I suppose we can leave now that we can finally pronounce it correctly ... simply, it is "X", not "Aches". We know that. We can say that. The kids are great at it. But Greg and I keep wanting to say it wrong. Ok, we've got it now.
After 27 days of heat and clear blue skies, the rain has come. We enjoyed every breakfast and every dinner on the terrace, except for the last rainy one. It must be time to go.
We will have fond, mixed memories of our stay. The intention of staying in one place for so long was to assimilate, and live it. We can pretend all we want, but that was never going to happen. We don't speak French, and we are on vacation. We did our best with what we had. We shopped in the daily fruit and vegetable market. We had fresh bread from the boulangerie every day. We groceried at the local market. We hung our clothes out to dry. We walked. We used public transportation, a lot. We explored as much as we could. We opened our eyes to everything. We appreciated our time here. We have been incredibly fortunate.
The worst thing about leaving was packing. Ummm, we might have acquired a few extra things in the past month. We bought another suitcase but it still wasn't enough to get us to our next destination. Before we leave Europe, I will come to terms with leaving a few - unnecessary - things behind.
Thankfully we only had to leave Aix to drive 90 minutes to Nice, where we are spending the next 3 nights. I would like to pretend I had the foresight to know how difficult it would be to pack up an apartment after 28 days and drive directly to the airport to stress about catching a flight, but this was only partially true. We were waiting out the cheaper mid-week airfare, and I chose the beaches of Nice to do so.
And now I owe you the utmost honestly. What was it like to be gone for so long? Greg and I don't regret it, not for a minute. Do we miss the comforts of home, family and friends, our pets, our bed? Sure. Chris and Kate are making the best out of it even though it was not their decision. They never signed up to share a room for over two months! Right now they wish they were home but they know they have had the best experience that they will treasure forever.
In addition to saying goodbye to Aix, after 48 days, we returned our car today. Apparently we put a bit of kilometers on it - because that was their only comment. We drove it 9039 km without a single scratch... no small feat for Europe! Although he turned for one last look before we left, Greg was instantly relieved to be done with it. He was awesome at conquering all the roads we navigated, but he never "enjoyed" that ball and chain. After what he has been through, I honestly think (and hope he agrees) it has helped him heal. Albeit crazy at times, European drivers know what they are doing and put the U.S. to shame. Greg has always been, and has proven to be, the best of the best on the road - even and especially in foreign lands.
With that, here are some of our favorite memories of Aix:
Aix is known best for all of its fountains
Cours Mirabeau, the main street
Cours Mirabeau at night
Entrance to our apartment
The view up our street
The view down our street
Being together
The views from our terrace
Daily fruit and vegetable market in Place Richelme
Sights and smells of the daily market
One of our favorite boulangeries
Around the pedestrian streets in Aix
Portail Cezanne is the only remnant of the former estate of the painter Paul Cezanne
Laundry time
Putting out the nightly garbage
One last crepe at our favorite, almost daily, crepe stand
Goodbye Aix
