Around Aix-en-Provence: no cycling

November 13, 2009

Weather: cloudy

We slept very well in our pleasant room overlooking the extensive back gardens of the quiet neighbourhood. Breakfast downstairs in the fancifully decorated main room of the former general store turned out to be one of a kind. We sat down at a long table in front of large bowls (we assumed for cereal) and slabs of baguette with about fifteen kinds of homemade jam. Luc's mother then served us plates of roast chicken with rosemary sauce, and his dad filled our bowls with café au lait, all the while conversing in provençal-accented French with us and the other guests, a young couple from Paris. After the chicken came bowls of lightly sweetened crème fraiche with toasted nuts. We were quite overwhelmed—this would be perfect cycling fare, but we were finished cycling—we just had to do our best! Luc's charming mum referred to the meal as “le brunch”.

The view from our bedroom window. The gardens behind the stone facades on the narrow streets were extensive, and there were a number of cats traversing their domains.

Afterwards we staggered outside under overcast skies to check out parts of the city we hadn't seen yesterday and to walk the route to the bus terminal where we start tomorrow's trip back to Paris. On the way we passed La Rotonde, a large fountain that makes up a roundabout at one end of the Cours Mirabeau. At the terminal we stood in line to buy tickets for the shuttle which would take us to the newly-built TGV station, about 15 km west of Aix along a busy highway. After a 20 minute wait, we were told that we couldn't buy the shuttle tickets in advance and would have to purchase them tomorrow. We walked back through the old centre along the Cours Mirabeau, and browsed through shops to choose products of the region to bring home for gifts. Even with the cloudy skies, it was warm enough to sit outside again for a very light salad lunch, and in the late afternoon we spent a good hour at Book in Bar, a well-known English-language bookstore with a nice little coffee room.

Art students sketching a doorway detail in a nearby park.

Coffee break at the pleasant cafe in the English language bookstore.

For dinner we managed to find the only organic restaurant in the city and had a good scallop dish with glasses of local organic wine.

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