aix-en-provence, part the first

So I have a great backlog of photos to post. I'm going to go in order, I suppose; so here's Aix-en-Provence, from when Mom came to visit me in mid-April. We took the TGV to Aix, which is, oh, not particularly far from Marseille, but inland in Provence. It was really quite beautiful, fountains every other block, smelled like lavender.

Sorry for the sideways. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

The chambre d'hote (guest house) we stayed in was really, really cute. I was nervous about it, because I hadn't even seen pictures of it when I made the reservation; instead I called the Aix tourism office, and they found me a room (for an extra one euro fee; I figured that was money well spent). Turned out to be fabulous, and in the middle of town, no less.

This is some chuch. And its 4th century baptistere. And its cloister. Buildings and fountains.







Fountains, buildings, markets. Tuesdays and Thursdays there were markets everywhere, and they were fabulous. Flower market over here, vegetables over here, down another street local olive oil, honey, herbs, pottery, cheeses. Mom and I bought a bunch of things. There is also a photo here of the Cours Mirabeau, the main street of Aix, with a statue of King Rene (Provencal or Aixois king, I forget) who brought the muscat grape to Aix. He's holding a bunch in his hand. Also, the big fountain at the opposite end of the Cours Mirabeau.







Hmm. I have a bunch more to go, but Blogger isn't letting me upload any more photos. When I can work it out, I have pictures of: Cezanne's workshop, a mountain, ruins of a pre-Roman settlement, and a cat.