Aix-en-Provence

On Friday, I got on the train in Barentin and travelled all the way down to Aix-en-Provence to spend my Toussaint vacation with my family down here in the south.
Rouen is highlighted in blue (North-West of Paris) so that you can see that I really travelled all the way across the country!

This is my cousin Isabelle who I am visiting during this break! I'm staying with Isabelle, her husband and her son.  They're wonderful and welcoming to me and have shown me so many things already in the region even though I've only been her for a couple of days. 

One of the first things that she gave me to taste were Calissons, which is a special almond candy made here in Provence.  It's delicious...and it comes in a chocolate dipped version too! Perfection. 

The architecture is lovely here, with many large statues incorporated into the buildings. 

Here is a closeup to show the statue by the doors. 

Across the road from Isabelle's apartment is a lovely little park with this fountain.  The park is built around the building above and is now public and free for everyone to enjoy. 

Here is another example of how many of the buildings here include large statues.

And another two statues holding up a balcony. Casual. 

Many of the street corners contain small alcoves with religious statues.  Some of them have been stolen, but many remain. The following four pictures are all different examples of this phenomenon. 

This one has grille over it to keep anyone from stealing it. It's also at the corner of the tiniest street in Aix-en-Provence.

Pretty tiny, right? The edges of the roofs look like they nearly overlap at one point. 

The sun is so bright here all the time that sometimes it's hard to take good pictures! Look at those trees. So different from anything I've ever seen in the US or in Normandy. 

This is a beautiful church in Aix that has perpetual adoration and many young people who come from the university. 

This space with the fountain was created because the house on the other side of the road was owned by a rich person who didn't want any other buildings across the way from it. 

This is the dome of another church in Aix. I saw so many, that I'm beginning to forget which was which, but I believe this was the church with a cloister attached that we will go back and visit another day. 

This cool painting was in one of the churches and it's an optical illusion that makes it look like there is actually a statue there. 

This church had really intricate paintings on the walls behind the altar. The modern style of the altar and chairs in the front was a little strange in comparison, but it was pleasing all the same. 

In know you're probably getting tired of pictures of churches and organs, but this one is truly magnificent! The funny thing about this church was that everything seemed to come from a different era. This organ seemed so out of place, that it was even more fascinating. 

This painting by Nicolas Froment resides in the church shown above. It depicts the legand of Saint-Mitre. I really like it because it shows the whole story in one picture. 

And to finish, I couldn't help but take pictures of the Tintin store here. 

I want to buy each and every one of these Tintin products...