From Uzès to Pont du Gard

"Ohh kucuk Uzès kasabasi !" diye tutkulu bir dille yazdi babasinin sehrini Fransiz yazar Andre Gide kendi öz yasam oykusunu anlattigi "Tohum Ölmezse" adli kitabinda. Parizyenlerin kibirli davranislarini zeki ve alayci bir sekilde surekli izleyen ve bunun hakkinda da yazan Gide, bu alayci tabiri surdurup "Eger Umbria da olsaydiniz simdi, Parizyenler sizi suruyle, akin akin ziyarete gelirlerdi." diye de yazmistir. Halbuki simdi o bahsettigi ust tabaka kibirli heyet'in burasinin Umbria da olmamasina ragmen Uzès e gelip, asik olduklarini ve hatta buraya yerlestiklerini duysa sanirim cok eglenirdi. 

The French writer Andre Gide wrote affectionately of his father's homeland by saying "Ohh little town of Uzès!" in his book "Unless the Seed Dies" which is about his life. He was a wry and clever observer of Parisian snobberies, that's why he said "If you were in Umbria, Parisians would be coming in flocks. " So,  he'd surely be amused to learn that today those coterie of Parisians is falling in love with Uzès and deciding to sustain their life here, despite the fact that here is not in Umbria. 

Her ne kadar turizmle kalkiniyor gibi gorunse de, Uzès, aslinda insanlarin aktif olarak yasadigi ve calistigi bir kasaba. Pazarlarin ve diger tum detaylarin genellikle yaz turistleri icin degil de yerliler icin oldugunun altini cizmeliyim. Zaten sokaklarinda dolasirken yasanmisligin verdigi havayi cigerlerinizde hissedeceksiniz, ne demek istedigimi anlayacaksiniz. Ufak bir bilgi sizlere aslinda buranin simdilerde bu kadar sirin ve yasanilasi gorundugune bakmayin 50 yil once kimsenin kalmak ve yasamak istemedigi bu eski ortacag kasabasi, devletin burayi 1962 yilinda tarihi alan olarak berilemesinden sonra renovasyon calismalari ve yatirimlar basliyor ve simdilerin yuksek gelirli tabakasinin gozbebegi haline geliyor. 

Even though it looks like Uzès is developing thanks to tourism, here is a real town where people live , work and where the market is for locals not just for summer tourists. Anyway you gonna understand what am I trying to tell, when you are there while breathing the air of true life. As an additional info, 50 years ago the town was dying. All the old buildings were dilapidated and deserted, and no one wanted to live in them. Then the French government declared Uzès a historic town and ville d'art, and invested money in its restoration. And like in nowadays it's becoming an upmarket place for the people and Parisians about who Gide talking. 

Place le Duche

Yogun ve etkileyici bir gune tam baslamadan Bec à Vin de guzel guzel bir ogle yemegi ziyafeti cekmenizi tavsiye ederim. 

Before starting an intense and an impressive day, I highly suggest Bec à Vin for a delicious lunch. 

Antik Yunan ve Roma mirasinin etkilerini, bugune kadar hala ayakta kalabilmis bir cok eserde; tapinakta, kolezyumda ve diger binalarda gorebilirsiniz. Bunlardan en bilineni ise Nimes'e su saglamak amaciyla Romalilar tarafindan yaptirilmis, Uzès'e  sadece 15 km mesafede olan  Pont du Gard, Paris'ten sonra Fransa'da en yogun turist ceken yerlerden birisi.  

The heritage of ancient Greeks and Romans is obvious with many ancient temples, coliseums, monuments and other buildings still standing today in Uzès. The most famous one is of course Pont du Gard, built in AD 60 by the Romans to supply water to Nimes, located only 15 km from Uzès and one of the most visited sites after Paris. 

