Paris and Provence, Day 1: The Train to Aix
We landed at Charles de Gaulle at 7:37 a.m. local time, after an hour’s delay taking off because of some problem with an auxiliary power unit. Somehow we still landed on time. The line for customs was long, so we had breakfast at Paul in the train station around 10. I had a quiche Lorraine, a croissant, and fresh orange juice. Ksenia had two fruit tarts, cherry and apple, plus orange juice. No complaints.
Our train to Aix was the only car without air conditioning. The seats had two numbers apiece, depending on which way the car was facing. Seat 17 became seat 62 when the train changed direction, and the numbers were printed together as “6217.” We eventually sorted it out. Three hours on the hot train and a 20-minute Uber ride later, we reached our Airbnb. It was cute, with odd art on the walls. After nearly 20 hours of travel, all I cared about was a shower.
Dinner was at Les Deux Garçons. Ksenia had orange Fanta, good foie gras, duck magret that was overcooked, and a giant tarte Tatin. We split the appetizer and dessert. My pluma de porc noir aux morilles was excellent: tender, flavorful pork that wasn’t overcooked, a tasty sauce, and both button mushrooms and morels. It was a perfect “Josh” meal. The white Coteaux d’Aix wine was very good too.
Part of our August–September 2019 trip through Provence and Paris. Trip summary.
From the Notebook
