Aix-en-Provence

We began the day with a 3 hour walking tour of Aix. This seemed a good idea in a city without any obvious big ticket attractions. It turned out to be a fascinating wander. We started on the south side of the wide pedestrian avenue which divides the oldest part of the city from the less old (but still old) part.

An early discovery was an ex-convent, later school, which boasted both Zola and Cezanne as former students. Both victims of bullies, they became close friends.

We passed some grand palaces, street shrines and fountains.

Recrossing the Cours Mirabeau, we explored older buildings. This one had the painted windows we first saw in Nice.

We found the patron saint of dogs, Saint Roch.

At the cathedral was a Saint carrying his own head.

It was a a good cathedral too.

The Palace of Justice also honoured Mirabeau (feel free to look him up).

There were lots of random old doors into buildings I've already forgotten. 

An old prison...

An Archbishop's Palace...

A memorial to Jews and resistance victims of the Nazis included the great- grandfather of our guide.

Once the tour ended, Lyn bought a bag of the local little cakes called madelaines and sat by a fountain. 

After lunch and a nap we decided to visit a gallery in a spectacular palace.

The featured artist was Niki de Saint Phalle. Her work ranged from deeply disturbed to fun. She went through a phase of shooting her own art.

Of course it all made more sense if you read the information in the exhibition but this blog post is already very long.

This was the garden.

On the way home we visited a department store and our potential grandchild now has more clothes.

Moving Day

Getting from one apartment in Nice to another apartment in Aix en Provence was a complex exercise. It went like this: tram, regional train, fast train, shuttle bus and walk. 

We had time for a little explore. We are in the old town but it is full of high end retail outlets and, inevitably, restaurants.

We ate out for the first time since Paris and Lyn found a church on the walk home. Candles were lit for everyone.

Eze

We said goodbye to Josh and Stephen at the tram and continued on to the bus station. There we took the 82 bus to Eze Village with about 20 others. Two stops later, still in Nice, a huge crowd of 40 or 50 people crowded onto the bus. While we sat in comfort, admiring the increasingly stunning views,  they all stood wedged together. I would have felt uncomfortable if I hadn't been feeling so smug.

Our route was along the famous Moyenne Corniche. This is a road of spectacular views and fast curves. 

Once in Eze we climbed up through the village, past the now familiar collection of art studios and restaurants.

We reached the Jardin Exotique above the village, famous for its views. We were able to look back along the road, across the town, and along the coastline.

We walked back down through the village. At the bottom, the Sunday Market was in full swing. This guy was selling nougat.

After second breakfast we caught a bus back to Nice. The driver was a good 25 minutes late, but made up time by pretending he was James Bond driving an Aston Martin.

Back in Nice, we had an easy afternoon and then a last evening walk through the old town to the Promenade des Anglais. This sculpture celebrates the blue chairs which are a symbol of the city.

Cannes

Today's day trip was to Cannes. We avoided the ticket chaos of yesterday by booking in advance and caught the train comfortably. We walked from the station to the Cannes Palais des Festivals which turned out to be a large building surrounded by lots of temporary fencing. Poor Stephen never even got to touch the famous red carpet. We walked along looking at the famous handprints till we spied the Saturday Market ahead.

Lyn found a cute dog and then discussed its life story with its French owner. After a reviving snack we found the famous cinema street art and spent some time identifying who was who. 

We seemed to have exhausted Cannes attractions so went in search of a ferry ride to the island of St Marguerite. 

Once there, we walked to a swimming spot. The only peril seemed to be the now familiar pebble shore. Josh and I went swimming. The water was warm so I swam into shore with a plan to persuade Lyn to come in too. Then I felt stinging electric shocks on my shoulder, hand and both legs. Josh also fell victim. The villain was pelagia noctiluca.

We both recovered quite quickly. Compared to the Ozzy bluebottle, it is not a heavy hitter. Still, a quick end to swimming!

We walked across the island to Fort Royal, famously the prison which held the Man in the Iron Mask. There were some nice views and a museum in the old cells. An artist had painted some of the walls and there were displays on the local fishing industry and the archaeology of the islands and surrounding shipwrecks.

On the ferry ride back we admired the racing yachts.

All in all, it was a pleasantly interesting day.