Are we there yet?

I must say that it is nice not to have to worry too much about other drivers
on the road. The French are a lot more civilised compared to the Spanish
when behind the wheel. I wouldn't go as far to say that they are the best
but they don't seem to be too bad and certainly no worse than the English.
Of what we have seen of France so far it has got much more of a sense of
being at ease than Spain. Everyone seems to be a bit more settled back and
not so desperate to get somewhere. The countryside is very pleasant too, and
the towns and villages just seem to be that little bit nicer than the
Spanish equivalent. Even though we are only having a wee taster of France
over the next few days, I am already quite looking forward to returning
after we have done Italy. I guess the only thing that Spain has over France
is that everything is cheaper.
From Le Barcares we drove a fair old distance across to Aix-en-Provence. It
was quite a long and exhausting drive, but very scenic and ended up with a
bit of a misdirected and mistimed loop in the wrong direction out of and
back into the town at rush hour trying to locate the campsite. After
covering not that many miles in quite many more minutes we eventually were
able to rest up and enjoy what was left of the evening.
Yesterday we took a stroll into Aix, and what a great town it is. The old
part was superb and as the guide book says it is more than easy to just lose
a day wandering around taking it all in. It is a very chic place and has
been described as snobby, but none the less it has something that just
endears it to you. I guess all the markets, cafes, restaurants, and yummy
patisseries do help a tad. We could not help ourselves but purchase a couple
of Pain Au Chocolate to nibble on whilst doing the streets. There is even a
street of restaurants of many a different foreign cuisine like Egyptian
Persian Moroccan Vietnamese etc. We decided to go for something a bit more
traditional, well sort of. There was a Tapas place but the dishes were all
of local origin. So we tucked into 6 different dishes with a glass of wine,
bread, water and coffee for just 22€. Not the cheapest but pretty good value
considering the quantity and quality of the food. The only problem we had
was that is was a lovely day, clear blue sky, and scorching hot, and there
was no shade outside so we baked for the duration of the meal.
After a bit more post lunch wandering we returned back to base and did a few
chores, Sue did some washing and I cleaned the dead bugs of the van, before
basking in the sun with a little something to stop ones throat from drying
out. I think that Aix-en-Pc is definitely a place to return to sometime, and
if you haven't been here then put it on the to do list.
Today we took a shorter chunk out of the distance to Italy and got as far as
St Aygulf, which is on the coast between St Tropez and Cannes. Unfortunately
the sunny weather has left us for the day and the odd spot of rain has
fallen, but can't have it all I guess. We will probably only stay here for
tonight as the site is okay but not great, but it is cheap. I am not sure
where we will head to but still aiming to be across the border either Monday
or Tuesday.

Au Revoir

M&S