We checked out of our Arles hotel this morning avec backpacks, walked through the heart of the town and stopped for some petite dejeuner at a cafe in Place Voltaire (the same one we visited on our first day). 5 euros got us some bread, jam, orange juice and a coffee.
Then we pressed on to the train station where we discovered that our train had been replaced by a bus service (not really sure why, as we had to rush to get on the bus to Avignon - no time to ask questions). They were probably doing track works or similar. Anyway, this gave us a good view of how the real people around here live and, by and large, it wasn't that impressive. The countryside was far more interesting and we saw several fields of sunflowers. These flowers looked very impressive en masse (they grow quite tall actually, and we could well understand Van Gogh's fascination with them. Our only regret was that we couldn't take photos as all our luggage was under the bus at the time - bugger!
The bus took us to Avignon TGV station where we caught a standard train to Aix-en-Provence, but while we were waiting, a lightning fast bullet train went through the station. Man, it was fast. The whole station rocked and people's hats flew off. Very impressive. We think we are on one of those trains when we return from Nice to Paris.
Arrived in Aix-en-Provence mid-afternoon. It was hot. Rod had sweat visibly pouring down his face and Kym was dehydrated to the max. It is so incredibly hot here. There was a lot of cloud cover today, which made it feel more like a sauna. The humidity makes it extremely oppressive. Rod keeps telling Kym that this weather is abnormal for France, but it is hard to be convincing when it just hasn't relented. The temperature has been in the 30's+ since we arrived and it has made doing the touristy things a bit of a chore. A little bit of a shame, but we think we are losing weight as a result - lol. Not to mention, working on our lovely mediterranean tans!!
Checked into our hotel and it is not as bad as some reviews had made out. Those who have been to Aix would know there are not many hotels in the heart of the city. We booked a 2 star hotel that is just behind the Cours Mirabeau (right in the heart of the city) and it really isn't too bad. True, the air conditioner is struggling but, although the hotel is old, the room is clean and tidy. Aix hotels are notoriously and outrageously expensive, so we haven't done too badly, all things considered.
We had a little look through the town. There are lots of tourists and people everywhere, but we managed to take in a bit of the atmosphere. We met a nice man who runs a shop whose daughter has spent time in Sydney and now is in Perth studying. He spoke at length about Australia and Australians. It was nice speaking to someone French who was openly willing to speak English. He ran a (better quality) gift shop and a salon de the upstairs. We also bought a nice little something for our kitchen wall.
Too hot to eat out tonight (even been too hot to drink alcohol lately!), so we found a supermarket downstairs in what looks like a department store at ground level, Monoprix, and bought a couple of salad/vegetable dishes for dinner that were yummy. Perhaps we also bought some chocolate and cheese items too, non?? Kym could not believe an entire supermarket aisle was devoted to cheeses. She even has photos to prove it. It's a wonder we are actually losing weight.
Whilst eating, we watched the French version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and then Ghost Whisperer in French (dubbed rather well actually). Tomorrow we will get stuck into the touristy things early, before it gets too hot again. For now, Bon Nuit!
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