The bus ride was rough. I don't know who teaches these guys how to drive but they take curves so tight and gun it when we're on a straight road whether we're going uphill or downhill. Most of us were feeling nauseated from the ride, mostly because we were hungover, but also because there was no air on the bus. Molly, Lydia, and one of the guys had to move to the front of the bus because they had motion sickness. About 200 yards from our destination Lydia grabs Lauren and motions that she needs to puke. Lauren immediately tells Vivienne and the bus driver stops. Once the doors open Lydia runs out and projectile vomits [Sorry Lyds!!! I accidentally looked!] It was such an emergency that she didn't even bother to hide it. While she's getting sick, Vivienne turns to all of us and asks if we want to walk the rest of the way or have her get back on the bus. Lauren immediately volunteers us to walk because she's not feeling well either, the rest of us concur, and off the bus we went.
We walk the 200 yards to the French Foreign Legion. The station is pretty nice and scenic with lots of grape fields/mini-vineyards. We checked out the museum which displays all of the past uniforms by years and areas where worn. There's also a shop and bar which we didn't take advantage of. After we saw some animals, we got back on the bus to headed back toward Aix. We got off the bus at our next stop. All we saw was a building situated right in front of Mont Saint Victoire. When we stepped off the bus I felt like we were on a movie set because of how perfect the mountain backdrop was. Just looking in front of you, you would see a huge, rugged, white mountain with parasailers floating all around. It was breath-taking...
We walked into the building with the intention of walking into watch a film, but it wasn't working so we took a tour of the museum and property. This is where we saw the fossilized eggs of Gigantosaurus (sp?) We left the property to go on a short hike and headed back toward the entrance to get on the next bus home. We were all traumatized from the bus rides so it was a lax night for us.
SATURDAY MORNING...We all got up early to go to the market to make a buffet style lunch for everyone. Krystle had had the brilliant idea of going to an island off of Marseille called Frioul. It was originally only me, Dana, and Krystle but I decided that more would be merrier so I invited the rest of my girls.
We took a bus to Marseille that morning before getting on a ferry to the islands.
We passed by Chateau d'If which popular due to its reference in The Count of Monte Cristo.
When we got to Frioul, we were all in shock. It was SO BEAUTIFUL!!! You always see scenery like this in movies but you never actually think that you'll see them with your own eyes. It was so surreal!!!
After some hardcore scouting, we stopped at a private cove and got in the water. The girls swam out to a rock in the middle but I wasn't so sure about myself so I stopped when the water got too deep and turned back around. The girls swam back a few minutes later and we broke out the food and wine. We spent the rest of the day bathing in the sun, drinking wine, and indulging in some delicious cheeses. We left the island before dark. By the time we got back to Aix, we were so drained from the heat that we stayed in for the night--even on a Saturday...
SUNDAY was a big day for the Aixois. It was the annual mass garage sale. There was so much junk there and it was on the street that Yann lives on so all I had to do was walk outside and I was there. I met the girls there of course and we walked up and down Cours Sextius together. I'm not much of a shopper so I grabbed Danielle's Canon and started shooting some pics. After about 3 hours of browsing, I got tired so I went home to prepare to meet the next family looking for an au pair. I was with the family for all of 10 minutes before I told them definitively "NO." The kids were biting each other and hitting their parents...Not my gig and they definitely couldn't pay me enough to deal with that.
Sunday evening was also relaxed. Kami, Danielle, and I had dinner together while the rest of the girls used their Groupon at Patacrepe. Kami made spaghetti with goat cheese and spices, Danielle made this delicious salad that was inspired by Krystle's German ex's grandmother, and I pan-fried the chicken tenderloins.
After dinner, I skyped with another potential au pair family--The Loyers. The mom is a D.O. while the dad does international business and is never home. The family consists of 3 well-behaved girls aged 5, 7, and 11. They live just 15 minutes from Aix so I'm seriously considering this family even though I already said yes to the Philizor family...
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