Aix-en-Provence

Hi all,
firstly, thanks for all of the texts & comments I've been receiving - it's been great!

After blogging in Avignon, I had a quiet afternoon. Had been fighting a small cold so energy low. Took the opportunity to create a novel thing called clean clothes, as there was no washing machine at La Sabranenque. Found out info about buses & trains & pretty much read & went to bed!

Yesterday I went on a little expedition to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse for Marianne. She was after a piece of material to match one she'd bought there last year. It's not quite an hour on the bus from Avignon, and all I can say is thanks Marianne!!! I would probably never have gone there otherwise, but am really glad to have discovered that little gem of a village. It's small & centre around a river that's shallow by the township. Gets its name from the "fountain" or source of the river that comes from underground about a km up the river. Just looked like a cavern of water to me, but I heard someone say they'd seen it filled right up the bank we were standing on. Plus, info from my trusty guidebooks tell me many ways were tried to get to the bottom of the cavern, & it took a remote controlled robot to reach it in the last few years - 315m down! In summer it pours out about 90000l of water per second or something ridiculous like that. So; the water flows down a slight hill over some small rapids, where there are tubes hanging over the water for kayaks I think. There's a little bridge next to a waterwheel & houses or restuarants lining the main strip - which isn't big.

I located the shop Marianne had gone to from her very accurately hand drawn map & showed her the swatch of material, only to find the lady said they didn't sell it anymore. I told her the story of coming from Australia for it & she was very apologetic. As I walked out into the arcade she then chased me down, as she'd dug around somewhere & found one piece! I texted tracey & george to ring marianne as it wasn't the size she wanted, & then texted her a few times, with the final outcome of mission accomplished! Thanks Guorgis for being go-betweens!

I spent the rest of the day at the small but interesting Petrarch Museum, the Resistence Museum, a papermaking place that still makes it by hand, having lunch on the river & doing my first drawing of the trip, & then climbing up to the ruins of a 14th century castle. There were few buses on Sunday so left at 5, getting back to Avignon around 6pm. Fortunately I'd booked a hotel for a second night - different one from the night before but it was right across the road so in the morning I'd had to carry my pack a total of about 10m (as well as down 2 flights & then up 3 at the new one - no lifts!). Checked in when I got back from Fontaine, had a shower & went only 2 blocks for Dinner. Couldn't be bothered walking across the town to the internet place - sorry!

Got up today & decided I'd come to Aix. Was going to skip it since I couldn't find a way to get from here to Apt, but then discovered it is possible. Bus left late morning & it only took an hour on the motorway. Found a hotel & went straight to the Thermes Sextius - new spa built on old baths - & booked myself a jet spa bath followed by a zen massage (will get back to you on what exactly that is). They've displayed the remains of the old baths in glass at the entrance.

Aix is Cezanne's turf so there's many places to see that relate to him. And lots of paintings of Saint Vistor, the big white mountain behind the town. Have done half of the town this afternoon, including the Natural History Museum. There's been lots of ammonites, dinosaur bones & eggs, turtles shells & skeletons etc found in & around Aix. Who would have thought?

Will find the rest of the things 2moro & probably head to Apt. It's in the Luberon & apparently there are great walking tracks in a national park.

Forgot to mention that a guy took his dog on the bus with us to Fontaine yesterday! Obviously that's OK. Didn't hear anything from him, he just lay at his masters feet the whole time. Animals here are almost revered. They're even allowed in most restaurants.

Anyway, that's about all at the moment. Heard Lisa went tonight (thanks Gayelene) but I look forward to Ollie's indepth report.

luv
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