Aix-en-Provence

I'm baaccckkkkkk!  After 3 weeks, loads of pictures, stories, videos, and good memories, I am back in Cane for 2 weeks before coming home to the states.  After all of that planning and anticipation, I cannot believe that it's all over.  But like always, I am going to re-live my adventures through writing.  And it's going to be a lot.  So hang in there with me, and enjoy what was one of the most fabulous vacations of my life!

Our first stop was in southern France: Aix-en-Provence.  Even for those of you who are not familiar with France, you probably know that this is the lavender region of France.  And since it's in the south, it's beautiful all of the time.  I had visited here before when I was with my grandma and my aunt in 2004.  But it was lovely to go back and see it all again.

To save money, Margaux and I stayed with a couchsurfing host.  Couchsurfing is a website, designed for travelers and backpackers wanting to save a little money.  You request to stay with someone who has room in their home, and basically, you stay with them instead of in a hostel.  This was my first couchsurfing experience and I couldn't have been happier.  We stayed with Jeff, a very nice guy who worked for CERN (Angels and Demons reference, I still need to check it out myself).  He was very welcoming, took us around the city the first night we were there, and even cooked us dinner.  He had to go to work the next day, so it gave Margaux and me time to check out the city.  We took a walking tour of historic Aix to learn a few things, and then we just meandered for the rest of the day.  A gorgeous day at that.

view from Jeff's apartment

lots of fountains in Aix

market

cool store

main street in Aix, complete with fountains in roundabouts

big fountain in the middle of the city

re-creating a picture from when i here last in front of the same fountain

Unfortunately in the afternoon, it started to rain.  Margaux and I bought the suuplies to make Jeff dinner that night, classic California food: fajitas!  They might have been a little spicy for the French standard but Jeff loved them!  

The next day, we headed off to Nice to meet up with Muna and Margaux's friend Chris.  At the beginning of this trip, everything was made just a little more difficult by the 70 lbs suitcase traveling with Margaux.  However, between the two of us, we managed to get this equivalent of a small child with us from place to place.  It wasn't easy, but we did it. 

margaux and all of the luggage with us

It was a fast stop in Aix but definitely worth it.  Beautiful place and I was happy to go back.  Alright, on to Nice and Monaco! 

C'est la belle vie!