Busy Weekend

4/5 to 4/7/19  We celebrated our anniversary on the fifth with lunch at Le Chastel, our favorite restaurant near the Palais du Justice.  The excavation of the Roman ruins discovered in the square is still going on, with completion scheduled for sometime next year.  The plan is to leave parts of it open under a see-through cover.  That is as much as I understood from the "Aixcentric" post.  The whole square will be pedestrian only except for the small city buses, in an effort to cut down on traffic.  We saw the same thing in Nice last year, with their elaborate tram system.  Traffic in the city centers has become a real problem. No way to widen the streets! There is a plan in Aix to expand public transportation to make it easier to reach the university and city center, with buses running every ten minutes during peak hours. We shall see.

Construction in the square outside the restaurant:

On the way back from lunch we stopped at "Segond" for some chocolates.

Passage Agare:

Some lovely shops and restaurants in the passage.  Good to know that the three years of construction and excavation hasn't led to many closings.

Finally in France!

April 1, 2019 to April 5, 2019

We arrived in Aix-en-Provence Monday, April 1st after a long, but non-stressful trip.  We left Tucson early on the 31st (6:15 am!!!!) and spent the day at DIA - mostly in the Westin lobby - waiting for our 7:30 pm  flight to London.  From London, we flew to Marseille and arrived at our apartment at about 6:15 pm.  Corrine met us and made sure we were settled in.  Not much has changed in the apartment except for the welcome addition of a Nespresso coffee machine - YAY!  I brought my milk frother purchased here at the Nespresso store a year and a half ago, and am very happy to say that it still works perfectly!

That night we unpacked just the necessities, had a nice dinner across the street at Cafe Darius, and stopped at the market for milk and a baguette for breakfast.  All efforts to stay awake failed and we slept until about 6 am.  Nice and sunny!

Lunch at the Westin prior to our flight:

Waiting in the Westin lobby.  So nice to have Ipad to play "Hearts" and watch videos.  Texted with Stacy and B.

Our plane!!! B likes these pictures.  The bigger the plane the better!

Yes - Starbuck's is everywhere! (Heathrow)

At Heathrow Airport, everyone waits in a common area to watch for the departure gate announcements.  Usually, you are notified about thirty minutes before departure and then comes the frantic rush to your gate.  The terminals are HUGE and there are about 120 gates in Terminal 3 alone.  On past flights we have arrived at Terminal 5 and have had to make our way to Terminal 3 via bus.  This is after having gone through customs.  A lot to ask of yourself after a long and sleep-deprived trip.

Back in Aix!!!!

Tuesday morning on our patio. 

Ventured out for a nice, lazy lunch at our favorite little cafe at the end of the Cours - Le Petit Bistro.  This is where we had the photo taken for our 2017 Christmas card!  Same table!

Statue of Roi Rene in front of cafe.  Still a few plane trees left.  We were concerned when we heard that several had to be removed because of a parasite.  In the gaps left by the removals they have planted red maples in doubles rows either side of the sidewalk.  In about twenty years or so it will be beautiful again!

John relaxing at lunch.  Down the street behind us is "Segour" - a chocolate shop to end all chocolate shops, and a wonderful little bakery that sells my favorite cookies - Sables!

We stayed in this building (upper right at top) on our second trip to Aix in 2012.

Market Day on the Cours Mirabeau:

Our apartment on a bright, sunny morning:

Seneca Lake Seventieth Celebration

J

Mike’s 70th

FINALLY Mike turn’s 70. Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Big Fish

I travelled to Denver this past weekend to see Max in his final high school musical, “Big Fish”. It was a great weekend. The play was fab and Max was, of course, wonderful!

Max being congratulated by three friends who graduated last year:

 

 B, Stacy, Max and Elise:

Max and B:

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

We are counting off the days before we leave on our trip to France!  Twenty-five days and we will be on our way. It will be a busy month as we are both travelling - me to Denver over St. Patrck’s Day weekend to see Max’s play - and John to Dallas and Evansviile over Spring Break to visit schools with Max. Stacy and B will be here in Arizona for Spring Break. We’ll have a girls’ week!

We already have concert tickets lined up for the Easter Music Festival, and are planning a trip to Lyon to visit one of John’s former French instructors, Lysde, who is there teaching English for a year.  We have rented Corinne’s apartment again. The location is perfect AND it has an elevator - a real luxury. We will be right across the street from my favorite grocery store, two blocks from a fabulous bakery, thirty steps to my favorite coffee shop, and on the same block as Sephora. What more could I ask for?