A Day in Aix-en-Provence

First off, upon arriving at what Rene called the Champs-Élysées of southern France, we were hungry! We found a shop off the main drag which served lunch for a reasonable price. The waiter was pleasant. The beer just as expected. The sandwiches ample and tasty. But what was remarkable, was that the French fries were perfect! Really, these fries were what all fries should aspire to. Crisp, yet not burned. Light, but not dry, and not overly oily. And tasty!

I messed around, wanting to get Rene’s angle thing happening with a scene.

Looking across the street, I liked how the block-ish rooftops looked through the gnarled branches.

The storefronts were very pretty in Aux.

I added another photo to my moody cathedral collection.

The dragon in this sculpture creeped us out.

We ran around the streets taking snapshots. Here’s a photo of Rene taking a photo.

We walked down to the liberal studies building on the Aix en Provence University campus. It must have been spring break; because, aside from two students from South Korea, the place was deserted. In Rene’s words, “apocalpse empty”.

On the way back, we walked through a public park. We saw more displays of public passion than one might find appropriate. Plus, in a random cultural moment, we took a peek into a tiny circus tent to find a clown coaxing a dog up onto a stool while a ring of children and their parents watched. We also saw several bocce games going on (although, it’s called Boules in France).

Afterward, we found an American book shop. Rene discovered that, in addition to an array of ex-pat items (like English potato chips or Australia’s Vegemite) there, tucked into a corner of the fridge, was a rare and much coveted bottle of Dr. Pepper!

We explored around till nightfall, then boarded a bus back to Marseille. Rene commented that, for all it’s beauty, not knowing anyone in the city (like Rene has come to know Cati) made it all seem a bit hollow…

to futher impress this point, upon arriving back at our apartment Cati and Olivier called up the stairs to us. Olivier had uncorked a bottle of champagne to celebrate a new, wildly outrageous raise! We brought snacks down to help with the celebration and toasted to our friends’ success!