A few farewell photos of Malta. . .
And so our time in Malta ended Monday morning with a flight at 6:25 a.m. (taxi at 4:10 a.m.!) back to Paris where we retrieved our luggage and then checked it in on an Air France flight to Marseille at 12:35 p.m. to arrive at 2:00 p.m. to again retrieve our luggage to take a taxi to Aix-en-Provence (“Aix”) to our Vrbo rental. Our host met us and walked us through the apartment, including showing us how to unlock the four sets of keys needed to enter the building and apartment. Steve couldn’t decide whether to feel reassured or concerned with that much security! My only concern was going to bed, which I did and proceeded to sleep 12 hours!
Our apartment, which is in a very old building with a center outdoor courtyard, has been completely renovated with a new kitchen with new appliances, a new bathroom in a modern fashion. It is well located just off the main streets of the Old Quarter, which along with the Cours Mirabeau, are the main tourist areas. The many squares and streets are lined with and filled with bistros and cafes and are all very well populated. We tried quite a number during our five-night stay here. The Cathedral Saint Sauveur, pictured below, is just down the street from our apartment.
One of the most famous residents of Aix was the painter Cezanne. There is a map that that is marked so that one might “follow in his footsteps.” It took me two afternoons of walking several hours each time to find most of the sites on the map. However, it was a great way to explore Aix as it took me over much of the city, from major streets to small passageways. following are a few photos from the days of exploring.
And, now we are off to Divonne, France, to see our good frIends Ulla and Gerry Swart, who moved back to Europe from Naples. We had two train rides, from Marseille to Lyon and then Lyon to Geneva, where Ulla and Gerry picked us up.
I went to the Ecole pour les Etrangers in Aix. Loved the wonderful town and ease of travel to nearby places of interest. The market, Cezanne’s studio etc. I had a garret at the top
Of a four story walk up on Rue Nazareth right off the Cours Mirabeau
Enjoy your wonderful trip. Say hello to Gerry and Ulla. Caroline
Being a student in Aix would have been wonderful, lucky you!
I shared your greeting with Ulla and Gerry. They are wonderful hosts!
Great pictures. Nice that you got to see your friends while traveling. I couldn’t believe all the keys it took for security. Looked like some very old keys.
Thank you! It is easy to take good pictures when the locales are so photogenic! We are really enjoying our time with Ulla and Gerry. The keys were a pain!
As I mentioned, doing it all over again, I would have planned a bit differently! Either traveling is harder, I’m out of practice or getting less tolerant. . .or, perhaps all three! I shared your greetings with Ulla and Gerry. As I said, they are great hosts!
Love reading about your travels, and happy that the world is opening up again.
XO
Did I miss hearing about the conference? We’ll have to catch up this summer!
The world is slowly opening up, but, it is harder as it seems there are always changes being made, and, they rarely benefit the traveler. . .oh, well! At least we get to travel.
The conference was a new experience after the conferences we are used to attending, but, I’ll share all the details.
Hope you don’t lose the keys!
The keys were somewhat of a pain to carry around, but, considering that lost keys incurred a 250 Euro charge, we clung onto them!
That must have been an exhausting trip from Malta to Aix… no wonder you slept 12 hours… Lovely pictures as always. Please say hello to Ulla and Jerry… I remember them fondly… Thank you for the most interesting description of your trips! Keep having wonderful experiences…
It was exhausting! There were easier ways of getting from Malta to Aix, but, because I used airline credits from previously canceled trips (by the airline), the route was a bit more “circuitous” than was ideal. Doing it again, I would forego the credit and make life easier!
Ulla and Gerry also remember you fondly. We had a wonderful time with them.
Bonjour Donna: What wonderful photos of Aix. As the keys are concerned I have seen
in France bigger keys to enter a house. I live in one of them. It was an old schoolhouse
Toutes mes amities to Ulla et Gerry et espere que vous parlez francais avec eux.
Au prochain numero de votre journal.
Daniele
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I can’t imagine bigger keys! Je parle francais quelquefois, mais, generalement les persons changent a anglais! Mais pas toujours.