A Month in Aix en Provence

We arrived in Aix-en-Provence at the beginning of May, tired and tapped out from constant decision making and moving through new experiences, places, cultures and countries of the prior six months.  We were ready to stop and stay put.  When we set off from Canada we had intended to take it slow and hoped to find a few places where we would settle down for a few weeks at a time.  As it turned out we didn't really find such a spot, or make that happen.  Although we did take it slower than many travelers, and we found space within each day, a week was the longest we had stayed in any one place since we had left home.  It was time.  And the south of France was the perfect place to stop.

We had planned to spend time in France in hopes that the kids would be able to dig into the language and make up for some of the language skills they missed out on this year.  Leo, as the perpetual chaser of sun in our family, put in his vote for the south of France.  I researched the options and decided Aix was the right fit.  It is a small city with lots of wonderful day trips within reach.  I figured we would have the opportunity to really get comfortable in the town but not get bored.  And it was just right.

We spent countless hours wandering the streets, looking at water fountains, searching out the best baguettes, meandering down the block to the daily farmers market, and settling in.  The kids got comfortable enough that they would go buy the baguettes themselves and they conversed in French with the sellers at the market.  We found our favorite place to grab a slice of pizza and crepes, took the time to notice the windows filled with plants and flowers, felt like we knew where we were going when we walked through the town to our rental car's parking spot, the kids leading the way with confidence.  It felt exciting but settled.  A contributing factor to the feeling of comfort and familiarity that had been a rare commodity this year was spending the time in the same apartment that we found on AirBnB.  There we were able to unpack, settle in and spread out.  We cooked our own food, using the fresh ingredients from the neighborhood market, made crafts, did laundry, made a final gasp at home schooling and called it home for five weeks.

Homemade chicken noodle soup.
We were able to cook some of our favorite foods from home.

Enjoying being back in a kitchen.

Craft time!

Lost a tooth! Second one on the trip.

Our cozy Airbnb apartment made the month in France affordable and fun.

We even celebrated a birthday while in Aix.  As I have mentioned before, V was homesick during much of our trip.  Coming up on his birthday seemed to amplify this, and perhaps, in the context of the more foreign and uncomfortable settings of Sri Lanka and South East Asia, anticipating a birthday while far from home made him sad (or mad, depending on the day).  Arriving in France V did express that what he wanted for his birthday was to be home.  Given that that wasn't going to happen he settled on a Lego set.  As an added bonus, for the kid who asked for a strawberry birthday cake last year, we found a delicious strawberry cake!  

The birthday weekend was especially special because our friend Rob went out of his way to visit us for a weekend while on his way to a meeting in Germany. A friendly face was the perfect antidote to feeling far from home.  Yay for friends!

Rob also got us out for a walk on the famous Sainte Victoire mountainside.  This mountain ridge features heavily in many of Cezanne's paintings.  Its flanks are covered in pines and dry shrubby herbs.  The various plants that make up Herbs of Provence can be found growing all over the hillside and during our walk the kids filled their pockets with aromatic thyme, rosemary, oregano. There are innumerable paths that meander around, along and up the mountain.  We chose one and walked to a saddle below the ridge line where we had a little picnic while nestled against the rocks, protected from the wind.  Gazing out at the surrounding land and the alps in the distance all was well in our world and we were feeling grateful to share it with a dear friend.

Gathering herbs.

Aix is a town of fountains and narrow streets that open onto squares which are filled with bistro tables and chairs that seem to always be filled with people of all ages sitting and sipping coffee or wine, enjoying the company of friends, in no rush to move on.

This was one evening when a screen was set up to watch a soccer game. Solaz (in pink hoodie) and Leo joined in the fun.  The French men are so suave that they confidently drank rose while watching the game.

Chilling their wine. Come on now, who is this cool!?

An early morning before opening.

We were struck by the elegance of the people, the buildings, the foods, the clothes.  People in Aix seemed elegant but not stuffy or pretentious.  Preconceptions about the French being snooty or giving you flack for speaking French poorly were shattered and we felt warmly welcomed.  We did learn that it was gauche to wear flip flops anywhere but the beach.  We used being in France as our excuse to buy a couple of new articles of clothing because we were all tired of wearing the same few articles of clothes for the past six months, but also because we inspired to try to look a bit more sophisticated.

We spent countless hours walking the streets.  Our AirBnb was smack dab in the middle of the old quarter. Access to that part of town restricts vehicle traffic, so it made the city imminently walkable.  We walked, and window shopped, and snapped photos of beautiful windows and doors and windowsill gardens, and each other. We loved the old.  The cobblestones and old fountains and buildings that looked worn and tired, but were bright and grand inside. 

Not surprising, the food was a highlight for all of us.  Not so much eating out at restaurants, but the markets, the fresh produce and cheese and breads.  It was delightful to wander three blocks to the daily farmers' market and choose fresh veggies and fruit, try a new cheese, pick up a loaf of bread and then wander home.

In heaven! Veggie and herb starts.  Even just looking was exciting.

A market in full swing.

An amazing sandwich.  The baguette is sliced open, thin slices of ham are carved off the bone and laid on the baguette, then a thick smear of warm melted cheese is sliced off the half wheel and covers the ham. DELICIOUS!

Home with the day's purchases. Delicious.

