French Provencal


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Published: August 17th 2005
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Left Paris today and headed to Gare de Lyon to catch the TGV train to Avignon. Our train was a few minutes late but whew! once we got on we flew. The TGV trains are France's super fast ones so after being on the Eurostar and the TGV the other trains we take are going to seem so slow - like the Little Engine That Could! Train travel in Europe is very civilized if you discount the dogs and cats on board. I'm all for animals but it was like Noah's Ark. I went to the loo and there was a cat on a leash in the aisle! Naturally I petted the kitty and felt an ache for 'Scoff.

As we were whipping by the French countryside we realized we forgot our main guidebook for Provence. Breathe - it'll be alright. Just wish I could remember all the notes I made in it. Oh well, the best adventures are the unplanned ones so our time in Provence should be great!

Getting the rental car was a "gong show", "horror story", you name it - it was bad. First, on top of the theft and collission insurance we responsibly added, they insisted on an additional 800 euros as a security deposit! That's roughly $1300 of unbudgeted, unwarned charges! Needless to say there were a few unhappy customers (all North American) in the building! Additionally, the economy cars here are for midgets. Now, I'm a midget but this Fiat they tried to give us was the size of a smart car. Not even one of our suitcases would fit and asking 6 foot John to climb in was just plain mean. We (well, John really b/c he is calmer when it comes to this stuff) spent close to 2 hours (yes, 2 HOURS) trying to upgrade to the next size - a VW Golf. Now I love Golfs but you can't convince me that its bigger than an economy sub-compact! At home, I don't think Golfs would even make it on the "economy" list at rental companies yet here it was the 2nd category of vehicle! A gong show! And with the language barriers too! I won't even get into the other soap operas that were going on around with other very unhappy customers. It was ridiculous and exhausting. Good thing we have no schedule here in hotter than Hades Provence! Guess I get a strike against me for the car rental booking. Good thing John is laissez-faire and won't hold it against me. We are definitely much happier with the Golf though b/c I know from past experience that you can put a whole room full of unassembled Ikea furniture in the back of a Golf. Two suitcases are a piece of cake.

Once we got the car we cruised a suggested 130km/hr (vs. a suggested 110km/hr when it's raining - seriously, that's what the road signs say!) to Aix-en-Provence in about an hour. Have to admit that we're not that taken by this Provencal town (more of a city) and are hoping that when we move on in a couple of days to the Luberon area (i.e. Peter Mayle's setting for "A Year in Provence") it will be more what we envision. Aix is a nice town but kind of confusing. From what we've seen it's not that intoxicatingly beautiful like we were led to believe but the people are driving Jags, Porsches and Beemers and have tons of fashion sense so we really don't get the schtick. But it's been a long day so maybe we're missing the point.

Had an enjoyable steak et frites at a sidewalk cafe along the cours Mirabeau (the main cute drag) and wandered back to Hotel Cezanne. That's one cool thing about this area - Cezanne spent his time here painting his masterpieces.

Tomorrow we're heading to our first Provencal outdoor food market here in Aix and after a picnic lunch will likely go on a wine tour in Chateneuf-de-Papes.

Miss you all!

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