Friday 5: Discovering Uzès

The other day I tried and failed to find a great guidebook for the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France since it's one of our honeymoon destinations. I guess it’s still a slightly under-discovered area, which surprises me in some ways because it’s such diverse region full of history and beautiful, varied landscapes. It’s located on the southern coast, west of the Côte d'Azur, and it extends all the way to Spain. Crème-de-Languedoc, which has been a fantastic resource in our planning, has a wonderful quote about it being called the “real South of France”

“thanks to its largely unspoilt countryside, traditional wine-making villages and slower, Mediterranean pace of life. The contrast with the ‘bling’ of the Côte d’Azur and the often prissy artifice of Provence is marked - Languedoc still feels very traditionally French, with villages that aren’t emptied in winter, good food and wine that doesn’t cost the earth, and countryside that is as beautiful as anything in the Luberon or Tuscany. Here, you’ll find unspoilt landscapes of undulating vines punctuated by rocky outcrops and rocket pines, often with a stunning backdrop of snow-capped mountains.”
— http://www.creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/index.php

I started out writing this as a mini introduction to the Languedoc-Roussillon through five towns that showcase the region, but there are just too many interesting things about each town. So today it’s all about Uzès. 

Uzès is located in the Gard department of the Languedoc, which borders Provence and the sea. It is a lovingly restored town with Roman roots and limestone buildings. According to this CN Traveller article, “The Secret Side of the South of France,” the town was in disrepair until the French government declared it a ville d’art and put money toward its restoration. Today, its small (nearly car-free) stone streets wind around revealing lovely cafés, restaurants, and shops. 

Each Wednesday and Saturday there’s a market in Place aux Herbes, a big square surrounded by Plane trees. The Wednesday one is mostly local food, while the Saturday market is bigger and includes crafts and other goods that rival the famed Provençal markets. 

Two major landmarks dominate the skyline. One is Le Duché (warning: the site auto-plays music), which is is the duke’s castle. The 17th duke apparently still summers there with his family. Luckily, it is also open to the public for tours.

The other is La Tour Fenestrelle, the bell tower of Saint Théodorit Cathedral. It’s the only surviving medieval part of the cathedral, which was destroyed during the Wars of Religion and rebuilt in the 17th century. 

Tucked away on Impasse Port Royal is the Jardin Médiéval, a “living herbarium” with 450 different types of plants that were used in the medieval period. Visitors can walk through the garden, visit exhibits in the outbuildings, see magnificent panoramas from the King’s Tower and Bishop’s Tower, and, finally, sip tea made from the garden’s herbs. 

Take a short 15 minute drive and you’ll find yourself at the famous Roman aqueduct, Pont du Gard. There you can spend a the day picnicking, canoeing, swimming, hiking. I can already see myself lazying around in the shadow of the ancient bridge pondering Roman ingenuity with some crusty bread in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. 

Based on what I’ve read, Uzès has been able to maintain it’s feeling of authenticity. It’s a real town that isn’t (yet?) overrun by tourists despite being so close to Provence.

“Instead it’s a small but cultivated and unpretentious town that’s attracting a growing number of interesting creative people, and unlike many southern French towns, there’s life here year-round and a strong sense of community. ”
— http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/on-the-verge-uzes-the-hidden-gem-of-the-south-of-franc/?_r=0

Perhaps the siren call of the Luberon hill towns is what keeps it safe for now. I think it’s proximity to Provence is what makes it a great home base, though. Fewer crowds (hopefully!), the whole Gard to explore, and Provence is within reach. I’m really looking forward to visiting it soon!  

That's all for this week, we're going to head to Niagara for Easter and have a relaxing long weekend. I hope you have beautiful weather wherever you are. 

Friday 5: Tea, Pizza, Clothes, Caves and Wine

I’m doing some editing, research, and working on a Friday 5 list for next week, so I thought I’d do a quick list of links and things I’m loving this week.

1. Clipper Tea. I picked up some Earl Grey and Sleep Easy locally on a whim this week and I am head over heels. I highly recommend both!

2. Foolproof Pan Pizza! I’ve been testing dairy again this week and haven’t had any problems so far. Knock on wood! One thing I’ve been missing like crazy is pizza, so I’m going to make my own and enjoy the heck out of it. This is one of my favourite recipes. (via Serious Eats)

3. Project 333's "5 Ways to Create a Capsule Wardrobe" for helping psych me up for spring cleaning and trying out a capsule wardrobe. (via Project 333)

4. Reading about the opening of Caverne du Pont d'Arc, a replica of the prehistoric paintings of Chauvet Cave (take a virtual visit here) in France's Ardèche valley. Its been under meticulous construction since 2007. (via Smithsonian Magazine)

5. Learning about the wines of the Languedoc and planning our own wine tour. (via The Guardian)

That's it for this week! I hope you have a beautiful weekend.  

