We woke up at Maison de Martin to the most delicious breakfast of the trip so far. Stepping into the kitchen really was a little piece of heaven. I'm talking OJ, yogurt, fruit salad (chopped ten minutes before we woke up), and the best part… an assortment of baguette and pastries still warm from the oven, picked up from the patisserie about 500 ft from our wonderful bed and breakfast. Even the kitchen itself is worth talking about. It’s exactly what comes to mind when you imagine a Provencal kitchen in the countryside. Curtains under the sink, shuttered windows, multiple bright colored paints, farm style pictures of roosters and cats, and the furniture had more character than anything you will see in America. Just, perfect.
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| delicious breakfast |
Following breakfast was our day full of activities, arranged by our amazing hosts, Martin and Monique. First up was the world famous farmers market in Uzes, a small town (population of less than 8000) about 30 minutes by bus from our place. There we found live seafood, an abundance of fresh produce, freshly slaughtered meat, every kind of homemade cheese there is, flowers ready to bloom, LOTS of lavender, and so much more. The best part? Everything was local and organic! Truly something to see.
After the market, we jumped back on the bus and met up with Martin back at his place. What was next? How about a five-minute walk to two different vineyards for some wine tasting! Being that our village was SO small (population under 2000), the first tasting was literally in the basement of the owner’s home. It was beyond cool to see his little wine workshop. It was quite cluttered with empty mixing jugs, measuring cups, oak barrels and whatever the other things were that are used to make wine. The second tasting was at a co-op that was a little more established, but still with a serious small town feel. We bought the most expensive, palatable bottles after both tastings, paying only four euro apiece. If we had room in our bags, we definitely would have been purchasing the five-liter bags for 12 euro. Yes, 12 euro for five liters of DELICIOUS wine!
Our busy day didn't end here. Next we took a 30-minute bike ride to the Pont De Gard! After a near meltdown of having to ride on the highway briefly (maybe 100 yards), and an "uncomfortable bike seat", we made it. The Pont De Gard was astonishing; to see such a feat of engineering that was constructed over 2000 years ago was so crazy. Google it, it's insane what they were able to do. After some serious convincing and bargaining with Alyson over the safety of the matter, I was able to jump off some rocks, swim, and have the best of times doing what people have been doing there for thousands of years! The history over here blows me away. Coming to Europe has really opened my eyes to how young (and f-ed up) America is. Some of the homes in our little town of Vers are older than our country... crazy.
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| delicious olives we bought |
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| Alyson on the streets of Uzes |
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| delicious |
Our busy day didn't end here. Next we took a 30-minute bike ride to the Pont De Gard! After a near meltdown of having to ride on the highway briefly (maybe 100 yards), and an "uncomfortable bike seat", we made it. The Pont De Gard was astonishing; to see such a feat of engineering that was constructed over 2000 years ago was so crazy. Google it, it's insane what they were able to do. After some serious convincing and bargaining with Alyson over the safety of the matter, I was able to jump off some rocks, swim, and have the best of times doing what people have been doing there for thousands of years! The history over here blows me away. Coming to Europe has really opened my eyes to how young (and f-ed up) America is. Some of the homes in our little town of Vers are older than our country... crazy.
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| Pont Du Gard |
To finish up our "Day of Dreams" (shout out to Mal, Rubel, and Shlee), we had a pot-luck dinner with our hosts in the courtyard. Dinner was everything we had purchased at the Uzes market earlier that day, fresh asparagus and tomatoes form Monique’s garden, great wine, cheeses, bread, spreads, leftover pizza, and some of the most memorable and encouraging conversation of my young life.
Before Martin ran Maison de Martin, he was an organic produce farmer in California. He built an incredibly successful business there, and upon coming to France, he left his three sons in charge of the family business. We talked for a good hour about my aquaponics ideas and organic agriculture. The final consensus from Martin was… GO FOR IT! In fact he said, “It’s up to your generation to change the world, and this would be a huge step towards doing that”. It was crazy to hear him spit out some of the same ideas that I have been discussing with others for the past few months. I found it incredibly reassuring and encouraging. Just, perfect.
The title of this blog really does say it all; Alyson and I had a perfect day together in beautiful Vers, France. Although I am sad to leave, I am so excited to be off to Marseille! More to come soon!
“The Earth is changing, why aren’t we?”
TO
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