More rain in Aix

Eli got to ride on a train today, although it was just the petit train touristique. He, Jenafer, Marty, and Nano rode the full circuit, which included not only many of the streets of old Aix that we have been walking, but a ride up to Cézanne's studio.

For lunch, the four of them went to an Italian restaurant on the Cours Mirabeau. Eli did not like gnocchi, although it's unclear whether that was because of the sauce or the gnocchi itself. We will report more on this story as it develops.

Some of you may be wondering why I write so much about food. Well, in part it's because we are eating better than you are. That's not a taunt or boast; it's just the truth. We did not study the First Amendment in my Constitutional Law class, but I'm pretty sure it says you have the right to say anything you want as long as it's true. If you try to stop me, then that's called prior restraint, which means that whichever of us is the first to force the other person into one of the prescribed positions then has the right to force the other person to say "Uncle" or any other word the victor chooses. We alternate specifying the time, place, and manner of the contest. In the landmark case New York Times v. Sullivan, an Irishman named Sullivan was foolish enough to challenge the New York Times newspaper to such a contest and received such a drubbing at the hands of the Old Gray Lady that the Supreme Court declared newspapers can print whatever they want. 376 U.S. 254 (1964). Or something like that. Actual con law scholars should feel free to write in.

But the main reason is that my mom probably appreciates it. Mary and I went to Europe in the summers of 1999 and 2000. After the 1999 trip, Mom wanted to know about all the good things we had eaten. So in 2000 we kept a journal that focused mainly on food. (Mary's a nutritionist now--see the connection?)

In that vein, for dinner we had chicken cordon bleu, gratin dauphinois, and green beans with shallots. The first two we picked up premade from a boucherie-charcuterie (butcher-delicatessen); the third Ally made. Eli had some of the vegetables and another one of his meat-substitute patties. (We weren't sure how nutritious the cordon bleu would be.)

Here we are on our way to go shopping. That building behind is the Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs des Carmes, right on the end of our street. The Penitents were kicked out during the Revolution and it eventually became an art school. Since 1951, it's been an empty building. It is currently being rehabilitated for use as a multifunction performance and exhibition space.