Planning Your Own Honeymoon

Planning you own wedding and honeymoon simultaneously isn’t for the faint of heart.

There’s a reason why cruises and all-inclusives are popular choices for newlyweds. Planning a wedding is hard. The to-do lists are long. The logistics are maddening. Budgets can be scary. Things can get stressful quickly. Add planning a honeymoon on top of that? It can get tricky.

We’re still in the middle of it all, but I’ve learned some things along the way that I thought might be helpful to other couples.

Start Early

I know I give this advice all the time. I probably sound like a broken record, but more time to research and plan gives you the best chance of finding what you want. Make a list of all the places you both dream of going to and start narrowing it down from there. Make a budget. Do your research to see what's actually feasible. 

Know Thyself

Please, please, please take a honeymoon that suits you as a couple. If that means hiking and camping, do it. If that means going to an all-inclusive, do it. If that means taking a mini-moon somewhere nearby, do it. The honeymoon you want is the right honeymoon..

image: Ales Krivec

image: Ales Krivec

There’s a (somewhat) tongue-in-cheek term I’ve come across a lot during our engagement: the Wedding Industrial Complex (or WIC). It refers to the people and things that make couples feel like they have to have, spend, or do to have a “real” wedding. Some examples are: personalized favours, a tiered cake, or an overpriced tulle veil.

I’d say that honeymoons are also a big part of the WIC.  There is a lot of focus on them being extravagant, exotic, incredibly romantic and, by extension of all of that, expensive! There are agencies that specialize in honeymoons. Hotels and resorts often have exorbitant packages available. Multiple honeymoon registries allow couples to ask  wedding guests to help fund their trip. 

There’s nothing wrong with using those tools (although I'm not convinced the honeymoon registries aren't tacky) or going to an all-inclusive or doing a "typical" honeymoon, but don’t feel pressured to do that if it’s not how you like to travel. 

Keep It Simple

Don’t try to go too many places or see too many things. Don’t pack your honeymoon with lots of travel from place to place. Maximize your days together and your relaxation time as much as you can. The one piece of advice that keeps coming back to me from other couples is that you will likely be exhausted for the first few days after your wedding. The point of the honeymoon isn’t to rack up a list of things you’ve seen, it’s to enjoy your time together as newlyweds. 

Our Experience So Far

I started bringing up the honeymoon pretty soon after we got engaged. As excited as I was about the wedding, I was roughly 1500 times more excited about the honeymoon! We talked a lot about the different places we wanted to go. Tahiti! Hawaii! Normandy! Italy! Japan! Spain! As you can see, we were all over the place.

I made lists. I made mock budgets. I did a ton of research. I looked at what felt like countless rentals and hotels. 

The options felt endless and the stakes felt higher than other trips. You only get one honeymoon and I wanted it to be perfect. My excitement plummeted and I got frustrated. Should we just do an all-inclusive?

At some point, after banging my head on the desk a few times and maybe a couple of tears, I realized I was being silly. We started at the beginning. We decided on Europe and were able narrow our options to three different trips. Two of them were to places neither of us had been. One was the Amalfi Coast. The other was Barcelona and Collioure in France. Those both seemed like they would be wonderful trips, but the rentals and logistics never worked out for us. I was really reluctant to let go of Amalfi because it’s such an iconic honeymoon spot. Would we regret it? I mean, look at this place:

In the end, we decided to start off somewhere easy and comfortable. Villefranche-sur-Mer was a natural choice. S has been wanting to go there since we started dating and I’m already comfortable with the town. It has the relaxed feel that I think we’ll need right after our wedding. We can wander down to the beach everyday and lay there for hours on end. There are enough restaurants and shops to keep us fat and happy. We wouldn’t have to go anywhere, but we also have the option of hopping on the train and exploring the coast if the mood strikes us.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche-sur-Mer

After that, we’ll head to the Gard department of Languedoc region. It will be new for the both of us, which will make it special to explore together. We’re also lucky because we’re close enough to Provence to do some day trips into the beautiful Luberon hill towns, but we’re not paying Provence prices. 

I don't have the perspective to look back and say if the extra work of doing it ourselves was worth it, yet. I don't think this way is any better than another way, but I do feel like it's very us. And that's what was most important all along. Now that everything is booked, we feel like we have the honeymoon we wanted waiting for us. It took some time to get there, but we couldn’t be more excited.

After that, we’ll head to the Gard department of Languedoc region. It will be new for the both of us, which will make it special to explore together. We’re also lucky because we’re close enough to Provence to do some day trips into the beautiful Luberon hill towns, but we’re not paying Provence prices. 

I don't have the perspective to look back and say if the extra work of doing it ourselves was worth it, yet. I don't think this way is any better than another way, but I do feel like it's very us. And that's what was most important all along. Now that everything is booked, we feel like we have the honeymoon we wanted waiting for us. It took some time to get there, but we couldn’t be more excited.