Sunday in Aix

The last day of Stu’s visit to Aix was a relaxed one. After sleeping in, we met up to get breakfast. I wanted to go to Crêpes A GoGo, but it’s completely closed on Sundays. Then we thought we could go to a café and order breakfast. But 11:30am is apparently too late for that. So we settled for pastries from Paul and coffee at my favourite café (you ought to know which one that is by now). Settled… eh, not really. It was delicious, I don’t know what I’m talking about. Café time? That’s my favourite kind of breakfast!

As you may or may not have noticed, I don’t have as many scenic pictures of Aix as some of my other IAU comrades. So I used Sunday to get crackin’ as I took pictures with Stu all over town. I went inside the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) for the first time, even though I walk by it every single day. I also discovered a huge church when I went to the vernissage on Friday; everyone else knew it was there, but I did not. Sorry, Aix, I’ve failed you.

inside hôtel de ville

daily market, and the fedora vendor i pass by every morning

I haven't talked about les marchés (markets) in Aix yet, and now seems about as good a time as any.

Every day there is a market from 9am until around 12:30, 1pm at Place de Richelime in the centre ville. I've bought food for picnics here, peaches on my way to school, and perused the wide selection of honey.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays there is a huge market on Cours Mirabeau (the Champs Elysées of Aix) that sells general items: lots of scarves, art, clothes, soap, jewelry, etc. This Sunday there was a special art market that we came across. Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (I think?) are flower market days; sometimes at Place de l'Hôtel de Ville and sometimes at Palais de la Justice (courthouse plaza).

fountains and bikes, typical aix

a doctor's house

an architect's house

fountain at La Place de Quatre Dauphins

huge church next to musée granet

funny sign in the bathroom"if you are sick, wear a mask in the presence of others"

I didn’t even get to see the exhibit at Musée Granet when I went, so I visited on Sunday. Free for students! Bernard Plossu is a photographer who has travelled to a lot of countries and taken a lot of photos – including Aix’s very own Mount Saint-Victoire! The mountain is such a symbol of Aix (and surrounding areas) and people take a lot of pride in it, especially since Paul Cézanne made it über famous in his paintings.

source: la provence

The photos in La Montagne Blanche were smaller than I expected, but their size only served to juxtapose the enormity of Saint-Victoire and highlight its importance. Each photo was taken from ether towns with a view of the mountain or from the mountain itself during Plossu’s many hikes. Even though they are all black and white, you can tell a lot about the time of day or weather from the way the light hits the peak. Having just learned a lot about light (and shadow) in my photo class, I can officially tell you “light is everything” and, in this case, really served to tell the story of Mount Saint-Victoire.

Being in an artsy mood, I thought I’d try and make the trek out to the Marchutz School. I’ve heard so much about how gorgeous it is, all the way out there in the country, far away from the center of Aix. And I wanted to see it! So, dragging poor Stu with me the whole way, I headed out of town to find Marchutz.

walking through la torse (where i go running) to get to marchutz

To make a long story short, we did not find the school. I have decided it is impossible if you don’t know what you’re looking for/ don’t have a guide/ have never been there. We walked waaaaayyyyyyyyyy out along the side of the road. I think we actually got pretty close, since we saw a stone sign with Atlélier Marchutz – Dessin et Peinture carved into it. But I guess I’ll just have to go back some other time with a more knowledgeable person.

When we got back to Aix, the sky was just about to dump buckets on us, so we quickly chose a lunch place, and sat out the storm in the safety of pasta and hot chocolate. Once it cleared up, we went back to Stu’s hotel where we went through our pictures from the weekend (and some old pictures too), watched funny YouTube videos, and enjoyed our last evening for a while.

Even though Aix has been such a great experience so far (and I’m sure it will continue to be!), it was so great to have a friend from home come to visit. I was glad to spend time doing nothing too special, just enjoying company.

After all, it’s not where you are, but who you’re with, right?

xxo, S