O what a weekend! I went to Aix-en-Provence with my program and had an absolutely incredible time! We left Grenoble by train Friday around noon and arrived in Aix around 3:30 pm. We had to take two different trains because there is no direct TGV to Aix. Upon arriving, we went to our hotel to check in and put our bags away. We stayed at a nice hotel right in the center of the town. Ana and I were roommates which was really fun! I am so thankful that we both travel really well together.
Ana and I decided to go explore Aix on Friday afternoon. It was warmer than Grenoble and a beautiful afternoon. Aix is a small, quaint, and provencal town! There are fountains everywhere and it is definitely a little bit more upscale than Grenoble. It is small enough to walk around everywhere and there is no need for a metro or tram. We saw so many wonderful little shops and monuments while exploring. That night, we went to a Thai restaurant with everyone from our program. It was fun! I feel like the food was overpriced for the amount they gave us, but whatever.
Ana's friend from CSU came by our room after to say hi and Ana went to hang out with her for a bit. We went to bed early and got up around 8 to go to Marseille with our group. O Marseille - it reminded me a little bit of Naples. It was not as sketchy or dirty, but Marseille is not a pretty city. It was beautiful seeing the water and the port though. We walked up to this church on the hill and the view was incredible. Saturday was a tough day because I think we were all getting on each other's nerves and patience was running a bit low.
We had Saturday to do whatever we wanted which was completely necessary so that we all could cool off and breathe a bit. Ana and I watched some French tv in our room for a while and then went out into town to find something to get for takeout. O goodness - we found the besttt Greek Kebab place! O wow - it was delicious.
After, Patrick had a very special lunch planned for us - it was definitely one of the most amazing things that I have ever done! He took us to Mas de la Pyramide which is a farm now. It was once a quarry during Roman times. A man of 86 years, Lolo, lives there. His house is carved into to rock and ruin. The property has been in his family for over 400 years!! Well basically, you can go and have lunch with him. O my goodness what an INCREDIBLE meal. This was experiencing TRUE Provence! Lolo's old friends were there as well. We dined in this cave thing and the food was absolutely delicious - it consisted of bread (of course), olive omelettes, pasta with mushrooms, sausage, roasted chicken, salad, cheese and fruit. The food never stopped coming! Also, Lolo has a field of olive trees and actually makes his own olive oil. That experience will forever be in my memory and I am so thankful for it.
Okay, well Provence was amazing. I hope to travel back one day :)
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