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Published: October 23rd 2007
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We totally punked out today and only took THREE modes of transportation. We are trying to cut back, really. Shuttle, metro, bus. 😊
We arrived in Marseilles this morning to cloudy skies and fairly frigid temperatures. Now, it was cold up in Montserrat yesterday, being up that high, but it was clear skies. But it was FREEZING in Marseilles and raining! Brrrrr! So we layered up. The best part is that most of my warmest layers don't really fit anymore, so my mid-section is ever-so-slightly exposed to the elements. I joke with Gus that I am going to have to start wearing my pashmina wraps as cummerbunds to stay warm!
We disembark the ship and get quickly on the shuttle. Did I mention it's also really windy? Double brrrrr! The shuttle drops us off right by the metro station and we cruise up to the train station. We are becoming real pros at this. 😊 Our plan is to catch a train to Cassis and tour the "calanques" (fiord-like land masses) by boat. Checking the timetables though, we realize that the trains are too infrequent to guarantee getting back to the ship on time. Maybe it's for the best.
It would have been even colder on the water and we have this uneasy feeling that "catching the calanques" may get us thrown into cruise ship quarantine. Sally and Dave had tipped us of about Aix-en-Provence during a phone call the week earlier, so we headed there instead. And there was NO WAY we were staying in Marseilles - too busy for us.
The bus winds through some fairly sketchy parts of town and we are wondering when we will start to see some countryside. I can't wait anymore, so I take a nap, waking up just as we pull in to Aix. Gus told me that I didn't miss anything except the slums adjacent to Aix. Slums...in Provence? How can that be? Isn't this supposed to be idyllic? Anyway we get off the bus and are on some deserted road on the outskirts of Aix. This is not looking much like the pristine provencal town we were promised. The funny thing is, both Gus and I were thinking the exact same thing "THIS is Aix-en-Provence? What a hole!" and shortly thereafter "I'm gonna kill Sally and Dave." Neither of us said anything out loud - knowing that we
should do some more wandering around before passing judgement. We find, after some circling, the tourist information office and get our hands on a map. NOW we are in the center of town, huge fountain and all! Ahhhh...much better.
We decide to head up the main road of Cours Mirabeau. The sun has come out and the sky is perfectly blue. Mirabeau is a pretty stone street lined with trees and cafes and is probably the widest street we have seen in all of Europe! As we cruise up, we see all these cute little side streets. And on those side streets are ladies carrying their shopping baskets, full of fresh produce. My Spidey-sense begins to tingle..."there is a farmers market somewhere in this town." I can feel it in my bones...it's Saturday, the locals are out, the weather is warming up, and there's an air of activity. We wind our way through the streets of Aix - and I do mean wind - there aren't very many straight streets. We finally find it - EUREKA! Now, the French REALLY know how to put on a market. This market goes on for miles winding through the various streets and
squares of Aix. There are sections: clothing, accessories, linens, antiques, ceramics, soaps, baskets, books, undies (yep, you can buy your bras right on the streets!), fresh produce, fresh meat, cured meats, cheeses (ah, the fabulous cheeses - we really should give them a moment of silence in their honor), roasted meats, roasted chestnuts, olives (yes, entire sections are dedicated to olives), spices, bread, and so on and so on. When I go to heaven, this is what will be there.
We wandered for HOURS through the market. We sampled fruit, cheese (once again, a moment please), bread, cookies and all other sorts of tasty bits. We bought some fabulous Provencal linens and a French market basket (after all, we wanted to look like locals) and then decided to do lunch - farmer's market style. We bought some unreal cheese from a monger who's family has a farm on Corsica and produces the cheese, a baguette (what else?), and an apple, fresh from the farm. We found a little cafe and Gus got a cappuccino so he could warm up (as it's still in the low 50s - but I'm plenty warm - shopping releases some hormones for me!) and
so that we could use their table for our little feast. Now, if I weren't pregnant, there were many other things we would have added to the menu...c'est la vie! The baguette was heavenly and the cheese was unlike anything we'd had in our lives. It was buttery like a brie, but firmer, and tangy like an aged cheddar, but softer. We ate it, rind and all! The apple was the perfect crisp and sweet accompaniment. It's one of those meals that, though extraordinarily simple, we will remember forever.
The market started to close up at about 1-ish so we headed back to the main street in search of a bathroom. Ha! We remembered a public pay toilet (a.k.a. 'franc-a-piss' for you Trish) in the square with the fountain. No dice, it was broken. It was becoming a real emergency. This being pregnant thing really puts the kibosh on your ability to "hold it." I contemplated an act of public indecency and was trying to remember if I had any Kleenex with me when we found a cafe with a bathroom "for customers only." I didn't care if we had to spend 50 Euro - I had to pee!
Now! We made it inside - waited in line (for what seemed an interminable length of time) - and finally got the okay to use the can! Allelujia! NOW I can sit down and enjoy our apple/cherry crumble tart. Mmmmm...it was sooooo good!
We also bought a stuffed monkey for the Rixlet- I couldn't resist! Gus gave me the usual speech regarding souvenirs. "You can buy it, you just have to figure out a way to get it home." Emphasis on the "you!" It was so cute and how great to be able to say, "We bought this for you in Aix during our Mediterraean cruise, just before you were born." Hence the monkey picture.
We wandered around a bit more enjoying the sights of Aix and then caught our 3 o'clock bus back to Marseilles - which is still cloudy and freezing! Brrrrr....
We bid aurevoir to France and know we will be back soon when we go to Paris in a couple of weeks!
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Sandra Simmons
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Wish I was there!
I'm sure you know, we are having a Firestorm.