South of France Part I - Breau & Gigondas

17. 08. 14  -  24. 08. 14

Day 1

An early morning start to begin the travels, bleary-eyed coffees and half-interested perusing of newspapers.

We arrive at Beziers airport, squinting against the sun, to be met by a gush of hot air. The airport resembled more of a small swimming pool, and seemed to cater almost entirely for obscure Ryanair flights.

After renting a car, we meander through southern French countryside, get a little lost, frustrated at maps, shocked by local driving customs and discuss nearly every topic under the sun.

Eventually we reach Le Vigan and urge the car up the steep tree-lined roads that lead up to Breau, our destination.

French locals greet me with kisses on each cheek, two little grey cats wind themselves around my ankles and soon there is the sound of chopping of fresh tomatoes from the garden for lunch.

An afternoon nap soon led into the night...

Day 2 

Today there is a big social lunch with amazing tasting chicken and fresh vegetables.

Merci to a special little lady who gave me a bracelet as a present.

A walk to the nearby river, and afterwards a relax in the hot tub.

Life is good.

Day 3

Woke up to morning low cloud over the tree tops...

Le Vigan, some chocolate brioche, an odd experience with a French doctors' surgery and then a long chat in the shade with elderly locals over a cup of juice.

An amazing lunch with home-made champagne & wine, the best olives I have ever had and a fantastic dessert.

A busy dinner with lots of children and even more food. So many kind people. I tried foie gras pate for the first time (even though I know that the way that it is made is quite cruel, and I don't really agree with it) it was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. I also tried local and strange (strong!) cheeses that I normally never would have tried. An amazing experience, and a night rounded off by everyone piling onto the sofa to watch silly French cartoons.

Day 4

A slightly melancholic day of goodbyes, and a new road trip through Nimes (did you know that denim is called denim because it is from Nimes? 'De Nimes') and a place called Orange, to reach Anais's place on a vinyard near Gigondas.

She took us to Gigondas to walk around the village and then explore the 'cave' where they make the wine (it isn't actually a cave).

There was also a rather interesting sculpture series / exhibition scattered across the hill top by Cyrille Andre .

Then Gigondas' answer to hipsterdom:

Anais explained in detail how making the wine in the cave works, how the bottles are packaged and corked, and it was really exciting to see the process of it all.

We then returned to a fantastic BBQ, with even more fantastic wine and company.

 

Part II is continued here.

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