Leaving Barca

The morning that we were to drive from Barcelona to Antibes, France was the morning which we failed to wake up with the alarm.  But other than a late start, everything was quite smooth aside from the GPS battery not charging properly in the car unless I held it at exactly the right angle, and really gusty winds as we skirted the Pyrenees (enough to sway the car in the lane if we went over 80mph).  But seeing that it is a cross country drive in a foreign land, I consider that very smooth sailing.    

France!!

Much of the drive was extremely picturesque, either tree covered mountains or vast stretches of Tuscany like farmland.   

     

We rented a manual car because an automatic would have cost double, so poor Marco had to do all the driving.  My lessons in Spain were definitely not enough for me to go out on the highway!  We broke up the 6 hour drive with two lovely stops, one at Narbonne, and the other at Aix-en-Provence.

Narbonne was charming, with a small river and a huge cathedral.  What I will remember most clearly though, are the softest, gooiest and most delicious pistachio macaroons that I have ever tasted.  They really were amazing.  (I have now tried macaroons in 3 different French cities and this was by far and away the best!)

Because it was a Sunday afternoon, most places were closed and we had quite a difficult time finding a café for lunch.  And no surprises that when it was found, the owners only spoke French.   I found making the switch from Spanish extremely difficult, as I tried desperately to call to mind the phrases that I had learned in high school.  But despite any halting progress I made, I repeatedly and reflexively said “Si, si” and “Muy bien” at every turn, and even threw in a few “gracias” for good measure at those poor French owners.  No doubt that’s exactly what they were expecting after looking at me.

When we went to Aix-en-Provence, I did a quick google search and decided that the calle Mirabeau is the must visit spot, as well as the famous café des garcons which was frequented by Cezanne and a host of other celebrities.  However, despite going around and around, we were quite unable to find it and settled instead for a little café on the corner of a nice square.  I ordered a delicious aperitif, my first taste of the wine in Provence, Marco had his usual beer, and we split an apricot jam crepe.   A lady came around with small platters of complimentary olives and other snacks, including some small hot-dogs in warm phyllo puff-pastry.   It just shows how skeptical of a tourist Spain has left me because I was absolutely convinced that they were going to charge us for them! 

We caught sight of a double rainbow when we left Aix-en-Provence!  My first ever sighting, but I wasn’t quite as excited as that guy on you-tube. (IF you look carefully, you can see a second, faint rainbow above the clearer one).

Beach 5 mins walk from our place

The best part of the day probably was our apartment in Antibes.  After the damp, musty, bare apartment in Barcelona, I was a little nervous at what we were going to have to put up with for 3 weeks in France.  However, a spacious one bedroom greeted me, with a truly fully stocked kitchen (including all the necessary ingredients), comfy sofa, dining table, a delicious looking patio with chairs and table, and automatic blinds that came down and blocked out every ray of light.  Can you believe that in Barcelona, we were not even provided with salt and pepper?  And every single thing in that kitchen was from Ikea, including a set of flimsy knives that barely cut vegetables.  Our next delight was the shower, which streamed powerful water and not the limp excuse that we’ve been experiencing lately.   When you are traveling, these small things make a very big difference! I can already see that this leg of our trip is going to be the best!!