Travel Diary: Aix-en-Provence, France

Happy weekend, ladies! Oohh I am SO excited to finally share this travel diary post with you! One of my absolute favorite stops we made on our Princess Cruise through the Mediterranean Coast was to southern France and the city of Aix-en-Provence, in particular. As y’all know, I’m a big fan of french culture (…and I even got to brush up on my french speaking here!) so visiting this precious, beautiful city made my heart very happy! Not to mention, getting to explore this city with Blake by my side…it was romantic and so much fun. Between strolling through cobblestone streets holding hands (hey, y’all know me…I’m a total sucker for those rom-com-real-life-moments) and eating and drinking our way through the city (the macaroons were out of this world!), we had a magical day in Aix-en-Provence! Read on to hear more about this lovely city and see more photos from our time there…

^^The colors all over this city were sooo pretty and subdued. I loved all of the gorgeous muted pastel combinations throughout town. So charming!

^^According to one of the tour guides on our excursion to Aix-en-Provence (it’s about an hour away from the port where our cruise ship docked for the day), the city is lined with Plane Trees that grow well in Mediterranean climate. They produce leaves in the summer (which helps provide shade), then shed the leaves in the winter to allow sunlight to fill and warm the city. It was neat to learn so much about the city while on the bus, then jump off and explore on our own with those newly learned details in mind.
^^This itty bitty market was set up right in the middle of town and had tons of fresh fruit and local goods, Blake and I perused through it then went on a hunt to find macaroons, ha! 😉
^^Y’all, these macarons were SO GOOD! We stopped into Meresse Macarons and met THE sweetest woman who actually moved to the U.S. for a few years when she was in her 20’s – she was so excited practice her english speaking skills with us. We chatted with her for quite some time and she let us sample a few of her favorites, including (my favorite, too!) the pistachio flavor. The owner of Meresse makes each macaron by hand and you can absolutely taste the difference…they were incredible.
^^You know me, I can’t go a few hours without a cappuccino fix…especially in France! 😉 After visiting the Aix-en-Provence cathedral, we stopped into a coffeehouse for a pick-me-up.
^^Seriously, favorite person (…and goofball) of all time. There’s no one I’d rather have by my side while exploring Europe!
^^Had to snap a photo of this precious couple. I told Blake that will be us one day! 😉
^^Aix-en-Provence was home to the famous painter, Paul Cézanne, so there are restaurants and shops named in his honor all over the city. Though we didn’t have enough time, you can tour his studio, country home and Cézanne museums.
What a treat is was to visit Aix-en-Provence…as soon as we got back on the bus to head back to the ship, I remember telling Blake how magical the day had been…this city has such a beautiful energy about it unlike anything else. Aix is home to a major university, so the streets were often bustling with college students – it was a very lively place! We also had great experiences chatting with shop owners and folks who worked at restaurants, everyone was so friendly and willing to help us navigate the city. I loved that it felt like a “small big city” – because it’s not a tiny place, but the streets felt so quaint and it was easy to find out way around…which was amazing because both Blake and I often consider ourselves directionally challenged, ha!

If you get the chance to visit the southern France, I highly recommend making a day trip to Aix-en-Provence (and if you’re going on a Mediterranean cruise, this is the exact excursion we went on), you will not be disappointed! Princess did a fabulous job offering excursions to this city and both Blake and I are so thankful we chose to spend a full day here, it was bliss!

skirt – LAUREN JAMES  / top – TOPSHOP / handbag – BRAHMIN / shoes – SEYCHELLES / sunglasses – PRADA / belt (vintage) – similar NORDSTROM

A big thank you to Princess Cruises for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.