5-28-10 Rousset to Aix en Provence day 54

5-28-10 Rousset to Aix en Provence day 54

usually in france i've had to pay the night before but not this time... so I went to pay and I was suppose to get 15 euro change back but she made it seem like she did not have the change to give... now in asia, I am used to playing the change game.. you want to buy something but then they cant break the change... it is sometimes genuine but sometimes it seemed like they might try to get more for an item if they cant give you the change... here again I was not sure.. I noticed I definitely needed to count my change here when I got it..... I dug in my pockets and was able to scrounge together the right amt but I left that hotel wondering if she really was sincere or if it had been an attempt to get more money..for, she certainly was not willing to take the loss on her side..not knowing if I was going to find any food or water until I got to the next town, I fully expected to walk two hours before breakfast...but I found right at the edge of town this small cafe that seemed to be preparing for lunch take away foods, they had both coffee and food! and i did not have to go to the McDonalds i had spotted first..so I got food and drink before I had to do any serious walking..i think after the last few days I just expected few opportunities to get provisions...today would be and ironic reversal... there seemed to be plenty of places for pit stops along the way... I had gotten oriented as I left.. and found the highway D 6, that the english lady had recommended, she had said it had a bike lane.. but what I had not realized it was completely separate from the main road and ran parallel to it, meaning I was out of the way of traffic more than usual..which made me happy... this was true until I hit the town La Barque, then the road narrowed again...i should mention too, this man had stopped and twice insisted on giving me a lift, today i felt strong enough in walking i really did not need it and also not knowing him, his insistence seemed a bit of a red flag. I got another sandwich in La Barque to take away.. again just in case there was nothing else... for a short stretch there was no curb at all and I could tell my frustration and fear kicking up and my mood shifting..but luckily it was for only half hour then the road both widened again and the traffic decreased... over all, the landscape was similar to the last day ...lots of flat green farm country with a bit of a green hill ridge in the back drop...there was an area after La Braque, I think where there was a section of grey rock formations that were interesting..my feet still a bit sore where still doing better than they had the few days ago... and I knew that it would be a slightly shorter walking day... now being leery of lack of lodging, I decided I should definitely stay in Aix en Provence... it took another hour or so from the town line to get into the city proper, and once inside I had to still ask directions since it was large enough I could not get my barrings right away... fountains seemed to mark the major landmarks here...

I found the tourist office and asked for lodging options... I got a very cheap hotel room at the north edge of the inner city, I had also tried to get some idea about the following day, to see where would be good towns to stop for the night for lodging but this the woman could not help me with that, meaning it would be a guessing game... the man at the hotel, was a bit grumpy but he spoke perfect english. I got a small room...no tv but bathroom inside and one hour of wifi... then out again.. I had seen a Spar supermarket I wanted to go to ..along the way I found a mountain climbing store with hiking and camping gear, it was small and a bit expensive, but I do not see these types of shops very often.. unfortunately the woman had nothing to repair my tent with...but I got another pair of light hiking socks and another attempt at foot inserts...these for specifically designed for hiking boots so I got them... money not withstanding.. as much as I am tempted to buy new boots.. the idea of going through the process of breaking in another pair of boots midway and if there is problems with them too, I just did not want to go through a potentially costly bad experiment... then I went to Spar and got cheap ingredients for a room dinner... I did the usual routine, update photos and journal, laundry, mantras and bed...the window to the room seemed to lead into an alley with close neighbors..it amplified all the sound around...so I could hear clearly soft conversations on phones, tvs and apparently love making with a french sound to it... I realized I was giggling probably too loudly and closed the window after that... it would be one of those toss and turn and frequent wake up nights.. not sure again why...