Cadez, Avignon & Provence

So, onwards with the journey, au revoir Bordeaux next stop Provence! I hate hate hate backtracking, so that dictated the driving route we chose. The quickest way to Avignon from Saint-Emilion would've been on the main highway back through Carcasonne but that stretch of the drive wasn't particularly scenic. So I chose a longer route cutting due east and then dropping down on Avignon from the north. This would take us through the heart of Perigord & the Dordogne valley - beautiful drive, no traffic, really hilly and scenic woods and farmland, glad we went this way. Although the Nav system took us via some headscratchingly small county roads at times we eventually got there. Plus as an added bonus the highway took us across the Gault-Millau bridge tres cool:



Food dictated the route too, was researching for a good restaurant at the midpoint and decided on Cafe Bras, a bib gourmand place in the non-descript town of Rodez. Town is best described as a hilly Peoria or Cedar Rapids, basically a regional ag center. But the food was very very good, and a extremely reasonable prix fixe lunch menu. Starter of more asparagus of course, this time in a mousse with mushrooms delish. Plus some local spring lamb with cabbage, the white stuff in the side dish is whipped cauliflower - I've attempted this myself at home as a mashed potato substitute and it's been horrific, this stuff was awesome. If I spoke better French I would've tried to pry the recipe out of them. Cherries were in season too, this was a yummy tart and the cherries were included pits and all - for that price I guess they saved themselves the labor but everything was delicious. I really liked their wines too, a nice rustic local Rousillon to go with the lamb. Nice break on a long drive:




The medieval ramparts of Avignon were a welcome sight after a long drive. We stayed at the Hotel D'Europe inside the city walls, very nice hotel highly recommend it great staff and service. They comped us a bottle of wine so very nice to chill and look out on this beautiful town from the balcony of the room:



Dinner that night was nearby at L'Epicierie, a tiny cozy place in a hidden old square. Very simple menu with a nice dose of the namesake spices in the dishes to liven things up. Here's the gratis tapenade to go with the pastis, a fresh spring carrot soup with a big jolt of cumin, and an assortment plate of various goodies (more jamon, it's following me everywhere!). This hit the spot:




We love markets, and concierge told us the best one nearby is every Wednesday in the town of Saint Remy, which also happens to be where Van Gogh spent quite a bit of time. Beautiful countryside, you can see why he chose this place. Great market, they pretty much take over every street in the city center. All kinds of stuff being sold, asparagus as thick as a baby's arm, fresh strawberries. Wish I didn't have a lunch reservation so soon after, there were all kinds of temptations being offered in the stalls. The guy grilling merguez sausages with roasted garlic potatoes on the side was particularly hard to pass up:






Lunch was at the Chateau de Fines Roches - we asked the concierge for a place in Chateauneuf du Pape with nice outdoor tables with a view. Uh, yeah!!! Merci beaucoup Yves:




Food was just an added bonus, but it was excellent. Again with a tapenade amuse with some merguez tossed in too, then I had a pork croustillant entree and duck (with more asparagus of course) main to accompany this lovely bottle that the waiter recommended. How did Bourdain say it, something like "this is why the French do not suck" ha:





After lunch it was a stroll to walk off the meal through the town of Chateauneuf du Pape itself. Breathtaking views of the Rhone, and the snow covered Mont Ventoux in the distance - just ridiculous:





So many wineries, so little time. For the sake of efficiency I like going to wine merchants in France, you don't get any bargains buying direct at a chateau anyways - plus I always feel obligated to buy at a winery, unless the stuff is truly wretched. So we had a private tasting set up at Les Caves St Charles - the proprietor Guy speaks fluent English, born and raised in Chateauneuf du Pape and a true apostle for their wines. He gave us a grand tour of the various representative styles, very fun and very educational - and tasty! Plus he takes care of all the shipping etc, merci beaucoup to my new BFF Guy. Now where's my wine I'm thirsty!!! (he promised by mid-June, we'll cut him some slack)





What else yeesh, lots going on in this place. Oh yes, even though Avignon is relatively small and it's a walled medieval town with streets completely unsuited to vehicular traffic they have a big permanent market set up. Nice! Had this version of Provencal cold vegetable pizza for breakfast to eat in the market, forgot what she called it - was it a tian or something? Anyways, tres bonne!




Speaking of pizza, my wife wanted a break from French fare so we had dinner that night at Casa Castagno. Another cozy place, fresh made pasta's and really good Neopolitan style pizza, great fresh lettuce. The cheese was heavenly, gawd unbelievable what a difference the ingredients make. And of course they had their own house wine that a vintner bottles exclusively for them, perfect match:




And then there's the town of Avignon itself, former seat of the Popes (and the Anti-Popes, these guys made Game of Thrones seem like amateur hour):







Sigh..a bientot j'espere

Fast Eddie-

This is awesome stuff. So jealous.

Ha I'm jealous of the people who get to live there, I wanna go back!

Really want one of those sausage caddies. That would be a tremendous BBQ asset. Great repoerts all around, of course. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

Tremendous stuff, Eddie. Truly beautiful.

Looks serene out in the country there. Was this a mid-May trip? I am in the practice of trying to avoid tourists in my travels, and try to gauge good times to visit these wonderful places. How did you find the volume of tourists on this journey?

jnm123 wrote:Tremendous stuff, Eddie. Truly beautiful.

Looks serene out in the country there. Was this a mid-May trip? I am in the practice of trying to avoid tourists in my travels, and try to gauge good times to visit these wonderful places. How did you find the volume of tourists on this journey?

Yes we returned Memorial Day weekend, we always go to Europe in mid May. Weather is almost always perfect, the days are long, and it's shoulder season so you're not fighting for flights or hotels.

There were certainly plenty of tourists in Avignon but it wasn't crazy.

Thanks so much for these pictures, it really looks amazing. I'm envious of people who live in places where 100s-year old castles are just part of the scenery. France is truly a gorgeous place.