Eger Uzès e ayiracak daha fazla vaktiniz varsa

- Jardin Médiéval' a ugrayin derim 

-12yy dan kalma Tour Fenestrelle in silindir bicimindeki mimarisi gorulmeye deger 

-Lezzetli truffler almak isterseniz ise Place aux Herbes de haftalik kurulan pazara cevirin rotanizi

-Birazda agzimiz tatlansin derseniz Willy Wonka'nin fabrikasinin gercek hayata donusturen     Haribo'nun Musée du Bonbon'unu gormelisiniz

If you have more time for Uzès ;

- I highly suggest to visit Jardin Médiéval

-Tour Fenestrelle dated 12th century is worth to see for it's cylindrical six-storey gem. 

-If you want to buy tuffle to enrich your meals, lay up for the weekly market held in Place aux Herbes 

-A must see for the sweet-toothed, Musée du Bonbon belonging to Haribo is like a Willy Wonka factory come true to life. 

Nasil gidilir: Avignon'dan en cabuk ve hesapli ulasim yolu otobus. Uzès'den Pont du Gard a gitmek icin ise ister taksi ister otobusu tercih edebilirsiniz. Biz otobus saatlerine yetisemedigimiz icin giderken taksi donerken ise otobus kullandik. 

How to go: To Uzès from Avignon a fast and economic way is taking a bus. And to go to Pont du Gard from Uzès you can take taxi or bus but as we couldn't match the timeltable of the bus we took taxi and we turned back by bus. 

Pics by JB and me 

Vatican of France

Avignon'u, bu canli mini metropolis i ziyaret etmeyi dusundugumuzde, cogu Fransiz gibi bizim de  dilimize buradaki eski bir ortacag koprusunden bahseden cocuk sarkisinin su dizeleri hemcecik dolaniverdi  -"Sur le pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse" (Avignon koprusunun uzerinde dans ederiz, dans ederiz). Fakat nereden bilebilirdik ki Avignon da bu sarkidan cok cok daha otesini bulacagimizi. 

When we think about visiting this lively mini metropolis in southern France, like many people, started to the whimpering the lyrics of the well known French children's song about an ancien bridge in Avignon -"Sur le pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse". But how could we know that there are much, much more things are waiting for us than in this song. 

Papalarin sehri  
Yazimin basliginda da belirttigim gibi Avignon, 14. yy da 9 Papaya ev sahipligi yapmis Fransa'nin Vatikani. Bazi kralliklari Vatikan yonetirken, bazilarini da Avignon'daki papalik sarayi yonetiyormus. O yuzden Papalar Sehri diye adlandirilan Avignon, Fransizlar tum katolik dunyası icin cok anlamli. Dunyanın en büyük gotik sarayı da Avignon'u en onemli ve en görkemli yapisi Papalık sarayı ise bu ortaçağ sehrinin kuzeyinde, geniş bir meydanda sizleri selamlıyor.  

City of the Popes
As I mentioned in the heading of this post, Avignon was the former house of 9 Popes and the Vatican of France during the 14th century. That's why this city has an important meaning for French and for all the Catholic world. Moreover, The Palais des Papes, the world's largest Gothic palace, presides over a large square in the northern part of this medieval city.  

Eger bahsettigim şarkı "Avignon Koprusunun Uzerinde..." sizleri oraya dogru suruklerse, hic dusunmeden gun batiminda Rhône Nehrin'de guzel bir aksam ustu gecirin derim. Mevsimlerden kis ise yogun bir ruzgara hazirlikli olun benden soylemesi. 

And If the classic song " Sur le Pont d'Avignon..." that draws you, then take a stroll on the partly standing bridge of Saint Bénézet, a k a the Pont D'Avignon for a beautiful sunset on the Rhône river. But as an additional, if it's winter time be really really careful about the strong wind on the bridge. 

Eger fazla vaktiniz varsa bu guzel sehirden ayrilmadan once ufak ama koleksiyonu oldukca etkileyici, oncesinde artist Jean ve Paulette Angladon-Dubrujeaud 'un evi, bugunun ise sadece Angladon Muzesini ziyaret etmenizi oneririm. Koleksiyon Van Gogh, Cézanne, Manet, Modigliani, Picasso ve Degas gibi sanatcilarin eserlerini iceriyor. 

