Well, we’ve gotten off to a slow start. We left Saturday at 1 pm and got here about 9 pm on Sunday night, dead tired. A really long trip. Today we had to do some necessaries: get groceries, put gas in the car, get some Euros at the ATM and try to get acquainted with the downtown area of Aix, not necessarily in that order. There are a million streets running every which way, some 1-way, some buses only, and they’re not especially well marked, at least not the way we expect. We use GPS whenever we have an actual address but she’s always saying unhelpful things like “turn SE” (who has any idea which direction is southeast) or “at the 3rd exit in the roundabout, turn onto exit 16a” (and then there’s no 16a sign to be seen in the roundabout). And parking is impossible. We looked forever for a parking space and never did find one. But we persevered, took a nap, and things looked better. Tonight we went back into the city centre and had dinner and did a little people watching, window drooling, and historic building viewing. And we found a public garage to park in. Like I said, a slow start but things are looking up. Here are just a few things we saw.
When we arrived in Marseilles and went out to the parking lot to find their car, we discovered the weather had suddenly changed. The sky was black, there were puffy, threatening clouds all around, and a huge rainbow spanned the sky. There was thunder and lightening. And then it started to rain. Chuck loved it! ALL of it!
We came across several squares like this one with lots of outside cafe seating even though it’s quite chilly out. You can tell it’s a university town because young people occupy the majority of the seats at the outdoor cafes. Another city square. I think these squares are also where the open are markets are held every day of the week here. I hear they are fabulous and we’ll be checking them out.
Entertainment is always a key element in the city squares.
We saw our first 2 fountains. This is the first one.
And this is the second one. Just 998 to go.
I love these narrow streets. No cars here but you’ve got to watch out for those motorcycles. Even if they don’t run over you, they can take years off your life!
City Hall
And a couple of interesting doors. They’re everywhere here.
I guess they ran out of time.
The door at Hotel de Ville (City Hall).
And now for a little window shopping. I don’t know what to say about this outfit.
I guess the rainy season isn’t over yet.
I hope they don’t pay this window dresser a lot of money.
Love the general and historical information about the destination, like the pronunciation of the city “X”. As usual, I couldn’t wait to see the pictures of the doors. Your temporary residence in “X” is beautiful. Is it too cold there for the pool yet? Thanks for the window shopping too, whether it’s candy, clothes, groceries, gas stations or whatever, it’s always interesting.
Provence Journey 
Love the general and historical information about the destination, like the pronunciation of the city “X”. As usual, I couldn’t wait to see the pictures of the doors. Your temporary residence in “X” is beautiful. Is it too cold there for the pool yet? Thanks for the window shopping too, whether it’s candy, clothes, groceries, gas stations or whatever, it’s always interesting.
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someone knitted a sweater for that one building (#13). LOL Every street and square looks like scenes from movies. I would get lost there, on purpose.
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