Market Day in Aix-en-Provence

We went to the market at Aix-en-Provence this morning. Aix-en-Provence used to be the capital city of Provence and was the home of Cezanne for many years. The market is called Le Marché de Mirabeau because it’s held on the Cours de Mirabeau, considered by most people as the grandest boulevard in Aix. I was not that impressed with the market. I expected more vendors. We’ve been to many better markets in some of the smaller towns in France. We did manage to buy some presents for our granddaughters and a couple of things for the house.

We needed to change money, and were we shocked. The dollar is absolutely in the toilet compared to the Euro. The exchange rate is now $1.48/Euro. So basically, a $100 gets you €75. That’s just awful! After the shock of the money exchange, I was ready for a good lunch. There happens to be a world-famous restaurant in Aix called Les Deux Garçons. It was built in 1792, and Cezanne used to trade his paintings for food at the restaurant – talk about your starving artists . Funny how many famous painters were starving artists while they were alive. Lunch was great, and then we went to an antique exposition in a little village outside of Aix.

I didn’t really expect we’d find anything to buy at the exposition, but I just wanted to compare prices with what we’ve been paying in Austin. Man, was I shocked! The prices we’ve been paying for French antiques at the little auction we go to are about 1/2 to 1/3 less than the prices in France. I was very pleased to see that we’ve made some very good deals so far.

I noticed one thing while driving today. The French drivers seem to always want to drive faster than I want to go. I’m just taking my time, admiring the sights. A local gets behind me, and I swear he (or she) is trying to count the hairs on my head. Of course, I’m usually going faster than the posted speed limit already, but that doesn’t stop them from zooming around me the first chance they get. Carolyn and I always get a good laugh out of this, wondering where they might be going in such a hurry on a Saturday morning.

Here's the pictures of our day in Aix:

Tomorrow it’s off to either L’Isle sur la Sorgue or Salérnes. There's a market in both towns, and the choice is a difficult one. Ah, as the French would say,"Quelle problème!" Until next time…

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