Bon jour! We started our day very early and again had a lovely room service breakfast. This life on the sea is a amazing…
Our tour group for the day included Pam and Charlie from Rhode Island, Ray and Olga from Vancouver, and Michael and Marita from St. Mary, Florida. Our guide was Franck from France who has been a tour guide for 32 years; he recently spent a week guiding the Wrigley family (Chicago) during Grand Prix. His English was a little hard to understand, but he was very accommodating and has traveled all over the world as a guide.
We met “French Franck” outside the gate and proceeded to drive through this military port town. Our guide Sylvie, from yesterday, said that 60% of France’s military is stationed here in Toulon.
We headed out into the region of Provence. This is serious wine and olive country. Because of the soil and the type of grape grown here, the wine has a higher alcohol content than most. As we drove, we could see two small villages in the distance high on the hills, and would stop at one on our return. After about an hour we reached a high lookout point where we could see Cassis, a small fishing village. Its name comes from the black currant that is grown in the region, and there is a white wine that bears its name as well.
After enjoying the views and taking pictures we drove down the mountain into Cassis where it was market day! I love local markets and this one was French, of course. The market was filled with fruits, vegetables, rotisserie chicken, olives, dried beef, fresh flowers, plants, local craftsman, and clothes. I saw a few French bakeries and took pictures for Sandy. Jeff went inside and ordered a pastry and ate the whole thing without offering me one bite! (from Jeff – in my defense, she was shopping while I ate my SMALL pastry). Safe to say, he loves French pastry! There is a 14th century castle on a hill overlooking the town that is now a hotel. We saw the marina, sandy beach, and walked around the streets and the market before heading to our next stop.
Next stop – Aix-en-Provence. This is a very large, bustling city compared to the rest that we have visited. The main street and promenade is lined with huge sycamore trees (reminds Jeff of growing up, and not a good memory of raking leaves). Over 140,000 people live here. The city dates back to 123 BC and was established by the Romans. During the 12th century it became an artistic center and a seat of learning. In 1501 Louis XII made it the capital of the region of Provence…the small streets off the promenade are lined with many shops and businesses. There are tons of stores that I have never heard of and a few that I recognized – Mac, Bobbi Brown, even GAP!
There was a small market in the square with fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, and lavender.
We walked with Franck to the church – Cathedrale Saint-Sauveur. On the way we passed the Hotel de Ville (town hall) through the arch where American troops, in August of 1944, entered the town 2 months after the Normandy invasion as part of the French liberation. There is a large plaque inside the arch that commemorates the event, and Jeff remembers seeing photographs showing the soldiers in Jeeps rolling through the town.
WE found a great place for lunch – Brasserie de L’horloge. Jeff had steak and FRENCH FRIES and I had salmon. Franck had suggested a delicious French pastry called caissons that were popular in the region, so we made sure to buy some before leaving town.
As we walked back the promenade we met a British man who now lives inn Aix. He walks his 3 dogs everyday and he says they always want to go in the fountain to cool off. All 3 were named after opera singers, so we can’t tell you their names. A young couple from Kenya was there with their young daughter, whose favorite things are dogs, water, and birds – she was delighted to see them all at the fountain!
Jeff’s next car
We met Franck at the Fontaine de la Rotonde (at the entrance to the main promenade) to catch our ride to the next town.
Our last stop was the 14th century medieval village of Le Castellet, a small feudal village perched on a cliff edge overlooking rolling hills filled with vineyards. A lovely village with narrow, cobblestone streets and local artisans with great views of the vineyards and olive groves. We bought earrings in a shop where the girl said the jewelry was made by her 92 year old grandmother who was born and still lived in the village, 2 streets from the shop. Another beautiful spot and another beautiful day!
We travelled back to the ship through the small towns of Beaussette and Ollioules and finally reached the port. We had dinner with our British and Scottish friends; one of the nice things about traveling is meeting some interesting people and getting to know them. After dinner, the show was a singer from Australia who is famous in his country for musical theater. He recently toured with the hit Queen musical “We will Rock You.” After working on pictures and blog until midnight, we finally are going to bed.
Bonne nuit
Footnote: We have experienced internet problems and have not been able to post our blog in a timely manner this time. For those of you who follow us and thought that we had been lost at sea, we are NOT. We apologize for this.