I had a plan. Rail from Bologna to Marseille, pick up a car and drive to Aix. It looked good on paper…until I imagined what was involved. It was ridiculous! What was I thinking? Leave Bologna at 8am, change at Milano Rogoredo, 11 minutes, change Pavia, 10 minutes, change Ventimiglia, 11 minutes, change Nice, 25 minutes arrive Nice 17:05, pick up car before 18:00, arrive Aix city centre hotel by 19:00. And that was if all the trains ran on time.
Change of plan. We decided to rail to Ventimiglia via Milano Central and stay overnight. Much better idea and a lovely train journey along the coast.
Ventimiglia was easy and sometimes ‘easy’ is really appreciated. The hotel was a short walk from the station, there were plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from and generally we felt very comfortable. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, and the spontaneous entertainment provided by the staff and the party goers. It was LOUD…yes I had to shout!
Serendipity was at it again. It just so happens that we had all morning to explore the Ventimiglia Friday markets. These are the largest in Italy and renowned for being really cheap. They are also renowned for knock-offs – Balenciaga bags just €35!! Loads of winter gear. You could easily have a complete wardrobe for less than a €150 – shoes and undies included.
We arrived in Marseille with ample time to pick up our car and because we were familiar with the pick-up location all went well until we drove into peak hour traffic. Well, that was not fun, especially when Google maps kept dropping in and out. We decided to go with the flow, cross fingers traffic is heading north. It was terrifying. Very pleased we took out that extra insurance because bumper to bumper traffic on a Friday evening in Marseille is not just descriptive. Just lucky I guess, but we lost about five minutes from our initial estimate.
Fortunately, just as we were on the outskirts of Marseille, and saw the sign for Aix, Apple CarPlay and Google Maps synced with the car, and we headed for the underground carpark in the city centre. Hotel de France is only metres from Cours Mirabeau and the Rotunda fountain. It was Saturday night. The place was pumping! We had a small backpack each and joined the melee. The following morning, we were able to explore the markets. It was a good start to our fortnight in Provence.