Christmas in Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence is never comes up short on fun, good food, and drama. I left for Aix-en-Provence Monday December 20^th. After waking up at 4:45am and walking to the train station in the rain, I spent the morning on stop-and-go trains due to the heavy amounts of snow between Tours and Lyon. In Lyon I was to transfer trains and due to the weather conditions seemingly more than half of the trains were running late. I was delayed in Lyon for an extra 2 ½ hours, which was nothing compared to the many stuck in Paris and London airports up to several days.

Chamallow, Veronique's lovely cat, caught napping in the fruit basket. Also caught him sleeping in the bathroom sink once...

Justine and her boyfriend were waiting for me at the bus station in Aix. In order to catch the bus to get to her Aunt Patti’s house, we had to run several blocks, and poor Ben dragged my suitcase the entire way for me! Upon arriving at Patti’s, Veronique was in distress over her cat, Chamallow. He had been having difficulty breathing for roughly 24 hours and she was beginning to panic, so she left right away to take him to the vet. We later learned when Vero returned that he had liquid/water in his lungs, but it could be treated with medication.

It was so nice to see Justine after such a long time and to relax with her and Ben after such a long day. Tuesday I was invited to eat dinner at Ben’s parent’s house with Justine and Clio. They prepared a ‘daube’, a beef marinated for 24 hours and then stewed in red wine and vegetables. Justine and Ben had prepared dough to make pasta, and together we used a pasta making device that progressively flattened the dough and then cut it into strips. My first homemade pasta and daube was delicious! I stayed the night and in the morning Ben’s mother baked fresh croissants and pressed fresh orange juice. Wednesday afternoon I spent with Vero at the house, making her tea and watching TV because she wasn’t feeling very well.

Thursday I spent the morning and early afternoon in the centre finishing my Christmas shopping for my French family and returned to help Vero make Blanquette- a creamy stew with veal, carrots, celery, onions, and crème fraiche served over rice- one of my favorite dishes she makes. Patti, her husband Prel, and her kids David and Hugo returned from their skiing trip in the Alps around 9pm.

Christmas Eve day we ate leftovers for lunch, but even eating leftovers is a good, time consuming meal compared to in the U.S. For every lunch and dinner the table is set, and in addition to the main dish there is always salad, cheese, bread, and fruit on the table. I went to the grocery store with Vero and Patti to buy all the food for the main event in the evening, and let me tell you, we bought tons of food. In the afternoon I went into the centre with Patti and Hugo while they finished their Christmas shopping. We met Justine, Prel, David, and Roxanne (Justine’s sister) for 6pm mass in the Cathedral Saint Sauveur, just across the street from my former university. The giant cathedral was packed- imagine standing room only in a huge Gothic cathedral! The service was really nice and in Catholic tradition. It was only my second mass in French and although I’m very happy to have gone for Christmas Eve, something seemed to be missing. One of my favorite parts about going to church on Christmas is the songs/hymns, which were obviously different in France. In addition, it was quite difficult to hear the priest with the packed cathedral and bad acoustics. However, when I lifted my eyes coming out of the Cathedral, it was snowing! How magical for Christmas Eve, especially for the south of France.

After Christmas Eve mass...couldn't capture the snow though

When we got back home, where Veronique had been hard at work preparing the meal. For the aperitif: champagne, mini sandwiches filled with foie gras or guacamole or salmon, warm escargot in a parsley and butter sauce, plain escargot, foie gras, oysters, and salmon with lemon…and that was all just the appetizer! The main meal was a roasted chicken and it’s ‘farce’, and baked sweet potatoes and chestnuts (so good!), followed by salad, bread, and cheese. For dessert: gourmand chocolates from Puyricard, an assortment of dried fruit and nuts, and most importantly- the bouche de Noel (a rolled cake, carefully decorated). All in all, our meal lasted 4-5 hours! By 1:30am I was definitely ready for bed.

Chicken

Sweet Potatoes and Chestnuts

Appetizer- champagne and mini sandwiches

Bouche de Noel, Christmas cake

Leeches and mandarines for dessert

Christmas day all the ‘kids’ left to spend the day with other family. In the evening a few of Patricia’s friends came over. The rest of my time in Aix was laid back and relaxing: going in to town with friends or my French family for shopping or coffee, helping Veronique cook in the kitchen, and reading. Patricia shared an interesting book with me called “Many Lives, Many Masters” by Brian Weiss, about a psychiatrist’s experience with hypnosis and regression in a particular patient who vividly tapped into her previous lives. Whether or not it’s true doesn’t matter I suppose because it was a captivating read that makes me wonder…

I was so sad to leave Aix-en-Provence. It was such a wonderful feeling to feel at home with everyone and to feel like I belonged there. I already am missing Veronique and Patricia, sincerely hoping I am able to go back before my contract finishes in France this spring. 

Cours Mirabeau Christmas Market 

The Rotonde in Aix