Aix marks the spot

This is the Cours Mirabeau, the main street in Aix-en-Provence.  I spent last weekend in Aix, which was only a 30 minute bus ride from Salon. I decided to take my first real couchsurfing experience with an English assistant from Ireland and her roommates. They were real hippies, and they were a lot of fun to stay with. Since they were working most of the weekend, they were not able to show me around or anything, but they gave me a key to the apartment and I was able to come and go as I pleased.

The first night I was there, I was waiting at a bus stop when I made a friend.  We had both missed our buses and because my accent always seems to attract attention (although the other day someone told me that it was only a small accent), we started talking.  I asked him what there was to see in the city, and he offered to give me a tour.  The fear on my face when he said this was obvious...casual chatting with someone at the bus stop is one thing --going somewhere with someone you just met at the bus stop is another.  He saw my reaction and said, "Don't worry! I don't like girls!"  He really did seem trustworthy, and I ended up accepting his offer.  He was the nicest man.  A middle aged Spanish university professor.  He gave me about an hour long tour of the centre ville--by lots of interesting buildings and fountains.  He was able to tell me about which kings and queens visited which buildings and a lot of specifics about architectural details.  A lot of the buildings have little nooks in the corners with saints inside, and he told me that this is because people though they were protected as long as they were within sight of a saint statue.  The whole tour from a native of the city got me thinking about how you can visit a city and leave without actually learning that much about the city or the people.   I am going to make it a goal to immerse myself in cultures more and to mingle with natives more when I visit cities.  

Speaking of staying with natives, I now I have native friends to stay with in Budapest, London, and Istanbul.  I went back to visit Christine at voluntary work camp today in Miramas.  I was not able to stay very long because I had to get a bus back, but I got to see my friends there again, and we exchanged email addresses and will hopefully be able to keep in touch.  

Things at home are bad, but I am leaving in 8 days!  I started packing today!