Aix-en-Provence and a prestigious surprise

in Wednesday Walk2 years ago (edited)

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Time flies way too quickly! It was like yesterday when we were walking through the streets of this small town, but in fact, a month has already passed. Aix-en-Provence surprised us with its charm and hospitality, and although it was the middle of August and the full season for tourists, we were still surprised by the number of people we saw on the street. Actually, in the strict centre of the city. Side streets and those that remained further from the square and the strict centre were quieter.

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This was the second day of our travel, heading back to Spain. I had a task, to find a health centre or a hospital to treat the wound I had just right back from my shoulder. Luckily, I found a general public hospital so we headed there from the hotel. Finding a parking plot was a bit more challenging, but after just the second attempt we managed to park. My health insurance covers the territory of the entire European Union, so I didn't have to go to a private one and pay for this treatment.

When I checked in I really didn't have to wait for a long time. At first, I thought I would have to spend the whole afternoon there, but it was not even 15 minutes and I was called. The only small inconvenience was that the nurse insisted only on French and asked me to use a translation tool on the phone. However, I am pretty sure she understood everything as in the end, she also relaxed and switched to English :)

From there, we made a small walking route in the strict city centre through the narrow streets.

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The afternoon was already counting some advanced hours, and the time for dinner was approaching. I was not that hungry, but I craved some fruits or ice cream. Something that could refresh me.

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We looked on the boards of a few restaurants but mainly standard menus were offered, and I was not in the mood for that. I found a grocery in these streets and bought peaches and apples, water and fruit juice. That is what I needed.

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This time I didn't use the help of a navigator as in Padua to get around the city. There were indications of what we can find and also, it was a lot smaller than the Italian city we visited just the day before. We passed by a few museums, a lot of restaurants and small hotels, old buildings that I didn't find out what they were, and small shops that were approaching their closing time.

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This building was apparently one of the museums - closed already when we happened to pass by it.

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I was excited to see this old tower (it somehow resembles a person, don't you think too?) and I suppose that it is connected to the town hall on the other side. It is the same tower we see in the cover photo of this post but from the other side. When you walk through the passage from here you find yourself in a large square.

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Almost a must in every French city is a cathedral. Many times built in a Gothic style, or including other styles and elements, like Romanesque and Noe-Gothic as in this case.

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All this walk (although short, as this was left from the afternoon after the search for the hospital) finished with me laughing at one shop and the sign I saw. The shop was definitely closed, I peeked through the window and it seemed empty for a while already. Abandoned business. However, the sign was still showing Pianos Prestige!!! I imagined a situation. If this is how prestigious the pianos are here, then a pianist would not have a great future in Aix-en-Provence :D

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The next day indeed we headed towards Spain, leaving behind the cathedrals, narrow streets, squares, towers and prestigious pianos! ;)

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Great photos!
This tower makes you smile and uplifts your mood :-)

Right? The tower is there, and who is lucky to see it, receives a bit of a smile :)
Glad you spotted too 😎

Well, how can you not see this tower? :-)))

Do you ever go into the churches? Here in Italy one very seldom finds a locked church so we go into them all.... there are some beautiful artwork and stained glass finishes in most of them. Also the warm wood of the benches is very attractive

I do, when they are open and we have extra time. But this was closed :)

Haha that tower does resemble a person 🤣 or maybe a square shaped robot of some sort. We really loved aix when we were there. Good choice of destinations.

Oh yeah, it's a robot indeed!! 🤖

I remember you mentioned Aix, also remember your posts from the south of France (though I think Aix didn't come to your blog, or I just missed it out).
Anyway, it was a small but nice one, and the afternoon flew away quickly.

Yeah we did Aix-en-Provence in round two of our trip to Southern France. That was after our Portugal trip so I haven't posted about it yet. You beat me to it lol. 👍

oh, so it will come after Portugal :)

Cool

You beat me to it lol

Haha, well I didn't visit Portugal and all the other places you did, so Aix came from me now. Well, I do have some things from Italy, but going in the other direction, from July. I mixed up everything 😂

I would be a bit shaken but in a very good way if I was served in a public hospital that fast. That was the first thing I noted but now the question is how old are these buildings? They look like something off a movie or a good book :)

Usually, it's not that fast. When you have an appointment, that's ok and no waiting. But I went without it, as I was just travelling through that city and it was the emergency I went to. Seems that it was a calm day for them, with just a few patients around.