We rarely ate out.  I am sure there were some amazing meals that we missed out on, but this was not the trip for restaurants.  Eating out is expensive and not always fun as a family of five.  We did get to know our local crepe, wrap and pizza by the slice joints for quick cheap meals when we timed things wrong and were walking to or from an outing and hunger was rearing its ugly head.  Aix is also a student town, housing a university, and there were lots of student (and their budget) friendly eating options.  We found a weekly Taco night at a Mexican place that became our Monday night tradition while there, subbing in for Taco-Tuesday as Taco-Monday.

Crepe in hand.  The crepe lady recommended having the fresh whipped cream in a separate cup so it didn't melt.
Um, yes please.

Taco please.  Not traditional french food, but loved worldwide.

The other food experience that we embraced, carbs be damned, was tracking down the most delicious, soft, warm baguettes.  We figured out what bakery had the one most to our delight and there was not a wholegrain morsel in it to be found.  We high fived on the days when we were handed one that was still pipping hot.  It was all we could do to not devour it before we made it home.

One early morning Luna and I spontaneously decided to do a pain au chocolat review of neighborhood options (and there were many).  It started when we were slightly disappointed with the pain au chocolat at a cafe around the corner from our place.  We thought this just won't do given that we were in France.  So for fun we took off, stopping in at each place we saw to try one of their pain au chocolat.  Some were better than others.  The chocolate ratio, the freshness of the pastry, the cost (all within pennies of each other) were all considered.  They were all good, some great.  We indulged and enjoyed every minute of it.

This one has a good ratio of chocolate to flaky pastry.

When not looking at the art in the bakery windows, we appreciated the art that oozed out of the buildings, landscapes and history of this part of the world.  At the Hotel de Caumont, a beautifully restored 18th century grand home, we were fortunate to see an exhibit "The Masterpieces of the Guggenheim" that samples some of the great artists from Cezanne's era and locale: Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Degas, Matisse and Manet.  It was an ideal introduction to formal European art for the kids as the scale of the exhibit was not overwhelming or daunting.  Alas even this delicious slice of art that hangs on walls did not inspire their desire to go to more formal art exhibits or museums.  But that is okay.  We found art in the countryside, at Chateau La Coste (more on this in next post), in architecture and in nature.

There were many private galleries whose windows allowed a peek at contemporary art as well as a scattering of exhibits housed in old buildings or tucked behind churches.  Many of our day trips around the city that reminded us of the presence of past artists, such as looking at the view of Sainte Victoire mountain and imaging Cezanne staring intently at the ridge line as he feverishly painted, or in Arles when we saw many of the places featured in Van Gogh's paintings from his time in this ancient city.

Another place we experienced art was at the Grand Theatre de Provence in the heart of town where we heard amazing music.  The five of us went to hear Angelique Kidjo perform.  Angelique is a singer from Benin who has been dubbed "Africa's premier diva" by TIME magazine.  Her performance was electric. Leo and I were so excited to have the chance to introduce the kids to her music and were especially psyched that the theatre believes in encouraging families to attend so they price their kid tickets at an incredibly affordable 12 Euros! Amazing.  Another evening Leo and I went and heard Chucho Valdes.  He is another living legend, an incredible Cuban jazz pianist.  Sitting in the beautiful symphony hall listening to Chucho and his band was an education in jazz.  I felt like I finally understood that the story is told in the spaces between the notes.  Jazz music has never been a favorite genre but that evening, as the sounds washed over me I felt like I got it.  And it was good.

Another major takeaway from our time in Aix was that we felt, more than ever, the gift of time that we have been so blessed with on this trip.  Since we stopped and slowed way down we had time to do things we would never have done at home or never would have chosen as a way to spend our time.  We had so much time that we often thought "well why not?"  We went and saw the Formula One cars that were touring the country before racing in the Grand Prix in Monaco later in the month, we went to playgrounds and parks, we watched sand sculptures emerge from a pile of sand on the sidewalk, only to disappear overnight and restart the next day, we went to the planetarium and wandered down alleys, we went to a dance competition and giggled at the silent clap from the audience by family members and dance teachers (shaking your hands up in the air),  we watched athletes run through the city in their final leg of a triathlon, and the kids weaved their way all around town, popping into stores and offices asking for postcards that were part of a city-wide treasure hunt game.  The younger two even spent a day at a French school seeing what school is like.  The five of us were warmly greeted by the principal of the school who gave us a tour.  Some parts were so very familiar from school back home, the art on the walls and the layout of the classrooms.  What was remarkably different was the cafeteria with plated salads and cutlery for the preschoolers.  We all decided the little school would be an amazing place to attend Elementary school.

The final highlight of our time in Aix was that once again serendipity allowed our family to spend time with our friends from Halifax who were also travelling as a family.  Their plan to go to Sri Lanka was thrown into disarray post bombings and in a scramble to re-route their family, linking existing plane tickets, they flew through France. Voila, another opportunity to hang out together in a foreign land.  It was, as always so good to see friendly faces and have people to spend time with other than the five of us.

The only real restaurant meal was shared with friends.  It did not disappoint.

Our time in Aix en Provence was a highlight for all of us.  It surpassed expectations.  It was a secure and comfortable base to explore the surrounding landscapes and towns. It is one of the places we will go back and spend more time.  I will write more about some of our favorite day trips in the days to come.