To the south of France

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The drive to Aix-en-Provence ended up taking 7 hours, not the 5½ that we thought it would. Not our fault though, there were a few toll stops, and we hit really bad traffic in Lyon. Plus we had a gasoline fiasco that would take way too long to explain. We were driving through Lyon right before the Rugby World Cup match, and traffic was brutal. Speaking of brutal, the toll fees to drive from Paris to Provence was 75€. The first toll we hit on highway A6 cost us 30€. It’s almost cheaper to fly…but when you’re cruising at 170km/h, it may not be that much faster. These people know how to drive!

Aix is a very charming, bustling city. Its Centre-ville is a maze of little alleys full of cool boutiques and restaurants. We got totally lost walking around, but it was very fun. It has a really cool fountain in the middle of it all that acts as a hub for this area. The city has a huge student population and the middle of town was full of energy.

We met up with my good friend Elodie, who I worked with in St. Maarten at Bamboo Bernies. She took us to an authentic country-style french restaurant called Jacquou le Croquant. This translates loosely to Crusty Jack’s. They had a 12 page menu, and all they served was foie gras, duck, goose, and rabbit. Somehow, they prepared it all a million different ways. It was fantastic, thank you Elodie for showing us a great time.

Our hotel is a charming 17th century country house which used to belong to the French painter Bernard Buffet. Our bathroom is a converted turret! It’s just outside of Aix in a little town called Fuveau, and situated right on a golf course. From our room, you could see the 10th tee.