère des olives” instead of 100 grams of olives because in Uzès, the olive merchants use a large olive-wood spoon with holes in it to scoop up the olives. But the real killer is “bon courage” which you say to a merchant who’s being overworked by all the people buying from him. It always brings a wink and a big smile.

Having bought our dinner, we walk into Tom’s restaurant (“Terroirs”). Find it at www.enviedeterroirs.com. He has the best table reserved for us; next to the air conditioning which is a large fan. We order a few local tapas things to start like octopus salad, chevre, and anchovies and a few main courses which are thick slices of bread with warm toppings like cheese, tomatoes, sardines, onions confit, etc. and green side salad. And a bottle or two of the local wine. Parfait.

It’s now well past 1 o’clock and the market is being deconstructed in front of our eyes. White vans appear everywhere and the stalls with their wares, disappear. Slowly, you start to appreciate how large the square is. You begin to see the central fountain which used to be the town’s only source of drinking water. You start to see the other side of the square and appreciate the Roman architecture.

And then you realize that you’ve eaten too much. It’s time to go home, take a nap, and get ready for dinner. The perfect end to a perfect morning and afternoon in Uzès.