VISITING THE CENTER OF AIX EN PROVENCE

While I was on a visit staying with my friend Claudie in the South of France, we had to go to Aix-en-Provence to empty her daughter's flat, as the university year is finished.

It is a beautiful city some 30 km (19 mi) north of Marseille, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.



I took some pictures of the charming very narrow little street where Melissa had lived !



It also was a very interesting street, because here is the house where the painter Paul Cezanne died. (see post below)



As the streets are so narrow the public transport had to be adapted and I found these little buses really charming ! Even the garbage truck had the same size, unfortunately I couldn't take a picture, but it looked so funny !

A couple of narrow little streets further we arrived at the city hall !





called "The Hôtel de Ville", a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, it looks onto a picturesque square (place de l'Hôtel de Ville). I didn't visit the inside which apparently is very beautiful.



The first thing you see arriving on the square is 



a clock-tower erected in 1510.



beautifully sculptured



The square is surrounded by cafés and restaurants




a charming fountain is just in the middle of the square



We had bought sandwiches and drinks, sat there and had a picnic !



while the fountain's heads spit their water.



Leaving the square we ended on another square where a big market was, selling vegetables, flowers and other things.

We then left the town and drove up to the hills where Cézanne used to paint



Today it is a place where painters gather and paint. (see post below)

I certainly will return to Aix another time to visit more.

ON THE TRAIL OF PAUL CEZANNE

While I was staying with a friend at the French Riviera, one day we decided to go to Aix en Provence, where Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) had lived and painted. He was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th-century Impressionism and the early 20th century's new line of artistic enquiry, Cubism. Both Matisse and Picasso are said to have remarked that Cézanne "is the father of us all."

For a private visitor to find Cézanne's atelier and places where he used to work is not easy to find ! Even my GPS had difficulties ! It took us to the right street but the wrong house number, so that we drove up and down the road to find a sign ! 



After a while we finally found an indication on the quiet busy road and had to go back to find a parking place because there is none ! Walking up the hill again, we finally found the entrance !



We rang the bell, the door was closed and were informed that it opened at 2 pm. It was a little our fault because we hadn't taken any information before.



The atelier in a beautiful old house



was surrounded by a wild growing garden, with beautiful trees and plants. There was even the remains of a little improvised barbecue, probably made by young painters who come here to paint or look for inspirations.



Besides a shop where you could buy books, posters and your entrance a spiral step lead to the atelier



and here it was ! All the objects he had painted where still there ! Of course it was not allowed to take pictures, but my paparazzi instinct won over and I took the pictures secretly with my little camera holding it hidden in my hands and pushed the button while looking innocently at the display. Of course I would never use a flash because it could damage the things if everybody would use it.





There was his deckchair and his bed on which he used to rest. The old stove was very pretty.



After we had visited the atelier, we were looking for the "Le terrain des peintres" (the site of painters) We had been told that it was just a few meters far from the atelier, but impossible to find ! After having asked people for the third time we finally found it and realized that we had passed the entrance several times too ! Today it's a place for young (or old) painters where they sit and paint. There also is an exposition of one of the painters, here it was a young American painter who exposed.



We also saw the photos of him painting. On the text is written that he wished to die while painting.





We then went further to a place from where he had painted the famous mountain St. Victoire. Again very difficult to find ! It is a stunning place high on a hill, overlooking the beautiful landscape. No wonder that he was inspired by the colors of the flowers and bushes !

Here, one day, Cézanne was caught in a storm while working in the field. Only after working for two hours under a downpour did he decide to go home; but on the way he collapsed. He was taken home by a passing driver. His old housekeeper rubbed his arms and legs to restore the circulation; as a result, he regained consciousness. On the following day, he intended to continue working, but later on he fainted;



The model with whom he was working called for help; he was put to bed, and he never left it again. He died a few days later, on 22 October 1906 of pneumonia here in his house which was located in the street where my friend's daughter had her flat during the University year.

She had only discovered the memory plate after a while, when you live in a famous place you don't look !

He was buried at the old cemetery in his beloved hometown of Aix-en-Provence.

SHORT VISIT TO AIX EN PROVENCE - France

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My visit to Aix en Provence was rather short because of the Mistral a very cold strong blowing wind which makes you feel very uncomfortable. So we just walked along the main street and I got an overview of this old town. Anyway the city center, mostly pedestrian is quite small, you can cross the center in 15 minutes by foot, which suited us very well under these circumstances ! As in all Provençal towns, the city center consists of narrow streets, lined with interesting buildings from 17th century hotels to paved plazas.

It is also famous for being home to Cézanne, the French artist and Post-Impressionist painter.

This gives you an idea of his paintings, you can also visit his workshop, which unfortunately we didn't know where it was and I had forgotten to look for it on Internet.

I took some pictures of the city center

Beautiful architecture

It was hard to figure out who this king was because it was all written in latin and the inscription quite damaged but thanks to my little latin school knowledge, and with the help of Wikipedia I found out that it was the King René of Anjou. (Now I feel better)

Little bistros all along the main street

nice doors

pigeons "painting" gargoyls

Some other views from the main street

and the quiet big fountain of "La Rotonde" built in 1860. Three statues (Justice, Agriculture and Fine Arts) stand on the top of the fountain. There are 12 bronze lions and swans, mermaids and dolphins overlapped by cherubs. Originally, the fountain was filled with the waters of the Canal du Verdon. Since 1974, the fountain of water is recycled.