What a week, somebody leave a comment, will ya

Well here we are again faithful followers; my slackness once again sees a big catch up blog about to take place.
We enjoyed our trip to Marseille so much that on Tuesday we decided to look for other trips, so off to the Office Touristique we trotted. This was a great idea as we were able to book a few bus tours at the same time. When Judy came out she said we were going to visit Suzanne, who I couldn’t remember meeting. I was getting confused when we hopped on a tour bus, but as you all know I trust Judy’s judgment so off we went, imagine my surprise when Suzanne ended up being Cezanne. We had a great afternoon visiting all of Cézannes favorite haunts including his studio, Harrison was so inspired that he wants to take up the impressionist art form. The tour included a stop at the base of Mt Victoria where we enjoyed a well earned drink. All up a wonderful 5 hour tour.
Wednesday sees us hop on another bus to Marseille to see more of the sights that we didn’t have time for on Monday. After a couple of misunderstandings between us and the tour company we enjoyed another sunny day in Provence where we explored the Notre Dame Chapel and enjoyed the glorious vista. Marseille is an interesting place there are many beautiful aspects but otherwise it is Just like Port Kemble on a grand scale with the inclusion of wheel standing scooter riders, wish we had photos of that one (and yes Pauly, if you are reading it does appear possible to pop 100m monos on a scooter). After the trip we decided to go out for a gelato at what has become our favorite ice cream hang out, where not only does it taste great it also looks like a work art, that is before it becomes an albatross hung from our bellies and thighs.
Thursday and Friday or Jeudi and Vendredi as they say here were quiet days where the boys caught up on homework and I attempted to catch up on the blog, unsuccessfully as it turns out hence another extended writing session.
Saturday dawned as a different kind of day in Aix, it was cloudy and cool, it may as well have been the moon because it didn’t seem like the Aix we had become used to. Regardless of the day’s meteorology we had a mission to complete, we were going to Cassis for the afternoon. Before we could go though my wonderful family reminded me of something, apparently it was my birthday. I was showered with lovely hugs, kisses and cards; a great day already! If you don’t know about Cassis it is a large Calanque (look it up, its educational) along the coast from Marseille with a harbor and a beach, it’s very touristy but fantastic nonetheless. Again we found one of the most efficient ways to explore was by the tourist road train or petit train as we have come to call them. English translations on board make the tour more worthwhile. Back in Aix that evening we went out for a wonderful meal at an Italian Restaurant which Jean Pierre had recommended on our first night.
Sunday was an enjoyable day for reasons I will explain at the end of this blog.
On Monday we thought that we would use the local bus service to visit a bike store in Venelles, about 10km out from Aix. Judy understands, doesn’t she. The bus trip was a breeze, however when we got to Venelles we realized that we had forgotten something very important about France. For those of you who have been to France, particularly country areas, you would know that France is closed or ferme before 10am, ferme from 12am to 2pm, ferme on Sundays and here is the punch line many stores are ferme on Mondays, particularly bike shops. Oh well, being intrepid travelers with a never say die attitude we did what the French do, we shrugged our shoulders and found a café for a relaxing repast before getting on the next bus so that we could rendezvous with our favorite gelato vendor once more.
Two more quiet days followed, with more homework and browsing through the now familiar markets, Angus and I were even successful at getting on another service bus to Venelle where this time we found everything open and were able to have a browse through the velo emporium and chat with the owner. We also went to the natural history museum where Harrison was enthralled by the dinosaur exhibits and took quite a bit of narrated video (click on the video above)This brings me to today and the last two Sundays concurrently. The three days have a common thread; Valerie and Laurance. Both of these wonderful ladies are associates of Laetetia and JP and made themselves available to assist us in any way they could. On our first Sunday in Aix Laurance picked us up and drove us to the market where they were working. It was a very hot day and they were very busy but they found time to look after us and introduce us to many very friendly people along the way including JP’s mother which was a great treat. Through the rest of the week they made sure we were doing OK which is reassuring when you’re a long way from home.
The following Sunday we met them in Aix where we strolled through the markets having animated Anglo/French translation conversations before stopping at a café to enjoy an afternoon coffee, it was here that we found out Valerie is an aspiring chef and that she wanted to give us cooking lesson involving some traditional Provencal specialties. A little more walking was the order of the day and along the way they told us about the natural history museum which Harrison loved so much after visiting on their recommendation.
Thursday/today is the day for the cooking lesson, Valerie arrived carrying everything she needed in a backpack and handbags, unfortunately, Laurance was unwell and unable to come over for this very enjoyable afternoon. The secrets of Tomatoes Provencal and Baked Pomme de terre with crème unfolded in the kitchen while the wonderful aromas filled the air. Judy thought that she would reciprocate and showed Valerie how to cook satay chicken (no pavlovas). Before long we were having a gourmet lunch and enjoying a good laugh about holidays, life and even the photos we had taken while on holiday. Of course all good things must come to an end and before we knew it, it was time for Valerie to make her way home. We will miss Laurance and Valerie, we feel that we have become good friends in this short time and they have made our stay in Aix much more special.
Our other big thank you goes to Laetitia and JP without whom we would not have had the opportunity to stay in such a fantastic place. As they are on holiday also, we wish them bon voyage and look forward to seeing them and little Victoria in Australia soon.
Well that’s it from Aix; today is our last full day before we get on the TGV for Grenoble, but before I go I had better put in a plug for the Italian Caffé and its staff, Jean Sebastien and Maelle. It’s a great little caffé but more than that it’s where we have made a lot of our internet hookups and all of our very rowdy skype sessions. I think they are already wishing us bon voyage.

