Wednesday - Market Day and enjoy walking Uzes
I got to sleep in today - 'till 9:13! Dan did the morning circus with Sara and Julia - getting them into their clothes right as I was getting up. Julia has been going to sleep around 6PM and waking up around 7AM. Pretty good! Sara has been staying up later, mainly since the long day light hours make her think it is still time to be awake. But when the town bells ring on the hour we all stand still and count. When they ring 6 times Sara knows it is almost bedtime.
We walked out of our apartment and probably 100 steps later we were in the main square for the market. Wednesday is food, so things like olives, cheese, fruits, vegetables, cookies and chocolate. It is immensely enjoyable to stroll and look at everything. While there are other tourists like us, there are a LOT of old ladies with market baskets that look like they've been coming to the market for decades. They are there to shop - and probably also to say hi to friends.
Today Sra and I picked a vegetable stand that offered little hand-held baskets to collect what you wanted in. Sara thought she was mighty nifty as she carefully selected a cucumber, a HUGE tomato, several hand-fulls of green beans, and whatever else looked good. Our basket looked like a still-life picture in a museum when we were done. I gave Sara the money to buy it - and it was only 5Euro for all that stuff! The tomato alone was 2.56 Euro, and fully worth it! Having that little hand-held basket was nice so we didn't have to point to the things we wanted - we could just collect it and then pay at the end.
Naturally we also got some cookies (made in Uzes). Sara and I walked up - and the man gave us a sample cookie. Then he said, "she knows eh?" - he remembered us! (Well, he remembered our Sara - she is so enthusiastic and in awe of everything that she is easy to remember I bet!) we got 5 cookies for 3Euro and we sat and ate them all (sharing with Dan and Julia). They were gone before we were 10 feet away from the cookie vendor. Next came chocolate. We picked out two kinds - then the man gave us 2 squares. He put them in a bag, then offered us 2 samples. It was melt in your mouth good! It was slabs of chocolate - with chunks in it. My sample had orange bits in it. Sara's was white chocolate (she ate it so I don't know what it was like!). It was about as thick as a Hershey bar - but with no impressions in it - the mold must have been just a large rectangle - you could have as much or as little as you wanted. The vendor was kind of cute - with a funny French grin. He enjoyed Sara's bright eyes - she was very happy and excited about everything (she gets that naturally, Dan and I are happy to be at markets too!).
Before we left the market we got some dried plums, crystalized ginger, a head of lettuce, -- and it was time to head back for lunch. It was easy to toss together a good lunch with all our market stuff. Then we went for a long walk around Uzes - going down side streets, and also climbing up to view points, and so forth. Sara and Julia were in the stroller so we talked and enjoyed the sights and sounds of France.
Around 2:00 Dan started telecommuting and Sara/Julia and I cooled off in our little pool. (Julia espeically likes splashing around in it - and Sara likes to see what floats and what sinks). Then we went for a walk - with the kids out of the stroller so I was busy keeping them safe - as they had the time of their lives wandering around TOP speed - laughing together, climbing on fountains, window shopping at the toy store, wandering through the arches that line the square -- and amusing everyone. Around 4:00 they were ready for dinner. Julia bit into an avacado so I knew it was time to feed her. It was easy to have salmon, fresh salad, and melon, and potatoes with herbs.
After dinner we played a little - then Dan put Julia to bed - then he got back to telecommuting. Sara and I have been playing on the veranda - mainly with the hose water, legos, building forts, and watering the plants the owner has out there.
As I sit here I can hear music - there are often 2-3 sets of musicians around, making it sound so nice that Dan even took a recording so we could remember how it sounds. Since most everything is stone (the houses, the roads) there is no wood to absorb sounds. So every sound echos around and right into our ears.
Our time is flying by. We've already talked about packing up to leave here - which we do on Saturday to head to our next visit stop. Even though we had a good amount of time here I feel like I need to soak up every moment - since it does go by fast. The days seem so long (hour by hour, minute by minute), but at the end of the day, it zipped by! And all of a sudden the week is flying by too! We are getting to know Uzes well - beyond just the main areas - it is neat to wander down a street, then recognize where we are - based on a particular fountain or a shop or something. Even Sara knows when we are almost back to the apartment - so she is looking around at things well too. Also, on one particular street where the girls walked yesterday Julia yelled "UP!" to be let of of the stroller - so I think even she is familiar with certain bits of Uzes! Hooray!
Quote of the day:
Sara: "Did we come to France when I was a baby?"
Me: "Nope."
Sara: "Why not?
Me: laugh at her funny question
Sara: "Are you going to tell me about how people grow and change over time?"
Me: "Sure. When you are born, you are a baby, then a toddler, then you go to school, then you may get married and have kids of your own some day."
Sara: "I will bring them to France. They haven't been to France yet."
Me: "Sounds good honey."
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