Friday in Aix

Today was our last day here and the only slightly miserable, grey day. We seem to have spent a lot of our time trying to organise some outings out of Aix which we have managed on two occasions. The first was to Puylubiere which came about when we told the tourist chap that the tours were too expensive. He was very pleased to offer us this option for only one euro. It sounded perfect but it was a really weird experience. It was hot and dry and very closed over lunch time so we wandered around and admired Mont Sainte Victoire , and then settled down on a bench to wait for our return bus. We could all see quite a marked similarity to Graaff Reinett. We were very pleased to arrive back in Aix which has been lovely. I think we did a bit more shopping (some bits of material for my quilt) and had a drink on the Cours Mirabeau, then Bode cooked delicious gnocci for dinner. The night before we went to a great little place called the Bistro Latin where we ate duck again and creme brulee.

Puylubiere with a bit of the mountain behind

Today we were out all day as we caught the bus to Arles and St Remy. Arles was pretty ordinary and I thought Dinny was going to throw up when she tasted her coffee. But St Remy was a beautiful village. We took heaps of photos but they seem to be mostly of the quaint streets and gorgeous colours of provence - mainly walls and shutters - so maybe I won't include all those. John would have loved the Roman ruins in Arles where they still hold the bull fights.

Bode and Dinny in Arles with Rhone in background (where van Gogh painted Starry Night apparently)

Arles

One of the many photos of shutters in St Remy

Poor Rob had a bad day worrying about his Dad who is in hospital with an infection. Hope all is going well there.

Dinny and Bode don't look interested in having turns tonight so I had better just go and pack my bag and get ready for the drive to Montfort tomorrow. (I think it is very close but we are not sure what we will find when we get there.)