The first 36
By the time August 21st arrived, we were ready to go to France! Bags were packed, visas obtained, good-byes said....We flew out of Boston on Air Portugal through Lisbon to Marseille. When we checked in, the woman at the desk asked us how long we were going to be in France. "Four months" I said. She asked "Do you have a visa?""I sure do!" I smiled as I responded....Silently, I thanked her for asking. She had no idea!We boarded the planet 6pm and scored with an empty seat next to us. The three of us held hands as the plane took off. I cried. It was an victorious moment.
The flight from Boston to Lisbon was only six hours. We had a two hour layover but no time to spare once we went through Immigration and security. By 11:15am, we were in Marseille. We high-fived and rolled our bags outside. I ordered an uber to Aix en Provence. I thought initially, we would have arrived in Aix by train, but my landlady had emailed me that it our apartment was only 20 minutes from the airport. Why not treat ourselves to a ride? When we were in the car, we were all very happy not to be on public transportation. Luckily, our uber had a large trunk to fit our 3 large suitcases, travel roller bags and backpacks. He was a fast driver!Catherine, our kind landlady was waiting at the apartment when we arrived. All three of us were so pleased when we walked in to our new home! The tile floors, faded brass door knobs, white walls, old fashion key latches, and small efficient kitchen contributed to an unmistakably French home. We have a jack and jill bathroom separating the toilet from the sinks and bathtub/shower. (Bonus! I love baths) The kids share a room with bunk beds, and my room is spacious and lovely. There is an office with a wooden desk, printer and futon and our family room has a piano!
The flight from Boston to Lisbon was only six hours. We had a two hour layover but no time to spare once we went through Immigration and security. By 11:15am, we were in Marseille. We high-fived and rolled our bags outside. I ordered an uber to Aix en Provence. I thought initially, we would have arrived in Aix by train, but my landlady had emailed me that it our apartment was only 20 minutes from the airport. Why not treat ourselves to a ride? When we were in the car, we were all very happy not to be on public transportation. Luckily, our uber had a large trunk to fit our 3 large suitcases, travel roller bags and backpacks. He was a fast driver!Catherine, our kind landlady was waiting at the apartment when we arrived. All three of us were so pleased when we walked in to our new home! The tile floors, faded brass door knobs, white walls, old fashion key latches, and small efficient kitchen contributed to an unmistakably French home. We have a jack and jill bathroom separating the toilet from the sinks and bathtub/shower. (Bonus! I love baths) The kids share a room with bunk beds, and my room is spacious and lovely. There is an office with a wooden desk, printer and futon and our family room has a piano!
Sadie was like Eloise in the New York Plaza Hotel opening every door of every closet, cubbord, and room in the apartment after arriving.Just as Catherine was ready to leave, it started to rain. Like in Utah, Aix has been very hot and dry so Catherine was quite pleased. We said good-byes and the three of us started to unpack as the storm continued. At one point, I said "Darn it. I wish I brought a speaker" and Brewster said "Got it!" and pulled one out of his bag. Brewster is my hero! We hooked up the speaker and played some National in honor of Matty, another hero in our story.We had so much fun unpacking! Starting fresh is not something that we often have a chance to do. The kids said it reminded them of camp. Me, I was in a state of disbelief that we were really in our French apartment and this was really happening. Blessed.When the rain stopped, we headed out into the town of Aix. Catherine had pointed us in the direction to the main square and so off we went! About three blocks from our apartment, we entered a narrow pedestrian street. There was an alley off that street, and down the way, there was another alley and another pedestrian street.
This is the great old city center of Aix en Provence and it is truly amazing. It is a labyrinth of pedestrian streets surrounding main plaza called the Rotonde. In the center of the Rotonde is this fountain.
