Monday started bright and sunny as we walked to where we got our bus to Aix en Provence. Good thing we had purchased our tickets earlier because the bus was pretty much sold out. It took the usual three hours to get to Aix and we were glad we left that drive to the bus driver. In Aix we were afraid we'd have lots of time to kill dragging our luggage, but we got in at 12:30 and found the Flunch (a chain of restaurants), an inexpensive place to get lunch with lots of room for our bags.

After lunch we walked down to the Auto Europe rental car office, but it wasn't where it was ploted on the map. The Avenue Victor Hugo took a large turn and at the end of it was the old train station. The address we were looking for was just across from the station, but was actually a Hertz office. It turned out that Hertz took care of Auto Europe clients in Aix, so we got a silver Toyota Prius and hit the road (quietly).

I was afraid we would have trouble getting out of Aix, but the onboard naviation system provided a map to route N7, and with only a minor problem we were able to take that highway to Senas. From there we followed D72 to D17 which went to Fontvieille our goal. At this point we had no idea how to set our destination, but even without that information, the navigation system had performed well for us.

We had decided to stay in Fontvieille because it was close to both Les Baux de Provence and Arles, our two goals for this part of the trip. In addition, just outside Fontvieille there is a famous windmill, the Moulin de Daudet, as well as the remains of a Roman aqueduct.

Just after we got on D17 I spotted a tower (tour lex Opiès)on top of a mountain.

In addition to the central location of Fontvieille, we found a very nice inn, La Ripaille, located in the country near Fontvieille. We felt it would be quiet and a nice break from traveling. As you can see it was a wonderful place to use as a base camp for this area.

Since it was Monday, the two restaurants we had hoped to eat at were closed. We ended up driving to a nearby town that had a sandwich shop where we got a light supper.

One of the great advantages about staying in the countryside was that outside of our hotel window we spotted Magpies and Great Tits. They were all around the bushes. The Great Tits were a special treat since we had seen one of these chick-a-dees on steroids at our pond last April. It was rumored to be one of a number of escapees from a bird wholesaler in Chicago. Right now they are rare here, but they seem to be breeding and spreading.

Before retiring to our very comfortable room, we went to see the Moulin de Daudet.