The buildings, I am not sure, but they date maybe from the 18th or 19th century, or the newest could be from the beginning of the 20th century. The cathedral is older, for sure, I am reading now, can be the 12th century but new elements were added through time constantly.

Aaah. Sounds more like home when you explain it like that.

Anything that dates back to the early 19th or before fascinates me. I get very intrigued by the historical aspect of such... Thank you so much for sharing :)

And thank you so much for visiting 😇

I really enjoyed this post! I also enjoyed the comment thinking that it happened in Spain and that the nurse wanted to speak only in French hahaha. WHy not...

Aix is a cool place, how is the wound ever since? I guess it has had time to heal?

I also enjoyed the comment thinking that it happened in Spain and that the nurse wanted to speak only in French hahaha. WHy not...

🤣🤣🤣

wound - you will see it, a "nice" mark stayed so can't be unseen but it closed by now :)

Wow how did it happen by the way? I think you might have told me but I forgot...

Glad you were able to get medical treatment and not kept waiting to long
I love the narrows stees there and yes for sure I see a face in that tower

Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)

Thanks, I think I was lucky that they had a calm day, so it was not crowded with patients. Just a few of us were in the waiting room.
Yay, so the face in the tower is indeed there :))

The only small inconvenience was that the nurse insisted only on French and asked me to use a translation tool on the phone

Is it just the normal happening in Spain or was that happening in that particular hospital?

it somehow resembles a person, don't you think too?)

Yeah! I think so too. In fact, it is looking like a yelling man with two round eyes.

Over all, it proved to be a nice experience for you walking on those quieter streets. I wonder you if you didn't have some musings sling the walk because such circumstances are prone to trigger some thoughts.

I felt like walking along with you and feeling the beauty of the constructions around

It happened in France and in general, there like to speak in their language instead of English. In Spain too, but in the coastal area and where the cities are living from tourism, English is not a real problem.

In fact, it is looking like a yelling man with two round eyes.

Oh, yelling man? Could be. Or surprised :)

Thank you for walking along with me and appreciating the place, it was a charming place to be 😇

Or surprised :)

Hmmm. You got the better word for the expression.

it was a charming place to be

Yeah, I saw that with you virtually 🙂

Thanks for sharing

Wow I would love to stroll through those streets, to take in the atmosphere with all of the people freely eating out and relaxing.

Not to mention the amazing old architecture and history of the place!

What a lovely medical emergency you had...

I do hope that they stitched you up ok though!

XXX

Hahaha, well yes, they did what they had to do, it was a longer-lasting thingy. But I healed now :))

Thank you for coming to France with me @chocolatescorpi through this post ;)

Thank you for taking me to France with you @mipiano .

One day I can't wait to get there for myself and when I do, I'll send you an invite to join me too! 😃

looking forward to it 😇

What a lovely walk through this place.
Yes, time goes fast… is it already a month wow.

Glad you found a doctor/ nurse for treating your wound and that it didn’t take all day was sure a bonus.
Hope it is better now 🤞🏻🤓

It is surprising to see not to many people around in the streets just off the main roads.
Somehow you can see it is France.
Great captures.
Have a wonderful Wednesday @mipiano 👋🏻😊

Time is unstoppable :P
Flies at its own pace - sometimes very quickly!

I was happy too that I found the place where they attended me and indeed, not waiting for the whole afternoon was a great thing. My boys stayed outside and they were also positively surprised when they saw me already coming out!

Thanks @littlebee4 for being here 😇
May you have a great Thursday 😃

It is indeed unstoppable. Lately it looks like it is going so fast. I miss hours in the day hehehe 🤭

That is just so wonderful… it happens not often.

You are welcome @mipiano happy to be here. Glad you are too 👋🏻🤗🥰
Thank you kindly and I wish you the same, that it be a great Thursday.

