A road trip in Europe
A summer trip with the kids from Rotterdam through Belgium to Germany, Switzerland and France.
Part 4 Aix-en-Provence and a quick trip to Marseille
We booked to stay at Arc-en-Ciel in Aix-en Provence - a little haven of a campsite we have stayed on in the past. The campsite is family run and has 55 pitches, all with shade and plenty of privacy. It is very picturesque with a river running through, and well looked after.
When we arrived we went straight to the 25m swimming pool. It was by the far the cleanest pool we had been in so far. Sam found the courage to use the diving board with Steve whilst Esme and I played by the pool steps. There is plenty of space around the pool to put a towel down and catch some sun. Before heading back around to the van we put an order in for pastries and bread the next morning. Something we always look forward to in France.
The shower block looks quite dated at first, but I think of them as traditional looking and charming. The bathrooms consist of a toilet, sink and shower. They are powerful, hot and always clean. We knew from our previous visit that toilet roll is kept outside, so collect this before locking the door or take your own! After cleaning the kids and having dinner we spoke to some campervan neighbours also from England. The kids started playing with their two boys, and we still keep in touch with the odd message now.
The next morning, after eating our delicious pastries, we caught the bus into Aix. The site is 3km from the centre. We dropped a pin at the bus stop on the opposite side so we knew where to stop on the way back. I was looking forward to getting lost in the bustling streets and finding a cafe near one of the many fountains. We made our way to the markets first - my favourite thing to do in Aix. The markets are a way of life in Provence and a real way to feel the culture of France. They open from 8.30 to 1pm and we visited on a big market day, when the main markets are open to additional sellers. The markets merge together and stretch out through neighbouring streets and down the iconic Cours Mirabeau. We passed through the flower market first, in the beautiful Place de l’Hôtel de Ville. The stalls were packed with pots and bunches of gorgeous, colourful flowers at different heights. I took plenty of photos for inspiration. We seemed to be walking in circles but eventually found the farmers market. The farmers market offered some baked goods, cheeses, olive oil, jam, honey and much more. We stocked up on garlic, honey and some apple juice and strawberries for the kids. We then made our way to the many stalls of baskets and pottery. We bought a lovely speckled blue and black oil decanter and a large shopping bag to carry all our goodies in. Steve enjoys looking at the produce and crafts but is less keen to rumage around the stalls with linens, clothing, antiques and soaps. I wandered down the Cours Mirabeau looking at the linens and Steve wandered to the antiques. We promised the kids an ice cream and found Amorino Gelato.
Aix-en-Provence is a great location to explore other nearly tourist spots. We planned on taking a train or bus to Marseille with the purpose of visiting our favourite shop, Maison Empereur. Unfortunately, this was a time when riots had been occuring in some major cities. It had calmed down but the destruction was everywhere. We arrived by train the next day and the kids jumped on the buggy as we headed down to shop. Maison Empereur is the oldest hardware store in France founded in 1827. It is a magical, quirky shop across three floors and split into many rooms from kitchenware, knives, soaps and linens. Upstairs we spent at least an hour looking through tableware, kids toys and more. We brought our big back pack and came away with tea towels, egg cups, all sorts of kitchen knives, candleholder, traditional kids toys, soaps and soap dishes and other bric-à-brac. Maison Empreur is one of my number one shopping locations and takes orders online. With our bags full we headed back to the train station, grabbed some lunch from Paul and caught the train back to Aix for an evening by the pool.
