Un bon jour a Aix

AIX EN PROVENCE - My first full day in Aix and I made it even fuller by being tricked by Daylight Savings Time. Apparently, that happened overnight in the US, but not here in France, so instead of being 6 hours ahead as it was when I went to bed, we are today just 5 hours different from East Coast Time for the time being. I awoke thinking it was 9AM (adding six to my watch, still on US time at 3AM), but it was only 8.

I drew the curtains and looked out at La Cours Mirabeau to see the bustling sidewalk of last night's Saturday night revelers replaced by a long row of vendors selling their wares from table tops. They stretched in either direction as far as I could see. The Sunday street fair was already in full swing. I hustled across the street, hoping to knock off the girls' shopping. Perusing the mostly junky knick knacks, old albums and books, and and other remnants from southern French attics occupied most of my morning -- and I did find a couple of treats for the girls, including some French kids books that should help them a bit with the language.

It was a truly beautiful day, just a slight nip in the air but comfortable and the sun was shining brightly, so I set out to do some exploring. Living where we do, I forget how inspiring and uplifting a nice spring day can be -- especially the first one of the season, as I think this was. The warm day seemed to bring out the masses, and I get the sense they had been holed up for a long winter this year (it had snowed here just last week - a rarity for this part of the world). A nice lady at the Tourist Office gave me a map and marked some of the highlights - statues, churches, museums and the like (she failed to point out the popular pubs, but I left that to my own keen sense of such things).

Aix is a pretty small and walkable city. I made it around roughly a third of the town in no time, stopping for lunch then a drink or two at a couple of cafes, all the while doing my best impression of a leisurely French guy (at least as best as one can do sans an ever-present cigarette). The cafes were packed with sun seekers and Sunday conversationalists - the French seem particularly adept at sitting around cafes, intently smoking, drinking endless tiny cups of coffee and solving the world's problems (it was also an election day of some kind today, albeit apparently not an important one, but still enough to fuel a solid afternoon of discussion).

I made my way over to a sorta sports bar/pub that I had spied the night before (when it had been teeming with - mostly - drunken Brits). My intent was to watch the rugby match between France and Italy in the Six Nations Tournament and was looking forward to seeing how well I could adapt to life without US sports on a Sunday afternoon. Of course, due to my still undiscovered time zone/clock change confusion, I arrived an hour early and they were till hosing down the place from last night. I wandered off to another cafe to wait, returning at the appointed hour only to find a disappointing turnout of - mostly - drunken Brits. Maybe it was the fact that France was the heavy favorite (and subsequently marched over Italy in way that would have made Napoleon proud) that kept the crowds away, or perhaps the spring weather made the prospects of watching guys in tight shorts on TV in a dank smelly pub a bit less appealing. I watched a little over a half when it was clear that France would win, cover the spread, and blow away the 'over.'

Back for a stroll down Le Cours Mirabeau and the crowds were even thicker at the cafes. Lots of folks took advantage of the opportunity to break out the Harley's and other warm weather transport. A very cool energy to the Sunday cafe crowd and it has become very obvious that the pace of life here is one of its strong suits.

I ended the day at a small local restaurant, enticed by their sign outside advertising Moules Frites for 12 euros. No such luck - "tout hors de moules - all out" said the manager/waiter dude. But he vowed to satisfy my fish fetish - and returned shortly with a whole poisson draped across a plate. After seeking, and receiving, my approval he disappeared to prepare it and delivered a little seafood masterpiece in short order.

The food will not be an issue here it seems.