I am a Californian, but I’ve been turning in an Aix en Provence native lately! In 2004, I made my home in Aix and I never looked back.  I love the French way of life, or “art de vivre”, and in this Mediterranean region of France, I am particularly spoiled.
 
Let’s start with the food.  I love food.  Good food.  And here, the choice is endless.  With more than 300 days of sunshine a year and warm temperatures, great produce is available all year long.  The farmers’ markets are the best place to buy fresh fruits and vegetables as most of them have been harvested less than 24 hours before being sold.  Compare that to the supermarket!  Most villages have a weekly market, but in Aix, we have a small daily market as well as a bigger market three times a week.  I told you we are spoiled…
 
Another amazing facet of French life is the way the locals live by the seasons.  We seem to move from one special holiday to the next, celebrating all the traditions that go with it, mainly revolving around food.  We are in France, after all!  February brings the “Kings Cake” which involves the youngest member of the family directing the distribution of slices from under the table; everyone hopes to find the hidden “favor” in their piece of cake and become King for the day.  Easter has chocolate eggs “falling from the sky” into the children’s gardens.  Summer invites long “aperitifs” (cocktail hour) with tapenades and chilled rosé wine.  In December, families get out their tiny nativity scenes with local clay characters called “santons” and toast Christmas with champagne and oysters.  I have now adopted all these traditions too!
 
I invite A Season Away guests to come to Aix en Provence and I will take you to all my favorite places and hidden food treasures.  We will go to the farmers’ market and meet the spice merchant who sells the best herbes de Provence, the goat’s cheese maker with his one day old cheese, and the olive men who have an endless choice of green and black olives, enough to make you drool.  And wafting over all these stalls is the smell of roasting chicken from the rotisserie and coffee being brewed at the surrounding cafés.  Bring your camera and your taste buds!  You are sure to be captivated by all the colors, sights and smells of Aix en Provence, on market day, and throughout the seasons.  I can’t wait to share it with you.