Oh, hahaha, more hours in the day, I need that too.

Please, when the machine that produces some extra hours is invented, let me know 🤣

Yes, you are the first one I will tell 😉🤓😋 as we sooooo need it hahaha 🤣
!LOL

Deal :))))
Looking forward to it

🤣

Me tooooooooo 😉🤣😂🤣😂🤞🏻🍀

What did the doctor say about the tall person in a rush to see him?
I wish you were a little patient.

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Nice! Enjoy your trips that looks like a very interesting city to me love to visit myself

Thank you.
It was a great summer, pity it passed that quickly :D

Greetings @mipiano, the hours go by fast when you are focused on something and with that beautiful architecture distraction who is going to be aware of the time. How nice that you enjoyed everything and you were even able to do your errands at the same time, you made the most of your days, keep enjoying.

Hi there!

Time is so unpredictable... in just a blink of an eye, a month can pass ;D
I indeed liked this afternoon in Aix-en-Provence, the kind of place I like to visit during summers. Thanks for stopping by @vinewhite 😀

Yes, when you entertain yourself with something you like, time goes by quickly and you feel that there are still hours left.

Aix is a beautiful town,. I went there a few times with work back in the 1990s and loved it. Felt really relaxed - a lovely place to go out for a drink and bite to eat ! It was lovely to see it again in these pictures !

Oh, so you know well this city. The world is so small ;)
I don't know how much it changed since the 1990s, but the charm of an old city can't be that different I guess! 😇

Great walk! It looks like a great French town to visit. The cathedral looks great from the outside too.

A nice one, indeed. Oh, I like the cathedrals in France. Admirable architecture! :)

And I you toured me again in this part of the world. Loved seeinv those gigantic old buidings which reminds us the great history. And with all that walk, it's just right to look for something to eat, an ice cream or a coffee but I'm glad that you found some fruits especially the juice. 😊

Well, then enjoy the travels to this part of the world through HIVE!
I am glad you liked those giants, those buildings speak history, that is true.
The fruits came as a salvation to me :))

Again, thank you for sharing your great walk my dear! Such a beautiful place to walk by. I am hoping that I can get there soon. Thank you for sharing beuatiful photos of this beautiful place. Take care and be safe as always. ♥️
And also, I am glad that your wound was treated immediately. 🙂

Hey there @teacherlynlyn

I loved to remember this visit to Aix-en-Provence, it makes somehow my vacations longer. Just the feeling, that the memories give 😇
Thank you for your appreciation, I am glad I could share this place here!

Thank you for this. I was able to see some parts of your place without having to leave my house.

Hive is just a perfect place for this! 😃
I like to travel, that is true, but also to visit some remote places through the posts here, knowing I will never be able to visit them in real life.

Romanisque and Neo-gothic styles are really an inspiration from medieval architecture. I so love the Cathedral with its styles my dear friend @mipiano . Have a great Wednesday walk. Take care my friend.

Hi @pinkchic :)

That's cool you liked the cathedral and the style of it. Many cities in France have these old cathedrals, it is simply amazing!

Thank you, and have a great day you too 👋

I all agree with your words my dear friend. I hope I could visit such amazing places like those styles. You are welcome and the pleasure is mine. Have a wonderful time and more amazing places to visit.

I hope too that you can visit some of these places. It is great to see new things around this world 😃

Ayieee. Those words from you are really so kind my dear friend mipiano. Sending love from my side. I hope you have a great day. Stay safe and have safe travels.

Nice pictures!

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Seems like people aren't wearing masks anymore. I hope it will happen here too. We still can't move on with this pandemic lol.
Anyway, the place is pretty 😊

Oh, seems I missed this comment @jane1289

Sorry about that.

Here, masks are not mandatory anymore, just in the health care centres.
Have a great upcoming week 😇

I hope HK will lift that protocol soon...were tired wearing mask each day we go out..

There are many places in this world with beautiful views and I must get to experience them. Thanks for the lovely post, it felt like I traveled along with you 🤭

We all have places that we will like to visit and experience. The world IS beautiful :)
Thank you for joining the travel through this post 😃

I'm absolutely glad I did 🤭