From Normandy to the Cote D'Azure

Dear readers it has been over a week since I last blogged, this will be painful as a whole week will be hard to do, but here we go. On Sunday 1st of August we were quite sad about having to leave Dominique and Rachel as we had enjoyed our stay with them so much. We went into town for one last look, tomorrow was going to come too soon. Tomorrow did indeed come and Dominique and Rachel took us to Chartres to pick up our hire car for the next part of our journey. It was very quiet in the car to start with as I think we were already missing Dominique and Rachel, however we will see them again soon when they come to Australia.

On our way we stopped at Le Mans to drive the public part of the racetrack, it must concern the drivers that this very fast section of the track is lined with French crash barriers (trees, big ones). On we drove all the way to Bordeaux and spent the night in a little town called Langon.

Of course there is always a funny story and in this town it was how we found the Gite we were to stay in. When we arrived in Langon the town had closed for the evening, the only life we saw was at the Fire Station so we pulled in and asked one of the officers if he knew anywhere we could stay. He promtly did a google search, rang a number and told me that the manager of the Gite (bed & breakfast) would be here in 5 minutes to take us to our lodgings.

This had all been unexpected and gave us much to talk and laugh about that evening.

Tuesday dawned and we were up early for a spectacular breakfast and quick start to our trip. Again we were amazed by the great roads, high speeds and thoughtful driving displayed by the French. In no time at all (7 hours) we were in Aix en Provence.

It wasn't long before we got to meet Laetitia, Jean Pierre and Victoria their daughter. They are lovely people and while Judy caught up with Laetitia, Jean Pierre gave me a flying tour of the old city and introduced me to many of his friends, I was already feeling like a local.

When we returned to the appartment we all enjoyed dinner together before our hosts had to leave for their holiday.

Aix is a beautiful town with a fantstic climate, Jean Pierre tells me that their are 2000 fountains and 4000 restraunts, from what we have seen this would seem conservative. The rest of the week would see us exploring the old city on foot and catching the tourist shuttle to get our bearings. Monday 9th, we took the train to Marseille, walked to the docks a took a ferry ride along the coast as far as Cassis before returning to the Frioul Islands where we had our first swim in the ocean and had a great seafood lunch. After a very full day we took the shuttle ferry back to Marseille and caught our train at about 7.30pm.

So whats at la Ferte-Vidame?

Saturday 31/7. Today we take a short drive of 15 or so Km to the town where Dominique grew up; la Ferte-Vidame. We were expecting another tiny hamlet however to our amazement we drove into a large rural village with all the signs of having been a significant place in this part of France. After stopping at the patisserie for some sweet supplies we toured the town. As we rounded the corner we were confronted by the ruins of one of King Louise Philippe’s country palaces and it became obvious as to why the town looked the way it did. Dominique later told me that the estate had been modeled after Versailles and even though time has not been kind to the estate it is still easy to see the similarities. We also took time to look at the ancient church in the town with its very interesting vaulted timber ceilings and beautiful stained glass windows. In the afternoon Judy and the boys had a rest while I went for a ride. One important note here, when you get lost 20km away from where you started on a bicycle in rural France it can be difficult to find directions and water, enough said!