Monday 19th July
The kids are up early, all packed and ready to go. Croissants and orange juice - pain and apricot jam and coffee galore. French eating is so civilized - and even breakfast is so much more interesting than a bowl of cornflakes.
Into Uzes and we nail a hotel reservation for Venice and are able to make the aborted trip around Uzes and have coffee before setting off for Nimes. Nimes is bigger and noisier but boasts a fantastic ancient Roman arena…better than Arles, and some other antiquities - including what Tony calls some ancient roadworks! It’s well worth a visit. We say our goodbyes and hug and kiss and then they are off on the train to Marseille where Tony has told them to eat Bouillabaise within 400 metres of the seafront!
Back in Bourdiguet we wonder what to do for the sisters last day. We’re all tired when we should feel rested - so we opt for a gentle day. We hit the 1900 Belle Epoque museum and are genuinely delighted by the displays and the charming way the huge Olive mill that houses it has been made into a little town with shop fronts and streets. We spend a lovely two hours there and take lots of pics. Then, just a few more kilometres to the stunning hilltop village of Castillon Du Gard. In 2005 Tony and I were caught in the floods outside Nimes. Castillon was the village we headed for as it was on higher ground, but a wall of water came down the hill and completely smothered us. If I had been driving the result could have been tragic….but Tony stays so calm and steered blindly through it. Then we stayed at the old castle…now a 4 star hotel. It was Monday night and the restaurant was closed. The village was in flood control mode and there was no food to be had anywhere. The two rooms we were given in the hotel both had leaky roofs and drenched the bed and it was the most expensive lousy night we have ever had. It was wonderful to return in gorgeous weather and explore how beautiful this little place is, and to sit and drink beer on a café terrace right next to the middle ages church with a huge iron crucifix watching us. Family memories are exchanged and Tony’s almost total recall of everything he has ever experienced helps to fill in some gaps in the sisters’ memories. I am starting to see how these three aged people were when they were kids and close to each other.
Despite the tensions it’s good to know that some lost ground has been recovered in this trip and that they will leave knowing their brother - and me - a little better. We go into Uzes for a farewell dinner….just our second meal out since we’ve been here. The little square is a delight - with a fountain in the centre, beautiful trees and cloisters on all four sides. There are restaurants everywhere but we choose one called the Renaissance. BAD MOVE! I am reminded of all those things which give the impression that the French are arrogant. They really DON”T want to serve us - until they find out we are ordering A la Carte. The food is good but the service is terrible. The evening is saved by a friendly conversation with two chic French women sitting at the next table who, upon hearing the sisters’ ages, declare them to be very stylish! When I tell M and B they blush like schoolgirls and I can’t help but wonder how long it is since anyone has complimented them.
Tony goes off to bed. I am really worried now. Despite the amount of sleep he’s getting he’s just not bouncing back and he’s constantly exhausted. I stay up and talk to the sisters and fill in some of the blanks of his life in Australia for them. I realise that they have accepted me entirely and feel quite emotional about it. They’ve nearly driven me crazy but - in some strange, perverse way - I have grown fond of them and I shall miss them. Did I actually say that????
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