Aix-En-Provence

Sunday was hot and sunny, but the morning was cool and pleasant. Breakfast every morning we were in France was croissants, brioche, pain au chocolat, bread with jam, or whatever else the boulangerie had. We went every morning before breakfast. The first morning here, however, our host brought fresh hot croissants right to our door.

Today we decided to go to Aix-en-Provence. Aix is the old capital of Provence when Provence was separate from France.It is and was the city of lawyers. We spent one whole day wandering around, admiring the fountains, the wide boulevards, and the beautiful church building and cloister. But, boy was it hot! We cooled our feet and faces in the fountains, and ducked under the shade of the plane trees to escape the afternoon sun.

This is our trusty Renault van--the biggest vehicle on the French motorways! There is room for nine people and a major pile of luggage. It got better gas mileage than any of our cars at home. Gas was $6.50 per gallon! The big windows gave us lots of viewing space, but Shannon and EA mostly saw the upholstery (they were often asleep while we were traveling).

Many of the smaller roads in the south have these beautiful trees alongside. The picture was taken through the front windshield.

This is "Good King Rene," a fondly remembered king who lived about 600 years ago. His presence pops up all over the city. He is particularly remembered for bringing the muscat grape to the region. Here, he has a bunch in his hand.

This is a church building from the 11th century with a "new" doorway (16C). Inside, parts of the building date from the 5thC with parts of a mosaic floor still intact. Like many other church buildings, there is a cloister attached.

The colors on the floor are from the stained glass windows.

These are the arcades of the beautiful Romanesque cloister. Many of the carvings on the columns and the capitals are damaged (after all, they are 1000 years old), but the ones that are intact are marvelous.

See?

This is a Shannon-artsy shot of St. Michel and the devil.

And here we are on the streets of old Aix.

This is a life-size (more or less) painting of Tintin on the window of a toy store. Tintin books are some of Cameron's favorite reads. When we were in the Alps, there were several books on the shelf in the apartment, and he (and all the other children) devoured them even though they were in French. Didn't bother Cameron, he'd already memorized the stories in English.

And on our way to our home-away-from-home, one last view of another beautiful fountain.

(Posted by Mom)