Back in Aix-en-Provence again, our home away from home

By now, our third stay in the second-floor apartment of the solid house our landlady’s grandfather built early in the last century, Kathy and I feel as much at home here as in Lexington.  Perhaps more so.

Life’s cadence in Aix has a simplicity like no other — the 7-minute walk to the boulangerie for our breakfast “tradition,” a baguette made the old-fashioned way; the 30-minute walk through the city’s center to IS-Aix, the language school where my students study; the sweet sounds of the piano through the floor as Martine, a retired music teacher, practices below.IMG_2572

Yet familiar as life here is, each day has its little surprises, too.  Last May on our last day, we discovered a brasserie, Le Bouddoir, where the food was good enough that this time we sought it out. It did not disappoint Sunday, as we started our stay with a magret de canard (duck) to die for, with a yummy polenta and two kinds of champignon (mushrooms).  Monday we walked into the wind high above ruins of the medieval chateau at Les Baux-de-Provence, with it’s view stretching miles over the rocky Alpilles and farmland beyond.

IMG_2538Today we had what seems like a mandatory trip to le medicin, the doctor.  Devon needed medicine for a cold sore. Like most French doctors, this one answered his own phone, wore casual clothes (no white coats) and charged less than $30 — full cost with no insurance. I did the translating, sort of.  He wrote a prescription and gave me a facteur, a receipt.  But Kathy noticed a small problem. After he’d given us the prescription, he accidentally took it back, wadded it into a ball, and threw it in the trash.  Oops. We managed to explain this without creating une crise internationale.

Then we went to the telephone doctor (Apple) with less success. Tomorrow I’ll return to see if my faltering phone needs a new battery. It keeps dying and overheating (no, I’m not going there).  Near the tourist bureau, Devon chased bubbles blown by an industrious entrepreneur, hat on ground to defray the cost of the bubbles.

But the highlight of the day came after dinner when Devon was cackling with Kathy. The reason: She reminded Kathy that when they went shopping today, Kathy had addressed the young woman behind the counter not with “bonjour madame” but instead with “bonjour maman.”

Oh dear. They say we return to our childhood as we get older. But I don’t believe we’ve gotten to that point yet.

6 Replies to “Back in Aix-en-Provence again, our home away from home

  1. So nice to see you back in Aix – it will forever be one of our favorite areas because of all your suggestions. We just returned from a visit to a new area for us – the Aveyron and the Tarn. Conques to Toulouse. We stayed in an Abbaye avec l’hostellerie de pelerins – although we were the only non-Pelerins. We went to wonderful museums in Rodez and Albi. And climbed up innumerable old rock villages, rock fortress, rock castles. We highly recommend it if your travels take you away from Provence. Very undiscoverd by anglophones. The first time we heard English spoken was on our last day, at our B & B, where one of the Spanish guests was an English teacher! She translated into Spanish for her husband.

  2. So happy to hear from you from your second home. When you are back in Lexington we must get together. I am now in MD tending to 5 month old Cora Jane, and will also be there From Sept through mid Dec, but we will be home much of the summer. Lovely to see Devon on the carrosel.

  3. So great to find your blog! I am planning. 6 mth stay in Aix ( 2018) and have been looking for your experience. I am wanting to stay in the center of the city, but am finding it will be more expensive… now rethinking… any suggestions? I have been to Aix for a 2 week stay a number of years, and stayed near the center? I love the energy of a university city..
    look forward to your reply
    Happy new year !
    Judy Clarke

    1. Hi Judy, Did I ever write back to you? Are you in Aix now? I’ll be back May 1 to 23 if you’re around.
      If you haven’t arrived yet or want suggestions, write to me at jerrylanson@gmail.com and I can suggest
      things.

      J

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