Aix-en-Provence, France - Streets on Self Tour

The tour guide walked us from Aix Cathedral to Place de l'Archeveche for our "free time in Aix" part of the tour.  He said "No problem to return to the bus.  Just go straight." and he waved his arm in the general direction.  Straight?  Did he notice that there wasn't a straight street in this area?

As we were listening to his directions for a safe return, I noticed an artist with his paintings in the plaza in front of Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Institute of Political Studies).  This is one of the grandes écoles in France, great schools established outside of the main framework of the French University system. Students get entrance based upon a national ranking from competitive oral and written exams.  This school focuses on politics, but also has classes in law, history, international relations and economics.

Famous alumni include Christine Lagarde, the current managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

More information on the school can be found at their website http://www.sciencespo-aix.fr.

Click on the close-up photo of the artist. He does not look like this is the thrill of his week!

The front courtyard was fairly quiet, with a few mopeds and people sitting on little posts, chatting.

We were near the cafe that we saw earlier, Brasserie de l'Archeveche, so we decided to use the facilities, pause for a drink and decide what to do next.  I asked the waiter "Où est la toilette?" (Where is the toilette?) in my best French. He pointed to the stairs that, of course, led down to the basement.  J, E & and I made our way down a winding staircase to a line to the bathroom: two stalls, one for women, one for men, and a shared sink area. We had to space ourselves on the stair case at the corner bends to allow people coming up the stairs to pass.  It took us a while, but mission accomplished!  We then walked outside. I asked the waiter if we could eat. He looked at his watch and said that they were not serving until noon, but we could have a drink. So we sat at one of the little tables. I had an espresso, and  J & E each had a coke.

We then began our way back to Cours Mirabeau and the traffic circle at Pl. du General de Gaulle. We are at #4 on the map and will make our way through the medieval section to #5.  We decided to take our time, shop a little, then find a place to eat.  The travel team expressed a little concern about where to eat, and that they would not be able to read the menu.  I reminded them that I read French, at least I could read a menu, and that we would be okay.  But, I realized, this might not be a good idea so I needed to think about the type of place where we would stop.
We walked on through the streets, stopping to admire things in the shops. The shops showed a lot of items from Provence, and were proud of the local production. Of course, you can't walk down a street in any French city without seeing wonderful pastries in the window!

And a wonderful macaron shop!

These little figures were so cute.

Then I spotted a "Paul" shop and knew that we could stop in here to pick up lunch. The food is displayed and the group was able to see and select.  We each choose a sandwich and a sweet for dessert.

At one point, the street separated in to two streets.  Which way was, as tour guide Juan had said, "straight ahead"?  I approached a local, explained in French that I was lost (Je suis perdu...my favorite phrase) and asked her to point us in the direction to this monument?  I showed her the photo of the large fountain, La Rotunde".  She smiled, shook her head "yes", and pointed us towards Rue Bedarrides and the route back to the bus.

We continued our walk, saw wonderful pastries, until we came to the main street Cours Mirabeau.

We found a nice shady spot on Cours Mirabeau for an impromptu picnic.  We gathered at the base of one of the statues, and enjoyed our sandwiches, water and sweets.

Fed and rested, we decided to spend the last 20 minutes of our time in Aix-en-Provence shopping at the booths that lined the street.  (See the next post.)