We had a very long day of travel to arrive here, in the south of France. The direct train was sold out for rail pass holders, which is what we are, so instead of a four hour journey, it took us about ten. Seemed quite unfair, but you just have to go with it. We arrived around eleven or midnight & checked into our little Shoebox apartment on AirBnB. It’s great because it’s cheap & right in the city center & even a little cute, too!

Aix was billed as a small town, but it seems to me to be a small city. It’s not my favorite so far, reminding me more of an outdoor mall than anything else, but despite that we did have a nice enough first day, just wandering around. Perhaps I’m just spoiled by all that lovely Italian coast side we explored in Cinque Terre? Even Biassa, where our hostel was located, was a dream come true: sleepy little Italian town with some of the most gorgeous outdoor areas you’ve ever seen. I like a city, but outdoor places really make my heart happy.

The back streets here are sweet, with cobblestones & tall buildings lining their narrow pathways. We found a great bakery for breakfast – pain au chocolat, of course. Nothing has matched the bakery by our Paris apartment for flavor & amount of butter used, but I’ll come back here tomorrow & be happy about it, nonetheless.

There’s a square in the middle of the town where we had a drink & watched the sunshine through the trees. Smoothies are a big thing here, so Sam ordered one. It’s funny getting a drink when you’ve just guessed what half of the ingredients are. A surprise smoothie: delicious, but funny.

Armed with a baguette & some cheese, we found the Parc Jourdain & hung out on the grass in the sunshine. I’m getting fat with all this bread & cheese, but I’m happy pretty much every single day, so I suppose I’ll just eat some vegetables for dinner & laugh it off.

In the afternoon, we passed by our bakery again on the way home to the Shoebox & I couldn’t resist this mini tartelette. What better way to end the day than with a shared lemon meringue tart? The answer is that no, there isn’t one.

Tomorrow, we’re hiking. But maybe still ending the day with a tartlette & a wander. Let’s be honest. 🙂