June 26, 2017. Monday. France (again!). Can I just say how impossible it is to get where you want to go with a van in cute little downtowns of European cities? Pedestrian zones, one way streets, corners that require a 50 point turn, etc. Tonight in Aix-en-Provence we finally gave up and parked outside of the centre-ville and just lugged our suitcases 6 minutes through winding cobble stone streets to our flat.

The day started with heavy downpours in Barcelona, however. We slept in a bit, packed up our stuff, and loaded up in the rain (fortunately we could pull the van in the narrow side street right to the door). The sky was mostly overcast as we headed through the eastern edge of the Pyrenees in northeastern Spain. By the time we reached France, however, the skies turned and remained bright blue, and the temps increased once again.

We had two planned stops en route to Aix-en-Provence: Nimes and Avignon. In Nimes we stopped to see the largest standing Roman coliseum outside of Rome — and it did not disappoint. As we were explaining to the kids what coliseums were used for (“sporting” type events, although far grislier), it prompted considerations of whether Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts (go Pats!) will be standing in 2,000 years. (Hardly!) We also were able to quickly view an old first century CE Roman temple, with its decaying Corinthian columns. Nimes seemed so lovely and totally lazy / laid back.

From Nimes, it was on the road again to Avignon, site of the famous bridge from the children’s song (“On the bridge of Avignon, they’re all dancing, they’re all dancing…”) and, perhaps more importantly, the home of the Popes’ palace for over 100 years in the late medieval period. But the highlight of Avignon for the younger three were the pedal go-carts in the high gardens above the river. We drove all this way and…a 2.50 Euro go-cart gave them the most joy they had since the toy sailboats in Paris. Too funny. Avignon is lovely, however, and the view from the gardens of the river, valley, and mountains in the distance is amazing.

Aix-en-Provence was our final destination for the day, just over an hour from Avignon. Driving around southern France has been a treat. There are almost always mountains in the distance, and large sprawling valleys with vineyards, orchards, and other kinds of farm fields in every direction. We arrived in Aix just fine, but had quite the time finding how to get close to our flat. When we finally decided to park in an indoor parking garage just outside of the old part of town, we almost got stuck because our van is right on the edge of the 1.90 m height. It fits in most garages that advertise that height (with 1-2 inches to spare), but not in the first one we chose. The second one was fine, however, thankfully! Street parking is not abundant here, especially for larger vehicles.

Our flat is located on a cute square within the old city. After dumping our stuff, we headed to Cours Mirabeau, the wide main street in Aix that is lined with shops and streets. It is far less commercialized that La Rambla in Barcelona, and not nearly as glitzy as the Champs Elysees in Paris. Still, cute and fun, in a southern France laid back kind of way.

We’ve eating much later on this trip — in part because it gets dark so very late! We started our meal on the Cours Mirabeau around 9:20 and ended at 11 pm. It was dark by then, but it had only really gotten dark a bit before then. Such great French food tonight — and good Aix wine. Délicieux!