X'd in Aix-en-Provence - July 2014

Aix-en-Provence
Picnicking in the hotel gardens

Aix-en-Provence
This was perhaps my least favorite city in Southern France, chosen only to make the drive to Nice slightly shorter. Let me explain . . . In Aix, the pedestrian streets are jammed with people at all hours of the day and night.  Most of the people seem to be tattooed and pierced art students or lost, wandering tourists. The crossing signals at all corners are three to four people deep, waiting for the green light. Walking through old cobblestone streets would seem to be so romantic, yet the permeating smell of urine somehow erases all evidence of romance.  Graffiti covers many of the back street walls and building, the streets are renamed midway and if you see something you wish to buy, buy it then and there as you will have a most difficult time trying to return.  Dying birds and dead rats are seen along the side of these pedestrian walkways. Everyone seems to be looking at their cellphone so the common occurrence of being bumped by someone not looking where they are going gets to be very annoying. A lot of the restaurants stop serving food between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Instead, many of the youth sit in these sidewalk cafes, drinking beer and rosé and smoking cigarettes.  If one likes the hustle and bustle of a busy street filled with youth, this is your town.  We, however, found it a great location for more day trips! Recommended length of stay three hours but if you plan to do day trips, a couple of nights should suffice!



Where to Stay:

Renaissance Aix-en-Provence
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mrsbr-renaissance-aix-en-provence-hotel/ 
Unlike many of the hotels we usually stay in while traveling through France, this hotel has a very American feel to it. It was a nice change of pace to have a wonderful shower in a spacious bathroom with a/c that worked really well and an amazingly comfortable bed! It was an added benefit to have in-room coffee (albeit instant) and large, comfy robes with slippers. It was however, a chore to find. We used our GPS and it tried to take us through a bus station and up a wrong way street. When it said we had arrived at our destination, we looked around and the hotel was nowhere to be found. I walked about 1/2 mile and finally found it. Apparently this is a common problem as they sent their "navigator" with me back to Gar who was in the parked car. 

 

The "navigator" had us follow him on his electric scooter, right to the hotel parking garage! With all the one way streets and roundabouts, it's doubtful we would've found it on our own. Others in the lobby shared they had the same problem in finding the hotel. The hotel is a 10-minute walk to the downtown area. During our visit, the winds were blowing rather strongly. Once inside the city, it diminishes, however the head count goes way up. Not really a fan of this city but the hotel made a great location for day trips to the lavender fields. Lots of dining options, however, be warned . . . the pizzerias will not allow you to order food between 2:30 and 7:00, only drinks! We were treated quite rudely at two places for not knowing this bit of information (later verified by the hotel). We opted to have in-room breakfast rather than the large buffet downstairs. We are not big breakfast eaters and at I think 25 Euros per person, breakfast was cheaper when delivered. If I had a do over, I would skip the city of Aix but we really loved our time at the Renaissance!

Where to Eat:

Hue Cocotte
http://www.restaurant-hue-cocotte-aix-en-provence.com/ 

We made reservations at this restaurant discovered on TripAdvisor through our hotel. The hotel said they send many of their guests here so we knew it would be good. We found that even armed with a map it was difficult to navigate the small ever changing street names of Aix-en-Provence. Even more difficult was finding this small restaurant. Terrace dining is available but the winds prevented us from enjoying the outdoors. Probably a good thing as those who braved the outside all smoked! The owner explains in English, each casserole-like dish from a chalkboard. I ordered the house special, the Hue Cocotte and it was really good. Cod on top of risotto along with mussels. My husband had the duck casserole in a pot and really liked his. The hot lava chocolate cake was a perfect ending. We loved that they poured our bottle of wine into a large wine glass shaped decanter!  The only downside was the walk back to our hotel--a bit scary in this city.


Le Tradizionale
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=fr&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.latradizionale.fr


This little sidewalk cafe caught our eye because it was right across from Hue Cocotte.  Don't bother.  They don't do Italian food well in this restaurant in France! What were we thinking!?!?

What to do:

L'Occitane Factory, Museum, and Garden
http://www.loccitane.com/factory-tour,29,1,2280,106337.htm

I have been a huge fan of all things L'Occitane since our visit to Paris in 2007. The lavender soap has been a staple in my home ever since.  So how in the world could I travel to Provence and not stop at their factory?  Located on the main highway to the lavender fields of Digne, this easy on, easy off location is a perfect place to stretch your legs and get a real introduction to the lavender fields.  The museum is small, more of a walk through reading experience with farm equipment and historical pictures.  The end of the tour lets off in the store with scads of product available for purchase.  Their is no price savings compared to the retail stores and perhaps depending on the exchange rate euro to dollar may be a bit more but free samples abound and for the remainder of our drive, the scent of lavender followed us!

The Lavender Fields of Provence
http://www.theluberon.com/activities/lavender-provence

One of the things I was most looking forward to in Provence was a trip to the lavender fields.  The lavender plants bloom the best during the months of July and August.  Since Aix-en-Provence was such a let down, we were super happy to have our rental car to drive to the fields.  The Luberon is the region that boasts the most lavender fields around.  We took the route toward Digne and began seeing huge fields as early as Valensole.   The beauty and the fragrance are indescribable and pictures do not do it justice!  Be sure to drive past the first several fields as these will be swarming with Japanese tour bus groups, walking all through the fields, taking photos.  There are several opportunities to purchase various lavender products at very reasonable prices but the best souvenir is the memory.  Unfortunately, our memory came with several bee stings but that was our own fault.  We found the most amazing field next to a large field of sunflowers.  Since those are my two favorite flowers, I was in French heaven.  We got out of our car and began walking down the lavender aisles taking pictures of all the flowers and quaint french homes.  It was on our way back to the car that we cut across a row near some bee hives and apparently Gar agitated them by swinging his jacket at them and they attacked!!  I can only imagine what the Japanese tourists thought of the two crazy, screaming, laughing, arm-swinging American tourists running full speed over big rocks back to our car!  Once safely inside, we removed four stingers between us!  Boy! Did they hurt!  Totally worth it though!