If you have extra time, before you leave I suggest you to visit  Musée Angladon where is the former house of artists Jean and Paulette Angladon-Dubrujeaud. It's a cute little museum but the collection is valuable enough not to skip. It includes paintings by Van Gogh, Cézanne, Manet, Modigliani, Picasso and Degas.  

Ve ufak muze ziyaretinden sonra ee nerede kahvalti edicez yada oglen yemegimizi nerede yiyecegiz dediginizi duyar gibi oluyorum. Sicak ortamiyla ve vintage dokusuyla canli meydana bakan buyuk pencereleriyle Ginette & Marcel imdadiniza yetisiyor ve uzun zamandir yemediginiz kadar guzel sandwichleri burada yiyorsunuz. Menu ayrica salata, corba ve tartlari da iceriyor. 

Just after your museum visit, I hear your inner sounds which is asking where you can eat as soon as possible. At this point for the delicious open-faced sandwiches I'm suggesting you Ginette & Marcel with warm tables, vintage floors and big windows overlooking a happening square. The menu also includes tarts, salads and soups. 

Kucuk gezilerimizde otel sitelerine bakmayi unuttuk diyebilirim. O yuzden sizlere bir kez daha airbnb.com u kesfedin derim. Iste bizim sectigimiz Provençal mimarisini hissederek kaldigimiz evimiz.

I can almost say in our little trips we forgot checking the hotel webpages so, one more time I'm suggesting you to discover airbnb.com. Here it's our little Provençal apartment. 

Photos by me and JB 

Aix en Provence

Mevsimine ters geziler en sevdigimiz seylerden birisidir. Jb bana yilbasi tatilimizi nerede gecirelim diye sordugunda ilk aklima gelen yerlerden birisi Provence oldu. Aslinda ilik bir bahar yada yaz gunu  doyamayacagimiz lavanta tarlalarini, soguk ve o kadar ruzgarli yilin son gunlerinde sokaklara tercih etmek mecburiyetinde kaldik. Iyi de ettik. 

Low-season visit is one of our favourites. When JB asked my idea about where we can spend a new year, one of the first answer was Provence. Instead of wandering around the lavender fields in a breezy spring or a warm summer day, we had to choose wandering around indoors or on the cute streets at the last days of the year. Why not !!! 

Eger Provence' daysaniz ve henuz varmadan Fransizcaniza bir goz atmak istiyorsaniz isinizi bir tik kolaylastirayim; hiz anlamina gelen "vitesse" kelimesini haznenizden cikartin. Zira Cézanne ve Émile Zola gibi sanatcilarin da sehri olan bu kucuk yerde bulamayacaginiz tek sey hiz olacak. Hatta bir an sokaklarin birinde durup aslinda Cézanne aklimdan gecenleri bir tabloya donusturse nasil olur diye dusunmedim degil. Hayal edelim; gunesli bir gun, rahat elbiselerinin icersinde bir yerel marketten digerine kosan insanlar, hamamlarinda keyif yapip Romalilara da bir tesekkur gonderenler ve meydanlardaki kafeleri doldurmus pastisini ya da yerel rosesini yudumlarken aksam uzun uzun keyfini surerek yiyecegi Povençale usulu bifteginin hayalini kuranlar... Iste tam bu noktada gerceklere donup Fransizca kelime haznemize yavaslik anlamina gelen "lenteur" u ekleyip huzurun dayanilmaz hafifligine geri donuyoruz. 

If you're in Provence, before coming here, check out your French and forget about one word "vitesse"!  It means speed and which is something you can not find around this easygoing hometown of Cézanne and Émile Zola. For a one moment I even thought about if Cézanne would paint what came into my mind about this city, what he would paint exactly? Imagine; in a sunny day locals in their easy dresses, shopping around from the local boutiques, enjoying the spas by sending their appreciates to the Romans then everyone fills the cafe terraces to sip pastis or a local rosé before heading off to enjoy long dinner ceremony of slow-cooked daube de boeuf Provençale. Then, here, at this point, we are adding the word " lenteur" or "slowness" in our vocabulary and turning back to the unbearable lightness of peace. 

