Jeff and Anne go to Aix.

Wednesday 11th October 2023. Aix en Provence.

Janice and I have known each other for about 11 years and I have previously told her that if I had been a girl my parents would have called me ‘Anne’! Janice’s family have a habit of calling all the sons James (sometimes shortened to Jim) but Janice had an older brother named James and only today has she disclosed that if she had been a boy she would have been named ‘Jeff’. What a revelation to find out after being together so long. So, today we have started calling each other by the name we would have been had we been of the opposite sex! It probably sounds a weird thing to do….but it has amused us, and hopefully you!

We stopped in the morning at the town of Apt. It was a decent sized place with a shabby chic centre and not overly pretty. The historic centre was pleasant narrow shopping streets and the church was very old.

We moved onto the pretty touristy town of Lourmarin. This was the type of place that I would stay at. It was pristine.

The streets of shops and restaurants were all upmarket. We have friends who have booked a gite here next year. They will not be disappointed and the countryside is pretty too, near the mountains of the Luberon and the Durance river valley. Jeff (Janice) and I always arrive in this area after the lavender has been cut but we always wish we could see, and smell, the lavender in the fields.

We drove on to the larger city of Aix en Provence and arrived at a chosen camp site. Aix is very much connected with the artist Cezanne. We have fleetingly visited before and wanted to have a better look around. I knew the site reviews were ‘mixed’ but thought it would be ok for a couple of nights. We were rather disappointed with the place but I won’t bore you with the details….I will tell you the good bit about the site…..here’s a clue….

Jeff wasn’t keen on staying at the site but I put my foot down. Jeff asked why I insisted on staying, I replied “Why?, Cez Anne”! Probably the worst pun I have ever used in a blog….apologies.

As I suspected, there were several Brits on the site, all on the way to Marseille. We spent the evening having a drink with David and Judith from Cardiff who were going to see the Wales v Argentina on Saturday and staying at the same campsite at Marseille as we are.