We decided to plan our next two days around the markets, as we loved the market at Bédoin so much. Tuesday was market day in Aix-en-Provence, and since Aix ("Ex") was on our list of places to see, we set off there first.
The markets usually ran until 12:00 or 1:00pm in Provence, so you had to hit them in the morning. Aix was a breeze to get to, though we opted for the side roads as they were way more fun and brought us through tiny little quaint towns. I really felt like you could not get lost in France - the roads were that well signed.
Initially, Aix seemed like a nightmare to park in - there were tens of thousands of cars parked in every nook and cranny on street level, miles from the center of town. We finally discovered the underground parking right in the middle of town, and it turned out there were literally thousands of underground parking spots. We were surprised how prevalent cars were actually; we had pictured European towns that were serviced more by bike and pedestrians and public transport; but the opposite was true.
Aix is very much a University town (they have three Universities) and there were a lot of young international students walking the streets. The market was pretty much all clothing, which was annoying for me (not for Beth!). The town itself was really nice. Besides the wide main boulevard of the market street, there were tons of narrow winding streets with great shops and cafes which would open up suddenly to a great square full of bustling restaurants and shops.
We spent half a day in Aix then jumped back in the car. I had heard that the drive through the Lubéron mountains was nice, so we headed North. I was trying, literally, to get lost - but it didn't work. We drove North through tiny little roads, but sure enough, hit a main road that directed us towards Apt, on the other side of the mountain range. The Lubéron park area is beautiful and very different from what we had seen of Provence so far. We saw a lot of cyclists climbing the mountain roads we were on.
We had an afternoon coffee in Apt and walked around for a bit. It was, as usual, very nice, but there didn't seem to be too much to see of an archaeological/historical nature. We made our way back to Avignon, meandering through the local roads, passing vineyards, olive groves, lavender fields and the occasional sunflower patch.
We received another email update from Gram:
Upon arrival today, girls were in-house playing with the playdough from this morning's scavenger hunt. Tita reported Robbie had a couple of "infractions" today...(Not Tita's words)....so I told Rob she would have to be extra good if she wanted all her stars today. She seemed to be hyper today, maybe tired or reacting to the changeover of guardians?
The girls helped Banka clean up the dining room table for dinner (stars awarded)and hoovered their dinners. Then bath, and Dad took Rob downstairs to exercise the rats and do dot-to-dot. I had Abby sit on my lap trying to teach her to knit. She passed the yarn over the needles for me, and then got bored. So she drew for me but asked me to continue knitting and marvelled at the growth of this thing called a scarf!
Abby was a real doll today! Helpful, polite, looked after her hair, teeth, etc tonight without being asked. She read me a book while I knit.
I've been teaching the girls French words which they seem to remember quite easily! Abby asked what colour people were in France. I declined to tell her about the zillions of Algerians and Moroccans..... !! :)
The week will pass quickly, I feel. Thursday afternoon at the school, then we have to fit in a trip to Mastermind, shopping with Abby, etc!! I don't like to plan anything during school nights!
Love Mum xx
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