My whole life I've wanted to go to Provence. Everything about it- the flowers, the food, the sunshine, the history, the painters- perfectly encapsulates all I love about France. And the UK's four-day Easter break is here, so we are off to see this amazing, beautiful region.
If I can't have a year in Provence, then hells yes I'll take a week.
We were up at 4am to make our train from King's Cross to Gatwick Airport, then flew out on the 8am Easyjet shuttle. At 11am, we were in Marseille- 75F, sunny, vibrant, and a world away from London.
We decided to go directly from the airport to Aix-en-Provence, rather than staying in Marseille. We found a small hotel right outside Old Town in Aix, and once we'd settled in, we set off to find lunch. We happened upon a small cafe on one of the main pedestrian throughfares that offered salade Provencal and rose wine, outside in the sunshine. It was one of those quintessential French town squares with fountains, trees, and the requisite carousel.
We couldn't resist. So we spent an hour or so people-watching, relaxing in the sun, and savoring the beauty that is this French region. Seriously, everything smells like lavender and sunshine.
There isn't a ton to do in Aix (pronounced "X"); that's kind of what I liked about it. There aren't many museums or any castles- mainly it offers a low-key, relaxed atmosphere for wandering its ancient medieval streets. After waking at 4am, it was a relief not to have a checklist of sights to see, but rather an entire afternoon to stroll, eat, drink wine, and admire the loveliness of the town.
We had a very late dinner at the cutely named La Bouche a Oreille (Word of Mouth), where we both had duck confit with foie gras, the first of hopefully many ducks and bottles of wine to end up in my stomach on this trip.
Tomorrow we head to Avignon!
A Week In Provence
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France
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2025-02-10