Friends in Aix-en-Provence

Back in December, I visited my friend in Aix-en-Provence in France. This was probably one of my favorite trips, since I was able to see her family and her neighborhood, a rare enough occurrence among my college friends back home, let alone ones abroad. And it meant that she could show me around, which meant that I could take a backseat on planning for once.

Provencal France is really pretty, there are those classic old, European stucco houses and narrow streets everywhere. It was kind of amusing that electric cars would drive by and since they’re silent you often wouldn’t realize that you were in their way until they were right behind you.

While I was there, there was a Christmas market of course, but also a market dedicated entirely to sandon which are nativity figurines. They’re of characters from provencal folklore, which means that they’re almost exclusively in Victorian era clothing which is sometimes juxtaposed with the ancient holy family in some sets I saw. They can be doing anything from carting off a drunk in a wheelbarrow to playing cards, so there’s a ton of variety.

In town there’s also the public library which has these giant book sculptures incorporated into the architecture that I really liked. There are also many fountains that are covered in moss or some sort of plant, which I thought were cute. It’s a very green city in general, lots of trees and plants around and incorporated into the decoration.

There’s also a mountain nearby that Cezanne painted, and he was also from the area, so there are a ton of random shops and restaurants named after him or other painters, which is probably the most French thing I’ve ever heard. I went for a hike up the mountain to a small hermitage with my friend’s family, which was a ton of fun and resulted in some really incredible views.

That’s my only France experience for this trip. I was in Paris a few years ago so I’m not too bothered by it, and honestly this trip was so enjoyable that I’m fine leaving it at that!