Farmer’s Markets and Beautiful Towns

To begin, I Promise to post some pics of the AirB&B soon, as things are definitely moving along. Well, except that we were supposed to be there last Thursday to take delivery of all of the beds. Then that got rescheduled to Friday. We were up there at 8am, and waited until almost noon, when Jeremie finally called the transport company, who had apparently delivered the beds to somewhere in Brussels. They rescheduled for today, at 9am. So, we went up there by 8:45, and by 9:30, Jeremie called to see where the truck was, only to find out the beds had Just been delivered to Avignon and will not get here until tomorrow (fingers crossed). Oh France, how we love thee, but Really??? (BTW, They Did actually arrive on Thursday, so that’s good 🙂

Farmer’s Markets

We not only have Farmer’s Markets Everywhere, but some of France’s Most Beautiful cities Very Near!!

Here is a link to a website which lists a number of Markets happening every day of the week. https://dreamplanexperience.com/a-daily-guide-of-the-best-markets-in-provence/

In these markets, you can likely buy anything from veggies, meats, cheeses, bread & pastries as well as clothes & shoes, kitchen ware, Olive Oil, local honey and of course Pizza.

Most open around 7 or 8am, and go until noon or 2, depending on the market.

Villages Certified

There are 4 “Villages Certified”, considered Most Beautiful Villages of France, all within 10-38 Km from us, or 6-24 miles from the AirB&B, which is called “Mas de Toulair”. I am including only one picture of each of these towns, but you can click on the drop down menu at the top that says “Photos Here” for a Lot more of Sharon’s pictures.

We have visited all of these, at least once, and in some cases a few times. They change with the seasons, when it comes to activity, as well as business which are actually open, especially restaurants. For example, Aigueze, when we first visited a couple months ago, was pretty much “closed for the season”, however when we revisited a few days ago, there were a Lot of people, and the restaurants were buzzing. Beautiful in both situations, jnust vastly different.

Aigueze – 15 minutes away, less than 10Km

Aiguèze (French pronunciation: ​[eɡɛz]; Occitan: Aiguesa) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2016, it had a population of 217. Since 2005, Aiguèze has been a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (“The most beautiful villages of France”), the first such location in Gard.

Aiguèze is a medieval village. The 14th century fort has a watchpath which provides fine views of the entrance to the Ardèche Gorges. The origins of the parish church are Romanesque; a Renaissance doorway was removed in the 19th century. The interior was restored at the beginning of the 20th century with decor donated in 1910 by the Archbishop of Rouen, primate of Normandy, a native of the village. The church has been a listed monument historique since 1993. Including the church, the commune has five sites recorded in the French Ministry of Culture list of historic sites.

A few of you have asked us to post some pics of ourselves on our adventures. So here are 2 we took of each other last week in Aigueze.

La Roque sur Ceze – 14 Minutes away, less than 10Km

La Roque-sur-Cèze is a French commune located in the northeast of the Gard department , in the Occitanie region .

Exposed to a Mediterranean climate, it is drained by the Cèze , the Rodières stream and by various other small streams. The town has a remarkable natural heritage: a Natura 2000 site (“the Cèze and its gorges”) and two natural areas of ecological, faunal and floristic interest .

La Roque-sur-Cèze is a rural commune with a population of 177 in 2020, having experienced a population peak of 369 in 1806. It is part of the Bagnols-sur-Cèze attraction area . Its inhabitants are called Roquairols or Roquairoles. The architectural heritage of the town includes two buildings protected as historical monuments : the funeral cippus , listed in 1912, and the Charles-Martel bridge over the Cèze , listed in 1980.

Montclus – 20 Minutes, about 18Km

Montclus is a French commune located in the northeast of the Gard department in the Occitanie region. It is a rural town with 188 inhabitants in 2020, after having experienced a population peak of 766 inhabitants in 1846. Its inhabitants are called Montclusiens or Montclusiennes. The architectural heritage of the town includes two buildings protected as historical monuments : the castle , listed in 1977, and the Mas du Grand Galès , listed in 1990.

Exposed to a Mediterranean climate, it is drained by the Cèze , Valat de Boudouyre and various other small rivers. The town has a remarkable natural heritage: three Natura 2000 sites (the “forest of Valbonne”, “the Cèze and its gorges” and the “garrigues of Lussan”) and five natural areas of ecological, faunal and floristic interest .

Lussan – 34 Minutes, 28 KM

Lussan is a French commune located in the northeast of the Gard department , in the Occitanie region . Perched on a rocky peak overlooking the scrubland , the village was added to the list of the Most Beautiful Villages of France on September 24, 2016. It has thus joined the 154 other municipalities benefiting from this label, in particular the three other Gard municipalities which are Aiguèze (2005), La Roque-sur-Cèze (2007) and Montclus (2012). Exposed to a Mediterranean climate, the town is drained by the Avègue, the Merderis, the Turelure stream and various other small streams. It has a remarkable natural heritage: a Natura 2000 site (“Garrigues de Lussan”), a protected area (“Les Concluses”) and three natural areas of ecological, faunal and floristic interest .

Lussan is a rural town with 499 inhabitants in 2020, after having experienced a population peak of 1,321 inhabitants in 1851. Its inhabitants are called Lussanois or Lussanoises. The architectural heritage of the town includes four buildings protected as historical monuments : the Pierre Plantée menhir , listed in 1910, the castle , listed in 1926 then listed in 1985, the Fan castle , listed in 1972, and the temple Protestant , registered in 2015.

So, as you can see, there is No shortage of Beauty and History around here. We hope you enjoy our adventures, and please feel free to comment, as questions, or just send us an email to say hello. We appreciate all of it, and hope to see you here at some point in the future.

Until next time……

Ray & Sharon