La Famille en France

Roussillon, France

I was lucky enough to have my family visit France over Thanksgiving break. My mom, brother (Andrew) and friends (Kevin & Bill) arrived on Sunday November 21st a few hours before I finished my Art History trip in Paris. They stayed in a small hotel on the main street in Aix, Cours Mirabeau. Their room was spacious and was in the perfect location.

Andrew, Kevin, Mom, Bill in Aix

I tried my best to be a good and helpful tour guide. Having people visit me really made me realize how acclimated I was to Aix. I knew good restaurants, the fastest walking routes and how to communicate with different venders. It was a great feeling to realize that I was accomplishing what I had come to France to do: become accustomed to living in a European country for four months.

mom in Cassis, France

The first day I took the group to see the various famous fountains in Aix. We walked around the Christmas markets on Cours Mirabeau and they shopped for various presents for the holiday season. We went on a day trip to Cassis with a family friend from home who now lives in Aix. He is an antique dealer and has lived in the countryside in Aix-en-Provence for over 30 years. He actually attended IAU in the 80's when he met his future French wife. In Cassis my family and I walked around the different shops and Le Mistral (the wind in France) made the temperature so cold. It was weird to be on the beach in November. We all sat and ordered Cafe au Lait and went to a very good French and Mediterranean Restaurant afterwards.

The next day we took a guided tour of the villages of Vaucluse. We visited Lourmarin, Lacoste, Gordes, Roussillon and a few other villages. My favorite stop was Roussillon. It was a village on top of a deposit of red rocks and has a beautiful 'Maison Commune' on the top of a mountain. In Gordes we had a really nice lunch. Bill ordered the wild boar, and Andrew and Mom split a rabbit. Very French.

Chapel at Roussillon 

Bill picked out some great restaurants that were suggested by the Frommer's guide to France. It was nice to eat in restaurants for once, because I had eaten most of my meals at home with my host mom. I took Andrew to get his first Nutella crepe and we got to see the seventh Harry Potter movie with my friends. I loved getting to shop around the markets and enjoy Cafe au Lait with my family.

lavender (out of season)

For Thanksgiving Dinner, my family met up with Kathleen and her father to celebrate the typical American tradition. David joined us as well. We went to this great little French restaurant. Everyone ordered a different entrees ranging from lamb to duck. It was fun to all sit around a big table and tell different stories. Though it was different, I do not think I would have spent this Thanksgiving any other way.

I hope my family enjoyed coming to visit Aix-en-Provence! We got to see a lot of Southern France, and had a really nice time shopping in various stores and walking around different villages. Even after they left, Kathleen's father stayed an extra few days, and invited David and I to dinner. It was nice to get to know Kathleen's father in this cute restaurant called 'Chez Maxime.' He also invited us on their trip to Nimes and Orange. The four of us toured the best preserved Roman ampitheatre in the world. It was fun walking up and down all the steps and it even began to snow at one point. I loved being surrounded by family and friends for the American holiday in France... it felt like I was back at home.

Nimes, France

Ampitheatre in Orange, France in the snow