Sunday, April 6

Provence, France

Provence was the first time we rented a car. We got a Peugeot with GPS who became our new best friend with an English accent. "At the roundabout take the third exit."

We chose AIX en Provence as our home base. This first day we walked through the town center and checked out the fountains along the main street.



La Rotonde


The town is very cute with cobble stone walking streets, cafes and shops.



From the town we walked up to Paul Cézanne's art studio and home. While we were there, it was still rainy but we did get glimpses of spring time here and there.

Cézanne's studio

Wisteria in bloom

At one point we got on the right bus but heading the wrong direction. Here's a photo of us unknowingly riding into the suburbs. After a difficult conversation with the bus driver. An elderly lady got on the bus a told us "You sit down." Using hand signals she got us back to the other side of town.

We had the luxury of a small kitchen in AIX. I really liked grocery shopping in France. The cheese selection is amazing. It puts the snooty cheese guy at Whole Foods to shame. Here we are enjoying some home cooking.




Our second day, we visited Avignon on the Rhone River.

Palace of the Popes

Looking back at Avignon from Fort Saint-André in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.

The next morning we drove to Gémenos for our visit with Arnauld (former co-worker at PDI) at his new company, The Bakery. I was happy to see Arnauld again. His studio is growing quickly and it was exciting see all the progress they have made. The visit made me realize that I miss the challenges of production.


Photo from The Bakery's website.


Arnauld recommended that we take a drive to Cassius. It is a beautiful seaside town and from there we took a high coastal road south. We didn't know where we were headed but since we had GPS we didn't have to worry about it.


Beach in Cassius



Looking back down at Cassius

While driving back we cross another toll road. There were so many in France but we think the system makes sense. The people who use the roads pay for the construction costs and maintenance.



From AIX we took a bus to Nice where we sampled the nicoise food and relaxed on the beach before departing for Italy.


1 comment:

robyn said...

Are you getting home sick? You miss the challenges of production? Yikes!