I love it when a plan comes together, and the plan was to meet up with fellow blogger, the lovely Heather from the wonderful blog; Lost in Arles. The arrangement was to meet up in Aix-En-Provence, conveniently situated halfway for both of us and had the added advantage of being a town we both adore. It's exciting and slightly daunting meeting up with someone you have never met before but within seconds an immediate rapport was established, her warmth, beauty and intelligence shone through and we could not stop talking, I don't know how many conversations we started and did not finish as we kept bouncing from one subject to another!
As it was around midday, we headed straight for lunch, I willingly followed Heather as her knowledge of Aix is excellent, (despite her telling me she did not know Aix very well!) she led the way to a wonderful area chock full of gorgeous, outdoor eateries we were spoilt for choice, we finally settled on this one, where, well you can see what we ordered! It was lovely but eating was slow going as we were talking so much!
What do two bloggers who both love architecture, history, art, beautiful things, food, fine wine, antiques and photography do after lunch...
Silly question, amble round, taking photographs and wandering into any beautiful or interesting shop which happened to catch our eye.
There was a funny cartoon moment, when simultaneously, like roadrunner, we both stopped dead in our tracks, we had spied the same entranceway, we backtracked to photograph it...layer upon layer of architectural beauty, I love the warm, sun blushed apricot hewn stone of Aix.
Heather led the way through a labyrinth of beautiful streets and squares, pointing out interesting detail along the way I had no idea where I was, it was wonderful.
Heather has previously blogged about Emmaus in Aix, it is the best Emmaus I have ever been into, it's just a shame I came by train, I could have had a field day in there, next time I am coming in a pick up or a van however a couple of small purchases were made!
Is there anything better than wandering around on a beautiful day, with great company, taking in the architecture and character of a town.
I fell in love with the the Place de Trois Ormeaux, with it's fountain and wonderful épicerie, with shade covered, outdoor tables serving drinks.
How about that for a wine cooler... I lost Heather for a while here as we were both furiously snapping, she eventually emerged with the statement, "you must see inside l'Epicerie", epicurians look away now...
Another wonderful, ancient hidden little square.
I had a wonderful day with Heather, getting to know Aix a little better, the only problem was the time went too fast.
When my train pulled out of Aix station I had that rare, warm feeling inside that I had met a kindred spirit and made a true friend for life.
Heather has also written an account of the day, we did not discuss which photos we would post or what we would write, all we agreed is we would publish simultaneously. You can find Heathers post and wonderful blog below:
http://lostinarles.blogspot.fr/