Stopping at the Bureau of Tourism for a few maps was our first priority. We then headed to the supermache to buy some staples and that point, we hit a wall. Exhausted, it was time to go home. Unfortunately, we walked the wrong way and it didn't take us long to become lost in the jungle of streets. At this point, we were very very tired so we had to dig deep. Brewster took charge, looking at the map and navigated us back to our apartment. Hooray for Brewster! Sadie and I laughed later saying it was a good thing that we weren't on this adventure alone. We'd be like the blind leading the blind.When we arrive home, I made a spaghetti dinner and we ate and then crashed hard. We slept about 12 hours and not until 11am the next day did we wake up for Day 2! Sadie and I went to our neighborhood convenient store to buy some milk and fresh fruit. After breakfast, Sadie started playing the piano. We invested in an iTunes app to learn piano and Sadie said she hopes to be proficient by Christmas.
A few hours later, the three of us headed back into the City center. This time, we had a more confidence and energy. Our first stop was to the cell phone store, Orange, to buy French SIM cards. We all agreed it would be good for all three of us to have access to data and texting while in France so Sadie too signed up for a cell plan. And so now we have French phone numbers and google maps wherever we go!
We went to a cafe on the Rotonde to celebrate and recharge. The cafe culture is real in Aix. So many cafes with so many people sitting with an ice cream or coffee in the middle of the day talking and often smoking. The kids are shocked (and disgusted) by all the cigarettes. Sadie said that she could understand how old people would smoke, but why would young people smoke when they knew it was bad for them? Good point Sades.Bus passes were next. We bought them at the office of tourism and were pleased to learn there is a direct bus from outside our apartment door to Sadie and Brewster's school. We came home via an outside artisan market and then chilled for an hour or so until it was time for dinner. We decided to check out the pizza place around the corner. Sadie gave me a "talking to" as we sat down. She said "Mom, you have to stop pretending to understand what they are saying when they speak French to you.""What do you mean?" I asked. She laughed and said, "They asked if you were picking up an order. And you answered 'yes 3'". We giggled. I, of course thought they asked how many were in our group and so I answered "3".We sat at a table outside under a near full moon and ate tasty pizza in our very French neighborhood.
This is the great old city center of Aix en Provence and it is truly amazing. It is a labyrinth of pedestrian streets surrounding main plaza called the Rotonde. In the center of the Rotonde is this fountain.Stopping at the Bureau of Tourism for a few maps was our first priority. We then headed to the supermache to buy some staples and that point, we hit a wall. Exhausted, it was time to go home. Unfortunately, we walked the wrong way and it didn't take us long to become lost in the jungle of streets. At this point, we were very very tired so we had to dig deep. Brewster took charge, looking at the map and navigated us back to our apartment. Hooray for Brewster! Sadie and I laughed later saying it was a good thing that we weren't on this adventure alone. We'd be like the blind leading the blind.When we arrive home, I made a spaghetti dinner and we ate and then crashed hard. We slept about 12 hours and not until 11am the next day did we wake up for Day 2! Sadie and I went to our neighborhood convenient store to buy some milk and fresh fruit. After breakfast, Sadie started playing the piano. We invested in an iTunes app to learn piano and Sadie said she hopes to be proficient by Christmas.A few hours later, the three of us headed back into the City center. This time, we had a more confidence and energy. Our first stop was to the cell phone store, Orange, to buy French SIM cards. We all agreed it would be good for all three of us to have access to data and texting while in France so Sadie too signed up for a cell plan. And so now we have French phone numbers and google maps wherever we go!We went to a cafe on the Rotonde to celebrate and recharge. The cafe culture is real in Aix. So many cafes with so many people sitting with an ice cream or coffee in the middle of the day talking and often smoking. The kids are shocked (and disgusted) by all the cigarettes. Sadie said that she could understand how old people would smoke, but why would young people smoke when they knew it was bad for them? Good point Sades.Bus passes were next. We bought them at the office of tourism and were pleased to learn there is a direct bus from outside our apartment door to Sadie and Brewster's school. We came home via an outside artisan market and then chilled for an hour or so until it was time for dinner. We decided to check out the pizza place around the corner. Sadie gave me a "talking to" as we sat down. She said "Mom, you have to stop pretending to understand what they are saying when they speak French to you.""What do you mean?" I asked. She laughed and said, "They asked if you were picking up an order. And you answered 'yes 3'". We giggled. I, of course thought they asked how many were in our group and so I answered "3".We sat at a table outside under a near full moon and ate tasty pizza in our very French neighborhood.