In and around Aix-en-Provence

Friday: up early and ready to go. We did a little shopping, took pictures of the fountain that Jan climbed when she was a student in Aix, took a stroll around the narrow streets of the old city of Aix, and then took an afternoon bus tour of the Luberon area, the countryside north of Aix. The countryside looks a lot like the Napa Valley in California except that some of the villages date from the 11th century. We toured an abbey and a couple of chateaus and enjoyed the scenery along the county roads. Then back to Aix and another good dinner (lamb and duck – traditional Provence meals).

Interesting…we’ve seen lots of European and Japanese small cars that are not imported to the US. There’s no way a Hummer would fit down any of the streets – the garbage trucks aren’t even that big!

This is the hotel lobby, one of the remaining stained glass windows, the convent bell tower and the narrow street where our hotel is located that the GPS couldn't find:

This is the main fountain in Aix that Jan climbed and the main drag, Cours Mirabeau:

These are just two of the narrow streets we were driving on looking for our hotel:

Here are some of the sights from the Luberon:

More sightseeing scheduled for Saturday. Stay tuned.