We left St. Remy at about 11:30 and headed south to Aix. Tania said it would take 30 minutes, but it took us about 60, with only one wrong turn. We called Paul from the exit and he met us and we followed him to his home. Good thing because we never would have found it on our own! Up a long gravel road to their home. It's pretty incredible. Completely remodeled (we saw before photos). Beautiful, decorated in the Provence style. See attached photos of the group and of the lunch table. They have a dog (that somehow came with the place) named "Bob". They assured us that they did not name him. He only eats people food, and I should say French people food....cheeses, meats etc. We have a tour of the house and sit down for lunch. Livio is there too. He has lived in Aix since his heart transplant exactly two years ago and is doing OK...he seemed a bit depressed, unsure of what he can do now with his life and medical training. He cannot practice pediatrics because of all the infections that could put him at risk. Not sure what his plans are. We saw photos of Phillipe's three children. He bought a "castle" in St. Emillion and has just bottled his first harvest. Marc volunteered to be a taster.
We start lunch with an anise drink and some olive spreads (Emily is very happy, Marc and I are polite). Then we have a lentil salad and then a wonderful eggplant with tomatoes and cheese. This is followed by pork and beef brochettes that Livio grills on the built in BBQ/hearth in the back. Yummy green beans that Sarah has two servings of. We are again polite and "Bob" eats more than all of us! This is a lot of food for all of us! For dessert we brought a chocolate tart we picked up in town, unwilling to come empty handed but unsuccessful at finding flowers anywhere and we couldn't bring coals (I mean wine) to Newcastle (to the Cohens in Aix). We also have berries and grapes (that are growing above us) with mint and balsalmic vinegar. We taste fresh figs from their trees and make a get away at about 3:30, later than we want but it's difficult to get away....they seem good, but certainly a calmness that I don't remember. Paul tells some good tales of time with Bop and Gok in Paris and we catch everyone up to date with Palo Alto. Maybe we will see them next June when we are in Tuscany...Aix is about 3 hours away. Driving for us is nothing, we are pros as it turns out. Especially after we figure out the gear shift and the navigation system (which we never really did, but we did get the french voice instructions to stop!).

We hit the road and get on the right road north thanks to Paul's help and head up to Lyon. There is actually a lot of traffic (makes LA look tame) so it takes us about one hour longer than we expect. We stop once for diesel at a gas station north of Valence, about 2/3 the way there. There is a mini mart there and the difference between here and the US is that inside people are not just getting coffee (espresso actually) from the machines, but they are sitting down to take them. No cup holders in these French cars.

We find our way to the Lyon Airport (second largest in France next to Paris) and the hotel is actually IN the terminal...what a great concept. It will make tomorrow morning easier. Marc goes to return the rental car and we figure we will have dinner here tonight. The Sofitel is supposed to have a good restaurant.

Flight tomorrow at 9:30 to Venice.