wine, wine, wine

Settling into the new house is amazing. there are 2 working fireplaces for chilly nights, although we haven't needed it yet. Everyone feels more at ease here. I shudder to say this village is like a Peter Mayle novel, but.....it is. The fridge is the size of a minibar fridge at home because we shop daily. There are any number of markets to choose from in the area on any given day and we have an amazing butcher and baker in St. Didier. Yesterday Hazel really strolled down the street with a baguette under her arm! She has a book called "Monsieur Saguette and his baguette" so she was fancying herself a character. I stopped short of giving her a beret. We have just explored the area. Yesterday poured with rain when we went to Avignon, so we will go again to see the Palais des Papes and the infamous Pont. I know my kids are going to sing the song right on the bridge, which I'm sure has never happened before.
Today was wine tour day. Get ready for this: In one day, we drove and tasted at Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Beames de Venise and Chateauneuf du Pape!!! I'm sure you couldn't do this during season as the roads and every degustation would be crazy, but today, I swear we were the only tourists in Vacqueyras which was pretty cool. I think it brought it home to both of us. Seeing the soil, the vines and tasting where the wine is made makes a huge difference. Not to throw in a wine term, but look it up if you need to : it is the definition of terroir. Especially Chateauneuf du Pape-seeing the stones that the vines are planted around was awe-inspiring. The wine was fantastic everywhere and people treated us very well. At Chateauneuf, the woman stayed open an extra half hour during her lunch break for us to taste!! We came home laden with wine. Tonight we will drink wine, eat cheese and charcuterie for dinner and steam some artichokes we bought at the market. I found an incredible hilltop artisanal bakery that I will visit in the morning. This weekend will be filled with markets. Famous food market in Uzes on Saturday and the world famous Isle Sur La Sorgue on Sundays. It is only 20 minutes from us, so I think we might go every week. Filled with food stalls, antiques, homewares etc.
exercise is taking on a whole new meaning. The only exercise we've been getting is raising the glass! The kids are being great! They were amazing sports for the wine tasting-the most hilarious thing is that there is a playroom in most of them. In France they REALLY want you to drink. Or maybe they are the most understanding parents ever. They know that after driving around, for kids there's nothing better than toys/books/bright things and for adults there's nothing better than booze of any colour