Ayrilmadan once yapmaniz gerekenler; 

-Cours Mirabeau da yuruyus ve sonrasinda Émile Zola'nin ve Cézanne in ugrak mekani Leas Deux Garçon da bir seyler icip etrafi seyre dalmak,

-Musée Garnet'i mutlaka ziyaret edip essiz koleksiyonunda kaybolmak, 

-Cézanne in adimlarini takip edip atolyelerini ziyaret et ve tablolarina konuk olmus Mont Sainte - Victoire a bir de onun gozunden, atolyesinden bak, 

-Lavanta tarlalari ? Tabi sicak iklimde gidecek kadar sansliysaniz onlari da kacirmayin derim :) 

Don't leave before; 

-Walking around Cours Mirabeau and drink something in Les Deux Garçons where Émile Zola and Cézanne hung out often and one of a clutch of cafes. It buzzes with people watchers, 

-Visiting Musée Garnet and lose yourself into a selected collection of it,

-Following the steps of Cézanne, visit his studios and look at Mont Sainte - Victoire from there, on his eyes, where became a subject of a number of Cézanne paintings,
-Lavander fields ? Well, if you're lucky enough going there in a warm climate yes why not, don't miss them too :) 

The garden of Musée Garnet from inside. 

Ve son olarak "Le Petit Verdot" nun buyuk bir ziyafetten sonra 3 farkli crème brûléesini tatmadan donmeyin. 

And lastly don't leave without tasting three different kind of crème brûlée after a great meal at "Le Petit Verdot"

Woolrich parka / American Apparel leggings / Comme de Garçons x Converse shoes / JB's grand father's fur cap 

Pics by me and JB 

The Oyster, Ocean and Dune

Basliktan da anlayacaginiz uzere sizlere bu uc birbirinden alakasiz cok yakin arkadasin Cap Ferret de gecen hikayelerini anlatacagim. Fransa'nin bati kiyisinda bulunan Cap Ferret yarimadasi, kendine munhasir tarziyla ve yapisiyla guney kiyidaki rakibiyle (St JEan de Luz) yarisarak Bordeaux'nun ve Paris'in varlikli ailelerinin en gozde tatil mekanlari arasina girmeyi yillar once basarmis bile. Varlikli aileler dediysek akliniza hemen St Tropez gibi bir yer gelmesin. Burasi bir balikci kasabasi. Cap Ferret'de gosterisli yatlar, Ivana Trumplar veya Paris Hiltonlar goremeyeceksiniz. Onun yerine kasabanin etrafinda dolasan balikci kayiklari ve forkliflerinin uzerinde kendilerini "paysans de la mer" olarak adlandiran istiridye ciftcileriyle karsilasacaksiniz. Ayrica mimari beklentilerinizi de olabildigince basit tutun zira burada Gehry nin Californiya kiyilarina kondurdugu o super modern evlerden bulmaniz pek mumkun degil. Birbirinden guzel yerel cam agaclarindan yapilmis dogada kaybolan ahsap evler sizleri guzellikleriyle kendilerine hayran birakacak. 

As you gonna understand from the heading, this post smells like an ocean!  Cap Ferret, a peninsula on French west-coast, is a specific and  unique summer gateway for the wealthy Bordelais and Parisians   for many years. With its unique landscape as well, they are always in an endless competition with its south-coast nemesis (St jean de Luz). As I mention about wealthiness of the area don't flash somewhere like St Tropez! Here, there is no luxurious yachts, no Ivana Trump or Paris Hilton. Cap Ferret is a village de pêcheurs who called themselves as "poisons de la mer". Instead you will find fishing boats and oyster farmers driving around town on their forklifts. In addition don't have big expectations about the architecture of the houses like the ones Gehry built on the "west coast". Small wood houses perfectly lost in the nature and made from local pine are decorated with blue and white shutters.

