Novotel - Aix-En-Provence (Beaumanoir)

... English in the entire town. We found our hostel super late at night (and they don't make hostels in France like they did in Spain... no more free internet!). The next morning, we walked into town not really knowing what to see or do. But as we were looking for a quick Petit Dejuner (breakfast) we stumbled upon the Saturday market. We sat at a cafe on the square and had the most amazing breakfast 5 euro can buy if you ...

... Argh! I tried to get him to go up into the town and explore, but I couldn&#8217;t drag him further than a few blocks - worry that we needed to be back in time&#8230;?!?!<br><br>Finally around 4, they opened the gate so we could drive in. Only to find the ticket office didn&#8217;t open until 6pm. While waiting, we talked with a lovely Frenchcouple who were completely unperturbed at our lack of language ...

... year.<br><br>Pour conclure, as I feel that this 'essay' will do for now, I've really noticed the French love for dogs...there are more fat dogs here than there are fat people, and they take them everywhere, even into shops and supermarkets. Hygenic?<br><br>So, all in all, the first 6 weeks have been awesome. This week I got a pretty bad case of the homesickness and generally feeling a bit low, I forget that for the first time in my life I'm actually living on my own ...

... yesterday, Saturday, and it is cooler but still nice. The trip here was spectacular with many olive groves and big mountains. Today we went on a tour to Les Beax - another medieval town with a castle - poor Graham and on his birthday too. Then we went winetasting and to the premier olive oil producers in France. The Mistrql was blowing on the tour and it was very cold but warmer back here in the camp. Tomorrow we explore Aix on foot then we go to Avignon.

... my traveler&#8217;s scurvy, so I&#8217;m feeling better internally, enlightened if not illuminated.<br><br>The only problem is WiFi. I change rooms but still no WiFi, even from a place that advertises it on the door, same with the café. This is getting frustrating. If you don&#8217;t have it, don&#8217;t advertise it. I really don&#8217;t want to have to badger anyone over it, but I&#8217;m running out of options ...

... called a bus) and we crashed out there. T'was very clean and tidy for 20&#8364; a night, including breakfast, and on the second night we managed to get a decent meal there for 10&#8364;, starter of tarte au fromage, main of (very rare) beef and runner beans, and an eclair for dessert! People there were very helpful and we had a panaché (a shandy) each night at the bar. <br><br> Wednesday was a very long and trying day of searching for somewhere to live. First ...

... roman architecture, and little museums, which give it a lot of charm for a city of this size. Nimes is most famous for its Arena which is still intact enough to host bullfights and concerts and has been outfitted with an educational and entertaining multi-media presentation about the gladiators who fought here. And of course there are enough restaurants to make choosing a restaurant an hour-long experience. A class act and a nice way to end our wonderful week in Provence. Rating: 8.5.

... into town, free champagne and desserts galore and they even dropped the price of the room by 10 per cent and gave us a ride back to the station. We can not thank them enough for what they did! So there isn't many piccys but did manage to get a sunset so enjoy Also we are going for a new world record in mozzie bites!! Toulon next for some beach action before Cannes Take care H and J

... than left up the hill to St Charles. Took Metro to Castellane where I emerged into a very different world resembling a sophisticated Paris street, with tall elegant facades and pretty wrought iron balconies. Stopped for a light lunch in the sun at the Tarte de Julie and enjoyed a freshly cooked Tarte Sale (they offered a large choice of savoury and sweet tarts at very reasonable prices) and the usual glass of red! Then onto the No 21 bus to Luminy, which ...

... fabric for draping, a mirror, a pose-able wooden model of a person. But there were also tables, chairs, pitchers, glasses, bottles, and a plethora of miscellany that Cezanne used in his still-life paintings. The proprietors had even hung up the last clothes that Cezanne wore on the peg where he would have put them, and they'd arranged fresh fruit on the tables and bowls as they appeared in his paintings. The idea was to make it seem like Cezanne had just left the studio for a ...