We left St Remy early so that we could get to Cassis in
good time for a tour of the Calanques and lunch before our long drive to Nice.
Cassis was recommended to us by a gorgeous French
waitress we met in the Blue Mountains at Easter. She said it was a beautiful seaside town on the
Mediterranean that not many tourists visited, but many French people do, and there
were many very good restaurants there as well. These were enough recommendations to encourage
us to go. What she didn’t mention, or maybe she did and we didn’t recall, was the
incredible and spectacular “calanques” which are the Mediterranean “fjords” –
stark cliffs rising 150 metres out of the clear blue sea (& used by world
class rock climbers for training), some with small beaches, some with caves and
blowholes, fishing boats, kayaks and yachts.
The cliffs are limestone and for many years the stone was
quarried and transported straight onto the ships and taken all over the world. The
Statue of Liberty’s base is made from Cassis limestone. The stone had been cut
on slanting slopes so the stone could be rolled easily onto the ships. We took
a 60 minute boat trip that went into five of the calanques. The crew on our
boat were very friendly, making lots of jokes, particularly at the expense on the
Australians, which everyone thought was hilarious. It was a lot of fun, and the
calanques were spectacular.
The Mediterranean sea was at its most seductive under a
blue sky (6weeks of warm blue skies) – the wake of the boat looking like warm black
rolling velvet whispering to us to take a dive. But we resisted. After the boat
trip we found a waterside restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal of fish soup,
fried whitebait and poached cod. We were served by the loveliest young
waitress. The four of really enjoyed our time in Cassis.
We went back to the car and Michael drove us all to Nice –
about two and a half hours along the motorway, and arriving in Nice at peak
hour. This was a mighty effort, as the drivers on the motorway chop and change
lanes, cutting in and crossing over. He has been fantastic, chauffeuring Karol,
Dick and me all around Provence, remaining calm and patient at all times. It
would have been impossible to get to all the wonderful places we did in Provence
without a car and a great driver. Thank you, Michael.
When I made the booking for our hotel in Nice, extra
charges were made to my credit card. When it was queried the hotel was very
apologetic and promised us an upgrade. We are on the top floor, on a corner,
with a return balcony, overlooking the main street leading to the beach. The staff
have been very attentive!
After dinner we went for a stroll with Karol and Michael
on our last night together to the seashore and stuck our feet into the warm Mediterranean
but the walk across the stone beach was difficult, painful even and not as
lovely as we expected. C’est La Vie.
We made our good byes to Michael and Karol – they are at
the start of their European odyssey, leaving tomorrow for Italy, Germany, Prague
and beyond, and we are at the end, leaving on Friday for home. It has been
great to share our time in France with them and we bid them “Bon Voyage”.
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