Aix en Provence, Part 2

We returned to Aix en Provence today because we had neglected Cezanne when we were there a couple of days ago.  Since we arrived just after 1:00 p.m., we had to get lunch before the restaurants stopped serving it.  We were very pleased with our lunch.  Bill got the 15€ three-course formule.  His appetizer was delicious - a timbale of mussels and spinach.  It came with a saffron sauce.







Neither of us was familiar with the name of the type of fish he chose.  It came in a dill sauce with risotto and he was quite happy with it.  I ordered only a main dish and it was delicious - risotto with scallops.










Bill chose crème brûlée for dessert and generously shared it with me.













Now here's the disappointing part.  I had misread a map and thought that Cezanne's studio was within walking distance of the town center.  However, it's north of the town and requires a shuttle bus ride and possibly reservations.  If we were going to get back to Avignon at a reasonable hour we really didn't have time to visit the studio since the bus ride to Avignon takes an hour and a half.  So instead, we did part of the Cezanne walking tour, including a visit to the art museum which has several of his paintings. We saw the house where he was born (unimpressive) and the cafe where he hung out with friends.


Here's what they call the mossy fountain in Aix.

Aix-en-Provence

Today we finally had a good bus experience.  Aix-en-Provence is about an hour and a half ride from Avignon.  Cezanne is from Aix and the city doesn't let you forget that.  We arrived there at lunchtime and found a restaurant that served regional food family style.  I had roast lamb and Bill had roast pork.  Both meats were served together in a ceramic dish with lots of delicious roasted vegetables beneath them.  I'm not particularly satisfied with the picture of the meal because it looks like all we ate was huge hunks of meat.













We did most of a walking tour suggested by our Fodor's guidebook.  It's a very picturesque town with lots of narrow winding cobblestone streets.  We saw this fountain with four dolphins.  It's located about a block away from the Eglise St-Jean-du-Malte, one of the earliest Gothic structures in France.














We also saw the Ancienne Halle aux Graines which has an allegorical frieze of the rivers Rhône and Durance.

Unfortunately we ran out of steam before visiting the Cezanne studio.  We're considering returning to Aix within the next few days and focusing primarily on that.