Finding Dragons – An Adventure

I just thought I’d let you know the life I’ve been living for the last 5 days in Aix-en-provence in France ( 7th – 12th May ).

Here is a photo of a little street that Kama and I kept going back to, to sample the cafes and restaurants that abound there. We stumbled upon a little crepe restaurant when we first arrived, mainly because they had pictures of the meals on the walls, so we figured we’d have a better chance to be able to order something, as Kama’s french was a lot rusty and mine is purely from watching TV and movies.

While eating our first meal there we couldn’t help but notice how the locals and the cars and motor bikes/scooters just causally worked around each other, without anyone getting upset in the slightest, as they all navigated the quite small streets.

There were little bollards sticking up in the middle of the streets, with a meter box next to them, and people seemed to pay money or swipe a card, and these bollards would lower down to allow the cars/trucks to pass through, then raise again shortly thereafter.

We discussed whether there was a safety mechanism should the vehicle have to stop for a pedestrian and remain over the bollard when it began to raise?

The food in that little restaurant was absolutely delicious, as we were to find that is the case in any cafe or restaurant wherever we went in Aix-en-provence, and we are told that this is the experience in most places in France.

Then, on another day, we went walking through the streets of the central city area of Aix, casually strolling along, while everyone else seemed to be doing the same thing, no hurry, completely relaxed, cars stopping for pedestrians even if they walked straight out in front of the car, and no one seemed to be bothered or upset by anything.

Everywhere we went we came across the same thing, delicious food, relaxed friendly people, incredible streets alleyways and buildings, and just a lovely atmosphere. The prices were noticeably a bit dearer, but the experience was worth it!

All in all we had a wonderful time and we are definitely considering trying to make a trip back to France, anywhere really, to just experience that relaxed lifestyle again.

Have you spent some time in France and had the same experience… or completely different?