We got up really early for one of the few train rides that I had an early booking for. Luckily, the train station in Lyon was close to our accommodations. When we got to the station, bedlam was already starting. Monday morning, no trains running due to a server error. Yes, the server was not allowing the trains to communicate with each other. Much potential for a train crash. Ok, we had a long coffee (pastry for Leon as usual) and waited it out. People were quite cordial and calm. No road (errr train) rage here. They have a piano in the waiting area. Someone was playing some soothing music. We were thankful that I am fluent in French so we could read the boards and understand the announcements. Finally, we boarded our train, about 2 hours late. We had a scenic seat up on the 2nd floor. It’s almost like being on the Rocky Mountaineer, minus the Rockies.
Anyway, within 30 minutes of departure, the train stops again. It would seem we hit a pedestrian. We will have to wait for the police, the coroner (oh dear!) and for the conductor to be replaced (the trauma!). But have no fear, the nice train company will refund our entire trip because we are so delayed. Well, ok…
Aix-en-Provence is a university town, almost a suburb of Marseilles. It didn’t have the fields of flowers I had imagined (likely because it was barely mid-March) but it was worth visiting. It is a town with a big university and I could tell the Faculty of Music was likely it’s biggest department. There were performers everywhere as we walked the main streets and sat for a drink or dinner. A lovely place, especially when the sun shines, which it did some of the time.
The apartment hotel we stayed in allowed us to make a nice breakfast but we didn’t shy away from having 2 lovely dinners out. The first one was a great sea bass for me, mussels for Leon. The thing about ordering fish in Europe is that the names of the foods are different, so I do advise looking up some of the menu items.
Remember I told you we were just at the beginning of the war in Iran? Well France is concerned because Lebanon is being targeted too and they are a former colony of France, and now their allies. So France sent some military support around the time we were in this area. Unfortunately, some people are not very happy with Israel and its role in this war, so the synagogue close to our hotel seemed to be guarded by local police when we walked by on the Saturday morning. These conflicts touch everyone.
At any rate, we had a lovely stay in Aix, with plenty of time to do the laundry, walk in the sun and start to get that Mediterranean vide. Sun drenched towns. Our train ride was 315kms and supposed to take 1.5 hours.
Next stop, Nice, which is really nice, by the way. But watch out for the pickpockets!
Fraser Valley Hygge 