Travel With Betsy

……Or in this case, 14 days……

I have been fighting a great battle here in Aix….with the flu/cold/allergy/sinus infection…or maybe something else.   All of these options were presented to me in the last 2 weeks by the french physicians here in Aix.  And, I have been medicated for most of them (not all….even I have a limit).  After 2 visits to the doctor and some internet research, my conclusion is that I started out with the “strain of the year” cold germ and progressed to a sinus infection.  Since I haven’t been successful in getting any of the french doctors to agree with me….or with each other for that matter….. I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I had some antibiotics left over from my trip to Mexico earlier in the year, and when I was packing up to come to France, I pulled them out and tucked them into my suitcase.  You never know.  So, yesterday…on day 14 (about) of suffering, the second onset  of a nasty sore throat, and a few days of some pretty colorful snot, I started to take the antibiotic.  What do I have to lose?  Guess what, I’m starting to feel better.  Don’t get me wrong, I am still congested, coughing and loopy, but I was actually able to get through the day today with only 1 nap, which makes me feel like I might actually be getting better!  If this works…… after I learn to speak french, of course……. I may go to medical school.  I could set up a clinic here in Aix for American expats…..make some extra money……

Anyway, despite my malady, I have managed to slide in a few interesting and fun things….and, started the french classes, which I have been enjoying.  As it turns out, head congestion and a blocked nose does wonders for the french accent!

When I last left off, I was planning to meet Mike and our friend Gene in Monaco for a few days.  The plan was to visit Grasse, Eze and St. Paul de Vence.  I did get to Monaco, but because I wasn’t feeling up to snuff, and because there was bad weather in the mountains, we weren’t able to follow our plan exactly.  However, we did manage to get to Cannes, where we had some amazing bouillabaisse, Coquilles St. Jacques and profiteroles.  Mike and I search for the perfect bouillabaisse each time we travel to the south of France.  I think we may have found it!  Good stuff!

After Monaco, Gene and Mike helped me explore the restaurant scene in Aix and the surrounding wine country.  We had some pretty tasty meals and some even tastier wine!  For those of you who know wine, you may know that provence is known mostly for rosé and white wines.   There are also reds available, but they are not as prevalent as the others….and, not as good….in my opinion.  The grapes used for the wines are the same as we see in our area of California.  Grenache is the main grape in the rosé, with syrah and mourvedre tossed in for good measure, although I did have one made with Cabernet that I thought was very good.  The reds are an interesting blend of Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot.  At least that’s what I have seen so far.  Not bad, but I think there are better ones out there.

One of the tasting rooms we went to had an interesting display of the colors of the rosés.  On my last trip to provence, I learned that the goal of the rosé is to have the lightest color, with the most flavor.  This is an interesting feat, given that the color and the flavor both come from the skins.  So, there is a fine line about how long the juice should stay with the skins to achieve the best result.

The other interesting thing that we noted at the wineries is that they all (or at least the ones we went to) have wine refilling stations that look like mini gas pumps.  They all seem to sell the lower priced box wines.  Patrons keep their boxes and bring them back, when empty, to be refilled for somewhere between 1.20 and 2.60 Euro per liter.  We considered trying this out, as we all love a deal.  But, decided it was too far to come outside of the city for a refill!  And, I don’t have a car.  Renting a car to save a few dollars on wine seemed to negate the deal!  Too bad!

I am happy to report that I was able to communicate somewhat effectively with the tasting room people, and a nice woman at the Tourist Information Office in Eguilles, using my french.  I impressed Gene, or so he said.   He has no idea what I was saying….actually, in some cases, neither did the people I was talking to, I’m guessing.  But, as in the United States, people just like to talk, and so continue on even if it doesn’t make sense!  I will say this, though, the tourist information woman said that I had communicated very well.  So, I must have slipped in a few correct words.  I’m feeling hopeful!

All of this great ability in communication is the result of the hard work and study I put in before my trip and, of course, my first week of french classes.  I am really enjoying the classes and am going to tell you about them in the next post.  I have to go for now.  I am scheduled to take a full day tour of Isle Sur la Sorgue and Gordes tomorrow with Georges, a tour guide arranged through the school.  It’s my first full day outing since getting the “scourge” and I want to be sure I am rested.  Also, the commentary will be “en français”.  So, I’m going to try to sleep now so that I can be fully engaged tomorrow.  Otherwise, I will not be able to keep up.  It’s easy to fall behind with the lightening fast french speech…. So, for now……..

Bon soir!

This entry was posted on October 18, 2014 at 7:36 pm and is filed under Europe, Solo Travel for Women, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.