Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur d'Aix

A short walk from our apartment is Aix's Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur, a beautiful cathedral whose mishmash of architectural styles tells the story of its history.  It was built starting in the 6th century on the site of the 1st century Roman Forum in Aix. The baptistery is one of the oldest in France, built with columns from a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo. According to legend, the first church on the site was founded by St. Maximinus of Aix with Mary Magdalene after arriving from Palestine on Lazarus' boat. The south of France has a special affection for Mary Magdalene, who is sometimes credited with converting the area to Christianity. Our 6 year old has taken a special interest in cathedrals, so we frequently visit this church. One of our favorite things he's said this trip was, "I didn't know the French knew about Jesus!". Oh, to see the world through the eyes of a 6 year old! We love to go in and look at the stained glass windows and numerous works of art. One great thing about this attraction: it's free! It is open for a few hours in the morning, closed for a few hours over lunch (like most attractions in Aix) and open again in the evening. We had the pleasure of attending Mass here already (Mass times are Sunday 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.). The priest was very friendly and the organ music and singing beautiful, even if we couldn't understand the words.

The original Romanesque front was destroyed in the 15th century and replaced with this Gothic style:

You can see the the styles through time here.  The wall on the right was built using blocks from the Roman Forum, then the Romanesque old façade, and finally the Gothic main entrance façade:

The baptistery, built with Roman temple columns:

Interior. Pictures don't do it justice:

Beautiful stained glass:

A Walk Around Aix

A walk around Aix is almost surreal. It's elegant, vibrant, and so old.  Aix was founded in 123 BC by the Romans. Around each corner in Aix you get a glimpse into the past.

The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) and Clock Tower, built in the 1600's:

A typical street in Aix:

Streets open up into beautiful plazas of all sizes:

A school Cézanne attended:

Aix lanterns:

Aix is filled with old churches and convents:

The Cours Mirabeau is Aix's main street. It's wide, lined with huge trees and old mansions, and dotted with fountains. Can't you just imagine the horse drawn coaches going up and down it?

Aix is called, "The City of Fountains". Here is one, La Fontaine des Neuf Canons (Fountain of the Nine Canons). It was built in 1691. It is fed by a hot spring and covered in moss:

The huge Rotunda Fountain at the end of the Cours Mirabeau is a jaw dropper. It is adorned by three statues, which stand for Justice, Agriculture, and Fine Arts:

The 17th century Fontaine des Quatre Douphins (Four Dolphins Fountain) is the kids' favorite fountain:

Remnants of a medieval town wall near the Roman Baths:

Statues of Mary and other saints are found on corners of buildings all over Aix. We were told townspeople put them up to protect Aix during times of plague:

And to end...sweets!

The Aix Farmer's Market

Aix is a foodie's paradise. There are traditional open air markets all over town selling local produce, herbs, olives, olive oil, vinegar, bread, honey, cheese, tapenade, sausage, fish, chicken, and more. We are lucky enough to live above a market that is open every day of the week, although it is larger on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. A trip to the market is an experience our whole family enjoys. Our favorite purchases so far have been olives, hard goat cheese, hard sheep cheese, and miel de Provence aux fleurs de lavande (lavender flower honey!).

Getting Settled

We have been in Aix awhile now, but due to jet lag, a nasty cold virus, and catching up on school work, we have been neglecting the blog. I am going to quickly catch up on things here or I fear I may give up on blogging completely. To start, here’s our apartment building:

It is located on the lovely Place Richelme. The ground floor of our apartment building holds two establishments: a bakery and a bar. In the morning, our apartment smells of baking bread. Divine! Here is our view from the kitchen:

In the morning, we look out over the farmer's market from our living room:

Every afternoon, the market is torn down and the stones washed off. The cafés set out tables and chairs:

In the evening, umbrellas and heaters are set up. The area is lively all evening:

Around midnight or 1 a.m., the tables, chairs, umbrellas, and heaters are all put away. The ground is littered with garbage. The ground is swept and hosed off again, ready for the morning farmer's market to be set up. It's amazing this process happens every single day!

Some other views we have include this delightful little coffee shop that roasts it's own beans in the front window and serves a chocolate bar with every cup of coffee. It's one of my favorite places on earth:

Next to La Brûlerie, more restaurants, bars, and apartments: 

And out our living room window, we stare at the most amazing pain au chocolat. FYI, it's easy to make delicious pain au chocolat, just take a giant bar of the best dark chocolate you can find and wrap it in buttery croissant dough. Mmm:

The kids love watching the neighborhood cats:

The apartment is in a great location, but now on to the "colorful" parts. We climb a veritable mountain of stairs to get to the apartment. When we come home with an armful of tired kids and strollers, 80 stairs can really take some of the fun out of the afternoon. The staircase railing is a parent's nightmare. It's low and full of toddler sized holes. Our apartment building entryway is gross. The employees of the bar below us apparently use it as a break room, filling it with smoke and littering it with cigarette butts. This is France, after all. The one appliance we were not willing to do without in our apartment was a washing machine. Our washing machine has a control panel full of incomprehensible icons. Even worse, it will randomly not allow you to select an option, skipping right over it. Or it will stop working. Or it puts holes in the clothes. Or it turns the clothes gray for no obvious reason. It is Monsieur Bacon's nemesis. C'est la vie. There is a laundromat not far from our apartment, so it looks like we'll be schlepping our laundry up and down our many stairs. At least our legs are getting a good workout here.