Okyanusa gelince, dalgalarin yuksekligi istahli sorf ahalisini tesvik edecek kadar nezih ve yeterli. Plajda, ise suyun icindekilerin aksine sakin hayat devam ediyor. Insanlar yavas yavas kumlara siziyor, kimisi deniz kabugu toplamanin pesindeyken,  kimisi sadece surf tutkunlarini izleyip keyif yapmanin pesinde.  

In the ocean, the waves are decent enough to encourage an enthusiastic surf community. On the beach side, at the low tide, life is more serene contrary to the ones inside the water. Slow by slow people are  trickling across the sands. While some of them pursuit of picking up shells, the others prefer to just lay down and watch the surfers. 

Gec ogleden sonralari ise istriridye ve beyaz sarap a adaniyor. Gidebileceginiz bir cok adres var fakat biz orada yasayan bir arkadasimizin tavsiyesiyle (yerel bilgi en iyisidir diyerekten) Chez Boulan i sectik. Bu minik ama huzurlu restoranda belkide cift olarak hayatimizin en mutlu bir kac saatlerinden birini gecirdik. Hatirladigim kadariyla rezervasyon kabul etmiyorlar o yuzden ayakta beklemeye hazirlikli olun. Icinizden gelen homurtulari duyar gibiyim ama  merak etmeyin guleryuzlu ve muhabbeti bol calisanlari sayesinde zamanin nasil gectigini anlamayacaksiniz. Masaniza oturdugunuzda aninda her sey masanizda olacak.  

Late afternoons are devoted to fresh oysters with white wine. You have plenty of addresses to have them but, we decided to try a suggestion of a local friend (locals know the best) Chez Boulan. In this small but cute restaurant as a couple we spent one of the happiest time of our life. Good food, lover and a landscape (dunes of Arcachon). Awesome trinity !!! As far as I remember they don't accept reservations so be ready to be at the line. I feel like hearing your unsatisfied inner voice. Don't worry you will not understand how time spin away thanks to the friendly and chatty staff. And finally when you pass through your table everything will be there in a minute. 

Aklinizda bulunsun; Fransizlar Louis XIV' den miras kalmis bir gelenek sebebiyle istiridyeyi icinde "r" gecen aylarda (Fransizca) tuketirler. Diger aylar ureme aylari oldugundan korumaya birakirlar. Yani yazin geldiginizde ben istiridye istiyorum diye tutturmayin pek bulamazsiniz. 

Ps: In France people eat oysters just in months that contain "r" (in French). This rule is little merit today, as it dates from the days of Louis XIV and a royal edict forbidding farmers from harvesting wild oysters during the months without an "r", the period of reproduction. 

Gunes yuzunuze vururken, burnunuzda okyanus kokusu ve karsinizda kumdan bir dag. Sanirim huzurun tanimina biraz da olsa benziyor. 

While sun is across your face, smell of ocean is on your nose and the view of mountain of sands. I guess the explanation of peace is a little bit something like that. 

Gitmek icin; arabaniz varsa ne mutlu size eger yoksa hic uzulmeyin karsinizda toplu tasimanin uzmanlari var. Bordeaux'dan 601 numarali otobuse bindiginizde yaklasik olarak 1:30 saat icerisinde Cap Ferret de olacaksiniz. Otobusler gercekten cok konforlu ve kolay. 

To Go: If you have a car happy you !!! But if you haven't don't worry here is the masters of the public transportation talking, from the central Bordeaux , when you catch the bus number 601 around in 1:30 hours you will be in Cap Ferret. Busses are super cool and comfortable. 

Sessun top / Zara cardigan / Cheap Monday jeans / Woolrich parka / Nike blazers

Pics by JB and me 

For more info about Cap Ferret and Bassin d'Arcachon click here !