Aix en Provence

Aix en Provence is a beautiful little city in the southern region of France. It is a place that is known world wide for its culinary prowess and it also happens to be where we (Melissa, Jessica and I) went for our vacation of Tous Saints. The last week of October is a religious holiday here in France, I’m still not sure of the history behind it or the reasons for it, but hey, I’m not complaining.

We arrived by train – our favourite method of travel. The first one left St. Etienne at 8h48 to Lyon, and from there we took the TGV (train de grande vitesse = super fast train) to Aix. The weather was amazing that day. The sun was shining; the soft gentle breeze was a good 25ºC. In that moment, I was glad that I had packed my tank tops (still working on purchasing sleeved shirts). I even got some sun!!!

We explored the city on foot. I think in all we walked around the entire city twice. The downtown is strictly directed at tourists. There are all kinds of cute shops and over priced cafés. But should one dare to venture further in, there is a wonderful hamlet of true French life to be found. On the Tuesday night, we found this amazing little restaurant called Salle à Manger which translates directly as Eating Room. The food was amazing, and the waiter was charming as are most French waiters – there is just something about them that is smooth and completely charming. It’s a good thing that tipping here is a foreign concept.

It was sunny for the first three days and then on the Tuesday we woke up to rain. Meaning renting bikes for the afternoon was out. So we continued to explore on foot and then permit ourselves a couple hours in a warm café with our books. (yes, I took Stendhal along. Sad, I know, but I got a lot of reading done). Because of the rain, Melissa and I made full use of the salon in the lobby of the hotel. There was a couch!! (you really do start to miss those when all you have is a wood chair and a bed with a prickly wall to lean against). Considerable life philosophising and in depth self study occurred, along with the reading.

As for tourist activities, we went on a walking tour of the Old Aix. Because of our previous wandering, we had seen all the buildings previously, but now the lady told us some of the more interesting historic aspects. She told us of the evolution of the iron soldering process and the steps that you could actually see in the decorative designs in the architecture. Before soldering, they used iron twist-ties, but when soldering was understood and perfected, the designs of the grates and balcony railings automatically became more intricate. We also visited the Museum of Granet (pronounced grannay). He was a famous painter during the Renaissance period. There were so many paintings from the same era and style that they somehow all ended up melding together. The Pavilion de Vendôme was free (student age in 26 and under so we qualify). It truthfully was not exciting at all. It was currently an exhibition of photographs of modern architecture. Yeah, random corners sticking of the side of a strange building!!

As we are generally poor students, we did a lot of picnic type meals. We would go to the local grocery store and purchase a bottle of wine, a can of corn, cheese, a couple yoghurts, a can of pâté (liverwurst) and we’d also go to our favourite boulangerie and buy baguettes. Sooo gooood. Apparently drinking a glass of red wine straight from the bottle makes your teeth temporarily purple. A new low.

We returned to StÉ completely exhausted. But we needed to get groceries. So in true dutch strength style, Melissa and I marched (and I mean marched) home from the gare, dropped the suitcase and headed straight for Auchan. Auchan, the equivalent of Zellers and Zehrs in one, has pretty much everything and it’s usually the cheapest. (they even have Heinz ketchup!!!) Anyways, after all of the delicious pain de chocolat (croissants with a chocolate strip baked right in) for breakfast, I am now celebrating my return to normal life by consuming only vegetables and protein. Crazy you say, but I already feel better. You should try it!