The trip from Florence to Aix-en-Provence was A-MAZING. The Mediterranean coast is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately I didn't snap any pictures of the train ride, which I really regret. I'd love to do that trip again. It definitely was not short. We started in Florence, then changed trains in Milan and Cannes before arriving in A-e-P, around 12 hours later.
Getting to A-e-P from the train station was a little confusing. Not many signs, but we finally just followed the small crowd to a bus that dropped us off in the town center. Our hotel, Hotel Artea, was nice. It was on Boulevard République only a block or two down from La Rotonde. Very affordable, nothing fancy schmancy, but our room was huge!
Since we got in a bit on the late side, we ate at a bar/cafe just down the block from our hotel. They had a couple of glasses of Kriek and THE MOST delicious croque-madames everrrrrr. I tried ordering them at a few other places in a few different cities, and nothing touched this tiny bar's. Of course, I didn't get a picture of it....I know, I started slacking. Here's a good recipe from Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book:
- 8 slices white or whole-wheat sourdough bread
- 8 ounces Gruyère cheese, sliced into 24-32 1/16-inch-thick slices
- 12 ounces smoked ham, such as Black Forest, sliced into 12-16 1/16-inch-thick slices
- 4 extra-large eggs
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Fleur de sel or kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
To assemble the sandwiches:
Set half of the slices of bread buttered side down, and cover them with the cheese slices, folding them back in toward the middle if they extend past the edges of the bread. Place 3 or 4 slices of the ham in an even layer over the cheese, and place the top slice of bread over the ham, buttered side up.
Set half of the slices of bread buttered side down, and cover them with the cheese slices, folding them back in toward the middle if they extend past the edges of the bread. Place 3 or 4 slices of the ham in an even layer over the cheese, and place the top slice of bread over the ham, buttered side up.
Grill the sandwiches in a two-sided grill or on a heavy-bottomed pan, using clarified butter and turning once. Place on serving plates.
To fry the eggs:
Crack two eggs into two separate bowls to check that the yolks aren’t broken. In 2 6-inch non-stick skillets, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble. Pour 1 egg into each pan, being careful not to break the yolks. Add a teaspoon of water to each pan, sprinkle the eggs with fleur de sel, and cover the pans with lids. Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes for a soft-cooked egg and 5-6 minutes if you like your eggs firm. Wipe out the skillets, and fry the other 2 eggs in the remaining butter in the same manner. Center a fried egg over each of the grilled sandwiches and sprinkle with pepper.
Crack two eggs into two separate bowls to check that the yolks aren’t broken. In 2 6-inch non-stick skillets, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble. Pour 1 egg into each pan, being careful not to break the yolks. Add a teaspoon of water to each pan, sprinkle the eggs with fleur de sel, and cover the pans with lids. Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes for a soft-cooked egg and 5-6 minutes if you like your eggs firm. Wipe out the skillets, and fry the other 2 eggs in the remaining butter in the same manner. Center a fried egg over each of the grilled sandwiches and sprinkle with pepper.
We woke up the next morning, and headed to a little street cart for crêpes. Dear god...they were absolutely fantastic, so good that I had them again lunch. My favorite crêpe was the crêpe complet: egg, cheese, and ham. My mom's was crêpe au sucre: crêpe with granulated sugar. We also stopped and got a baguette. I don't think the Adkins diet exists in Europe....
A-e-P is very very walkable, so we spent the rest of our day exploring the city. It was a little rainy and brisk (to put it nicely), but all the more excuse to stop in at all the little shops. If I'm ever able to go back, I'd love to go during spring or summer to visit the lavender fields.
These little Cezanne tiles were all over the streets. I think they lead to the museum or some kind of path.
About 91 F
We made a stop at Les Deux Garcons for a couple of drinks on our way to the grocery store. Pretty expensive (a tourist trap, I'm sure), but the the decor is cool, and it was fun to go to a place that's been open since 1792. For dinner we decided to go to Monoprix to pick up some cheese for dinner. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I love cheese. Monoprix was a lot of fun to explore; it had everything from food to clothes to housewares to cosmetics to sporting goods. The rest of our night was spending warming up and watching the French versions of "Deal or No Deal" and "Wheel of Fortune." So weird how different they were!
The next morning, we woke up early and tried to go have those heavenly croque madames before we left for Paris, but the bar was out of eggs. It was very upsetting. I have to say that it was really nice to spend some time in a small town before heading off the Paris. After a couple of days though, I was ready to hop back on a train and keep on going.
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