it's a rainy night, i'm sitting in my room listening to silver jews, and i figure, since i've been back in aix for a little over a week now, i might want to get around to posting those pictures i took before i left for the states, eh?
this is what i call "the elizabeth hadley tour of aix-en-provence."
our tour begins at the 24-hour boulangerie, or the "boulange," as jennifer calls it. this is one of two 24-hour establishments i know of in aix. occasionally i'll come here after a night at the sunset and get a slice of pizza or a hazelnut cookie.
i then stopped to admire this christmas tree on the east end of the cours mirabeau.
this would be the christmastime madness aix experiences. stores are open on sundays (seriously!) and the marché de noël (those little wooden shacks that you can see) are all down one side of the cours mirabeau. what's for sale: candy, food, crystal knickknacks, barrels, and other odd things that you might -- or might not -- want to give someone for christmas.
and this is les deux garçons, a café on the cours mirabeau, that (like every other café on the cours mirabeau) is very expensive (and possibly mob-run, though no one ever talks about that). professor gray, this year's program director, takes us out here every once in a while to sit around and chat and drink overpriced coffee. [well, it's in the program's budget.] also: this is where cézanne and zola used to hang, y'know, back in the day.
i enjoy taking pictures of foreign signs. if you happen to have been among the people who have seen my pictures from my summer in saint-brieuc, you know how true this is.
my friendly local tabac! located just next to the monoprix on the cours mirabeau, i stop in here rather often (usually for luckies, sometimes for phone credit). the girl who works there sees me and says, "bonjour! un lucky?" yeah, she knows me.
this is a very poorly-taken picture of another variety of centre-aix christmastime madness: the rides for children. bumper cars, tilt-a-whirls... all in addition to the year-round carousel.
and there are disney characters and whatnot involved. look! it's spider-man! [the french do not call him "l'homme-araignée," though. they call him "speedair-mahn."]
traffic at the rotonde. when on the way to blow euros at h&m, one often has to stop here and wait to cross the street.
aix's other 24-hour establishment: the brasserie. it's rather expensive; i came here once with nathaniel and rosie for a beer after the sunset started to suck one night. in fact, i believe that was the night we met nathaniel.
a charming oh-so-very-european alleyway.
i have never been in there.
but i have been in there: the site of the infamous "dancefloor peeing" incident.
and why would i go to speed burger when they deliver?
another fountain to add to my collection (fontaine pascal, my map tells me). i think i'm going to go out in spring and get prettier pictures of them all.
la rue des cordeliers in christmas mode.
rue du félibre gaut: where i go to the laundromat. the sign above gives the street name in provençal. and as for mary and the baby jesus, well....
aixtrême tattoo! numerous people from our program have gotten pierced here. i am not among them... at least not until i decide to get more metal shoved through my ears. rosie actually got a new tattoo here last tuesday.
fun beauté: for all your crazy-coloured-hair needs. le mékong: the woman there knows me, too. pineapple chicken, side of rice, one large egg roll.
a moss-growing fountain at the place des cardeurs.
my bar, where i spend many a night. you know, i don't think they even sell 1664.
i'm really irritated that i missed that night. french bars are not good about updating their information online.
and that would be the door. you have to ring a bell to get in.
the pharmacy near my apartment, where i've gone each of the three times i've come down with a cold in france.
snack samos! home to delicious gyro-type sandwiches and fantastic fries. and they're open until two in the morning, which is pretty rare.
bar brigand: where rosie and i had an interesting conversation with some seventeen-year-old french boys one night. this is about a block from the apartment.
la rue de la glacière in all its holiday splendour.
and the place de l'hôtel de ville at night (before going to yet another phonetics class).
as for other news, it's been quite nice to be back in classes. i actually have a final in provençal in a week. and the january sales are on -- i've done a good job not spending all my money (though i did buy a nice new pair of black knee-high lace-up boots).
well. i have some linguistics homework that i should probably go do now. à bientôt!
