11:09:12
Me and Erika on the Eurostar.12:58:01
Me and Erika in the buffet car on the Eurostar.13:49:28
At Gare du Nord.14:51:42
In Gare de Lyon, the sort of corridor that connects the two main areas (“halls”) of the station. It has been renovated since we were last here, and is lined with rather smart shops now.
15:39:15
On the TGV now - always the best bit of the journey - having a late lunch.15:57:32
I liked this “Laissec-vous rever” sign.16:06:48
Some Nuits St Georges I had brought along for the journey. The train doesn’t quite pass through Burgundy, but it wasn’t far away.16:06:54
16:15:33
Chie had picked up this millefeuile from the Pierre Hermes in Gare de Lyon (I told you the new shops were smart) and enjoyed tucking into it after lunch on the TGV.16:43:09
Some snack I had picked up in St Pancras earlier: essentially posh Wotsits. I thought “made from the finest ingredients” was rather overdoing it for this kind of junk food.16:48:15
Erika bought some macarons from Pierre Hermes.16:48:19
I hope it’s fair to say we were all having a lovely time on the TGV.
16:48:20
16:48:21
16:49:17
Erika had let me choose one of the macarons - this is liquorice and violet!19:41:15
In Aix en Provence now, on the balcony of our hotel.
19:41:34
The view from the balcony.19:41:53
20:05:57
On a pre-dinner wander around Aix en Provence.20:10:56
20:17:53
20:18:08
20:18:14
20:25:48
One of the busy squares of Aix.
20:25:52
20:27:23
20:31:14
20:31:48
20:34:22
20:58:25
This is where we eventually decided to have dinner - more of a bar really, but they had “tapas” type food. Here we are joined by Chie’s old university friend (who now lives in Aix) and her husband.21:19:22
I think we pretty much ended up eating a lot of deep fried stuff but it was late by this point and a bit difficult to decide!21:19:24
22:16:56
After dinner we thought we’d take a quick look at the roof terrace of our hotel.22:17:14
Can see the moon here.