Oo La La...Kisses From France

Bonjour!

Svelte bodies, scarfed necks and skinny jeans is what I saw in France. Everyone looked so put together. Even my best outfit was nothing compared to their stylish ways. 

Making my rounds from the big city to the country side is a great way to get perspective on different areas. Arriving with friends into Marseille in the middle of the night and then rolling our luggage along the cobbled streets was a night I won't soon forget. It actually made me decide never to travel again with a suitcase but to carry a backpack. Much more portable, at least I hope so. So there we were in the middle of the night, and by the way, cities are a whole different creature in the middle of the night. After successfully snagging a cab and stuffing ourselves into the tiny vehicle we tried finding our hotel. And try we did, even our cab driver couldn't find it. Lucky for us it was of course snuggled up between two buildings away from everything. It was a great hotel once we got our weary bodies inside.

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Rise and shine- Marseille in the day light was a great old port city.

With all terra cotta colored roofs and old architecture. If you needed soap there were boutiques selling it on every corner. They smelled amazing! I was quite surprised with how many different types of food they offered from pizza places, indian, mediterranean, crepes and a whole host of other delicious finds. Like all my favorite places it is near the water. Take a bus tour and it will bring you around to favorite sights. When you're on a strict time frame like we were only a day and a half to sight see this was the way to go for us.

Count of Monte Cristo (the prison)

After seeing what the city had to offer it was time for some countryside tranquility. The way to go is by bus it is cheap and effective. Their form of bus is comfy and air conditioned which was awesome because it was in the heat of summer. We decided to see what Aix en Provence had to offer.

Unfortunately, the season for lavender fields were over but I could picture what the purple lush fields would have looked like in the sprawling valleys. There were certainly many a vineyard to be seen. Aix en Provence was my type of city. 
Aix en Provense seemed something out of a fairy tale with it's boutiques both modern and old all in small stone shops. There was even an open air market. Let me tell you I picked up many scarves that day! They have great embroidery too along with soap.

Check out an open air market the next time you're about. It is a great way to practice talking to locals even if you know only a few words. It is always meaningful when you put out some effort.After Ax en Provence, it was back on the bus to get ready for a wedding we were about to go attend. The wine at the wedding was phenomenal, I know  because I woke up smelling of wine, I think it was coming out of my pores! But it was great nonetheless. The bride and groom looked amazing and it was a fun time to be had by all. 

Adieu for now!

~Happy Travels