Saturday 26th November
Amazingly not only had we read the bus timetable correctly but we had also managed to have the right money ready for the bus. €1.05 each for a 30km journey, not too bad.
We hadn’t gone to Aix-en-Provence with any real need to look at anything, the guide book says that it is very laid back and relaxed and that is what we found. We tried at the tourist office to get a walking tour but all the woman behind the desk managed to do was circle lots of places on the map and totally confuse us. We decided to do our own thing and just wander.
It didn’t take long to find the market, there were lots of them stretched along every road, everything looked very tempting.
This chap was giving out freebies and since we were a bit peckish…
… and then we weren’t! Obviously this salami is much cheaper than everything else since it doesn’t need repackaging.
Part of one of the mushroom stalls. I love mushrooms, I’d love to try them all but we really don’t have a clue what to do with them. (And Frankie is stuffed full to the gunnels, we really don’t have mushroom – boom boom).
I nearly got past this shop but accidentally said “that looks nice”. When will I ever learn? This is where we bought a “Where’re you going to put that then?” that we desperately needed.
And here is the young lady making them. (All will be explained by the end of this post – bear with me please).
More wandering and we fond the very busy Irish Pub Four wealthy people – €7 per pint, you’re having a laugh. They had Guinness in there for €7.50 and even though I do like Guinness I know that you really can’t screw up a Guinness, even the most incompetent bar keep can pour something that looks right. it has a strong taste which will hide any imperfections and who in their right mind is going to complain that their €7.50 a pint Guinness is crap? They’ll just say everyone else likes it and you’ll say everyone else is French and then it’s coats off time.
Our guide book has four things to visit in Aix and this is one of them. I can see you’re impressed, I’m just pleased that I only spent €1.05 to go and see it. This is the world famous, the totally incroyable, amazing and wonderfull thermal fountain. It’s meat to be a very warm spring, I would describe it as slightly not cold.
There was a second fountain which could have been the world famous and incroyable, etc fountain but I was sidetracked into feigning interest in the Xmas market stalls to the left and forgot to test the waters, as it were.
Back home after a very interesting coach trip. We sat up the front and had a very nice young lady driver. I have learnt some new pleasantries to shout out of the window at pedestrians and other drivers, I now know when to blow the horn (every 50 yards or so) and when to speed up (when the gap ahead is closing). I realise now that speed limit signs are minimum speeds and red lights mean nothing until the cross traffic has started moving, at this point you are permitted to share pleasantries and check that the horn is still working.
Ok, the photo above is our brand new “Where’re you going to put that then?” that we had to buy because not only does it match our plates, bowls and saucers, also our table cloth (which I don’t ever remember having been used) and to be honest was the only reason we bought Frankie (because he matched the plates, etc_).
I have no idea where Lucy thinks we will be putting it and hence my name for it.
Hi Mark and Lucy. Your trip is keeping us thoroughly entertained. Darren and I rush to see if you’ve written an update every day, they’re hilarious. I’ve read some books about the ups and downs of various peoples travels and they’re nowhere near as funny as yours, your posts would make a brilliant book. Enjoy the rest of your trip but promise not to take Frankie into any more snowy mountains! Mandy
Mandy, looks like you’ve been drinking too many brandies and coffees or replying to the wrong blog. There’s no way anyone is going to pay to read my grade 4 CSE English attempts. (Yes, grade 4 CSE, you read that right).
I’m pleased that you like the blog, it gives me something to do in between emptying the toilet, cooking, washing, driving, eating, drinking, sleeping.
I see you’re still a week behind on your blog, I can only think you’re doing it so we can’t find you again 🙂
We’ve missed Valencia in the past, maybe next time. Lucy is still going on about us diverting and going into Spain. She wants to go back either to el Campello just to the north of Alicante or just to the East of Murcia. Have a great time whatever you do and may be, just may be we will find you again.
I had to get the violin out when I was reading your reply Mark but I’m a little concerned that you mentioned the brandy and coffee, I’ve just had one, are you spying on us! LOL!
We keep hoping you’ll catch up with us, we’re going as slow as we can, we’re heading to Calpe tomorrow, we’re curently in Javea where it’s pouring with rain at the moment. Give Frankie a bit of wellie and do as Lucy says head this way (the weather’s supposed to be improving soon according to Darren, it had better he promised me it wouldn’t rain on this trip).
P.S. You know the reason I’m so far behind with the blog is because I suffer from verbal diarrhea! Can you recommend any tablets for that?
It didn’t tak elong to work out your coffee and brandy problem, that’s why you are in Spain where coffee and brandy are half the price of everywhere else.
I can’t help feeling that going back into Spain would be a failure for us. Our plan was to visit Italy this time and at the moment I can still pretend that we are on the way home from there. If we went into Spain then it would be like saying that Italy was a mistake (and it certainly wasn’t). Italy was challenging at times but I am adding it to my list of places to visit again – just not the snowy bits.
A simple cure for verbal diarrhoea, set the sat nav for no motorways, no tolls, just really twisty uppey and downey bits and get Darren to drive near the edge.
We’ve just had a good laugh at that comment (yes today’s coffee and brandy only cost 1.80 euros, half coffee and half brandy a bargain!), yes that will most definitely cure my verbal diarrhoea!