12th century church

St Quentin de Poterie is a small village just outside of Uzes in southern France. “Poterie” means potter, and the place gets its name from the history of clay pottery that has been made here for over 1000 years. The house we stayed in is part of a large complex of buildings and streets that were originally built in the 14th century. The small church, whose spire is visible in some of the photos, was built in the 12th century and still has services. You can see nubs on the spire – they are there to break up the wind currents from the powerful “Mistral” that blows in the spring and summer, frequently at 55 mph.

Entry to house. The opening on the right is original to the building, and was a laundry room/storage place. We had to duck to enter.

We picked this location after researching for a house in this general area. The goal was to have a place that was centrally located, not too far from the TGV line in Avignon, and that would comfortably accommodate the five of us: one couple, two teen girls, and myself. I found this place at VRBO.com, for roughly €700 for a week. Everything was included, including a fully stocked kitchen. We just had to pick up some of the perishable items, which we easily obtained at the local shop or at the markets in Uzes. The building had originally been built in the 14th century, but had been updated, so the inside was a delightful mixture of ancient stone walls and new amenities.

All these photos are taken within a block of our rental

Good news from the office, or the bottle of Côte du Rhône? On our private courtyard

The owner, M. Pierre Le Fur, was quite a character. He is an artist and collector, and talked to Eric about his 1964 Ferrari.  Part of his art collection was used in decorating this house, so in addition to the visual feast of the village, we had paintings, sculptures, and textiles to enjoy. I envied his pottery, but it’s not exactly something you can stuff into your carry-on bag. (M. Le Fur did give Janet and I each a small unglazed candle votive of his work, as a parting gift.)

I walked under this archway each morning to the Boulangerie – the bread store – and picked up baguettes and croissants for the day’s meals. Each morning, the regulars would greet the owner, who would have each customer’s items wrapped up before they even got all the way into the shop.

We actually drove our minivan down this street every day

Renting a house is much more fun that staying in a hotel. We walked to the market for our staples, to the  boulangerie for croissants and bread each morning, cooked some of our meals at home instead of spending money in a restaurant, and headed in a different direction each day to sight-see. From this location, we went to Arles, the Pont du Gard, Nimes,Uzes,  Les Baux de Provence, Le Chateauneuf du Pape, and several other towns and sites.

Sub level courtyard. The very old stone steps were sloped and mossy. After Whit slipped, we didn’t venture down.

As we spent nearly every day in the car, taking in the country, it was very relaxing to come ‘home’ each night, cook a meal, drink wine, and rest, each in our private thoughts about what we had seen and done that day.

Makings for tonight’s dinner

Janet and I zombified. This is probably the day we were nearly killed in Nimes. Twice. I’m on the phone so I must be working

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• A Bit of History From Provence (willows95988.typepad.com)

Categories: Art, Travel

Tags: Avignon, France, Mistral, Pottery, TGV, Uzès