I saw a man playing an accordian in the streets today.

Time : 9:23pm
Location : sitting on my bed, as per the usual

fog in the morning

Weather : well I just came in from a walk, so I can tell you its brisk outside, and I am almost tempted to wear mittens..

Today was splendid.
Allisa taught me how the bus works here, and we went to Aix-en-Provence. Aix is pronounced 'ee-ks'. I am always saying 'ehh-ks'. I have a feeling it has to do with A. Anyways, it is a lovely town/city. I am not all together sure on if it is a large town or a small city. Either way, it is very nice. Just as everything else is here.
We stayed in the central down town area. When I think of Downtown, I think of Down Town Saskatoon where there are lots of trees, the buildings, still aren't really tall, but they're taller than the rest of city. Oh, and not to mention, the main water feature; the river.

panoramic of the back yard

Cathedrale Saint-Sauveur

Over here, things are a bit different. When you come to one of the squares, or more open areas that are full of little outdoor cafes with French waiters (lacking moustaches) there is usually a large tree or two. The cobblestone streets are not forgiving to tree growth, nor to women's stilettos. If you are not in a square, bathing in some rare sunlight, you are among the streets. They are jam packed with people. These people are of all ages. Young and old gather to shop, eat or pass through. Come to think of it, there really was not allot of people, it was simply an illusion. The cause of this illusion was the three to four story high buildings that were miscellaneous shops on the bottom and hopefully housing for the upper stories. Towering high above you, not much sunlight comes through. To add to the claustrophobia, the width between one side of the street and the other is between seven and ten meters, depending on if there is a sidewalk. On to the main water feature. By now you may notice a trend; a lack of natural surroundings perhaps? Well if you haven't, that's it. The water features are fountains. Quite uncommon back home, but here they are quite popular, and ass a refreshing bit to the atmosphere (haha).

a water feature

Allisa and I walked around for a couple hours, window shopping, actual shopping as I learned the area a bit. Something else to note, is that even though there are Streets and Avenues that in no way means that they go only north and south, and west to east. In fact, two streets that are parallel will usually end up intersecting each other. Try navigating through that.
I took note of which stores have chic clothing, where I can get it for not 100 Euros a piece, and other little shops. A key to never leaving a shop empty handed is to never enter one. But really. A tip: each store window will have a display where they show how much, on average, select pieces are. If you really like those boots but aren't interested in paying an arm and a leg, you have been warned.  It is also a time saver. I personally don't mind entering most shops regardless because then I can get an idea of what is in fashion for everyone.

Aix-en-Provence, downtown

We snagged the bus home, right in the middle of crunch time traffic. I really should have taken a photo of the mess. It was ridiculous.
Allisa went on one of her final weekend trips with a friend and Marie-Anne to Paris for a friend's birthday. Both plans made well in advance, so I spent the evening at Lou's father's where I finally got to meet him, Philippe, and her brother Pierre.
Once supper was over, Alex, who is turning out to be quite nice and very talkative towards me, which I appreciate, and Jean-Baptist aka JB, walked me home. It was a 5 minute walk and like I previously stated, brisk.
This here is a closing to my day.
My bed awaits. For tomorrow, I discover Luynes.
TaTa
9:55pm



No caption needed.