An American in Provence

Marseille and Aix have the kinds of museums that I like- not too big, not too expensive, and with visiting expositions that change every three months or so. I prefer to go every few months, spend an agreeable hour or two max visiting a museum, reading everything there is, and then... leaving.

Not the kind of museum where you go and it is overwhelming but you start reading everything at the beginning but then by the end are fed up and just blow by barely glancing at the small print and then feel guilty about the 15€ you wasted.

No, I much prefer the 2.50-4€ to spend on the "little museums".

This exposition, "Parfums, Une Histoire Naturelle" is in town until the 28th of September. I had never been to the Natural History museum of Aix, so I decided to check it out. It was on the first floor of an old historical building. There were some old containers for perfumes from Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, etc. and they spoke a little about the history of perfume, the different natural ingredients in perfumes, how the scents are extracted, etc. I would like to go visit the French city of Grasse some day, it is between here and Nice. It is a famous town for making perfumes.

It took me about 30 minutes to look at everything, then I went upstairs to the permanent collection, which is mostly fake dinosaur bones eggs, human skeletons, and stuffed wild animals. Overall, interesting, learned a few things, and spent an agreeable hour.