A day in Aix en Provence

Today our hostess, Patty, graciously offered to take Tim and me into the town of Aix for the day. She showed us some little shops where we could get soap and lavender, two of the specialities of the area. Then we wandered around to find a few of the 100+ fountains in the city. I have developed a fetish for fountains.

Cours Mirabeau



We walked down Cours Mirabeau where plane trees adorn the streets and create a leafy canopy overhead. The two best fountains are here. Fontaine de la Rotunda, which was built in 1860. It is probably the largest fountain in the city. It personifies Justice, Agriculture and the Fine Arts at the very top. My other favorite is called the Fontaine d'Eau Chaude (Fountain of Hot Water). It is covered in moss and shoots out 34 degree Celsius water. We stuck our hands in, and sure enough it was warm.

Fontaine de la Rotunda


Fontaine d'Eau Chaude

On the way back to the city we made a pitstop at the thumb of Cezanne. He was from the Aix area and they take great pride in that here. I guess that is why they have a statue of his thumb in the middle of one of their roundabouts. I could not resist the urge to get my picture taken in front of his thumb. So Tim and I took pictures of each other, with our thumbs and Cezannne's thumb. I know I am a crazy tourist.

Tim and the thumb
Me and the thumb

Then we headed back to Marsaille to meet one of my friends from Covenant and her husband for an appertif (drinks). We got together after much difficulty trying to figure out where the other person was. It turns out that they were at the church that Keith and Patty go to. And we just missed them on Sunday. Crazy. It was cool to hang out with a friend from Covenant.

Then we headed back to the Moores to have dinner and pack before heading to Rome tomorrow.