Aix-en-Provence

Arriving in Provence late was how we started the day. We tried a hotel near the city center and all the hotels in the city center were booked. Great. So we headed back towards the edge of town and stayed at a Novotel... which I can say that both of us have stayed in better rooms. I slept great though... We got right up in the morning and headed into town. I expected something completely different in my mind... however the city center itself was quite small. A large fountain dominated the street, seen below:

Otherwise the town itself seemed quite small to me... However while walking the streets, we came across a wonderful boulangerie called Paul. Breads were coming out of the oven hot and fast, and WOW the smell of the bread was intoxicating! We went right in and ordered two paninis and to desserts. Simple, yet so amazingly delicious... I can't stop thinking about it even right now... my mouth is watering. I hope to come across one in Paris so I can eat more of those delicious paninis and desserts!

Around 2 pm we headed up a street to Paul Cezanne's house. I couldn't remember any of his works off the bat, however when we went into the ground floor and I saw a few prints of his on calendars and bookmarks and such and I remembered instantly who he was. See the painting example below:

We walked the grounds of his house and actually were able to enter his studio where he did all of his paintings. It was quite untouched and you could feel an energy in the room that was inspiring. The bottles and jugs represented in many of his paintings could be seen in his studio... However we were not able to take any pictures of the studio itself. We enjoyed the visit to his studio and the stroll along the grounds of his house... but it was time to move on.

We hopped in the car and drove on the scenic roads towards Avignon... I thought I had seen rain until we got on the scenic road. The drops of rain were so big and coming down so hard, it was absolutely crazy. We had to slow down and pull off the road for a few because it was just too much. Then flashes of lightning and a loud thunderclap above our heads caused us too little "chickens" to get back on the road. It cleared up after a while... and the road to Avignon was really pretty. (Well, it was even pretty in the rain, but you know what I mean.) There were wineries, farm stands of fresh fruit and vegetables, small towns with brightly colored shuttered windows and pretty flowers in all the windows. This is what I expected to see in Provence. The drive was wonderful, and before we knew it we arrived in Avignon. Here are some pictures below of the drive.

See you all in Avignon!