France - 14 Uzès

10/14, Day 5 of the tour We had dinner at the Chateau Duchy D'Uzes, 45 minutes from Avignon. The Duke was not home so we ate without him. Excellent meals and wines and great entertainment by 3 musicians from Lyon The man sitting next to me is Jose Prado originally from Mexico but schooled and lives in San Francisco. Successful in real estate. He allowed me to practice my Spanish with him and his wife Ana. I only stayed out till 10 pm but little Kali got mad and ate my chocolates. I hope she doesn't get sick. My stewardess, Mariya Primova, is so creative. I ❤️ her creativity. Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2017, it had a population of 8,454. Originally Ucetia or Eutica in Latin, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Alzon river, at Fontaine d'Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first century BC, to supply water to the local city of Nîmes, 31 miles away. The most famous stretch of the aqueduct is the Pont du Gard, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which carried fresh water over splendid arches across the river Gardon. The title of Duke of Uzès, in the family de Crussol d'Uzès, is the premier title in the peerage of France, coming right after the princes of the blood. The title of seigneur d'Uzès is attested in a charter of 1088. After part of Languedoc was attached to royal demesne (1229), the lords' (and later dukes') military skill and fealty to the Crown propelled their rise through the nobility, until, after the treason of the last Duke of Montmorency, beheaded in 1632, the title of First Duke of France fell to Uzès, who retain their stronghold in the center of town today, which has expanded round the 11th century Tour Bermond. If France were a kingdom, it would be the job of the duke of Uzès to cry out, "Le Roi est mort. Vive le Roi!" at each state funeral, and defend the honour of the queen mother. Twenty-one dukes have been wounded or killed as hereditary Champion of France over the centuries.