Cassis was very
pretty. While still way, way more
touristy than Aix (and I think more than Nice, though Geri disagrees). We found a café right on the harbor for
nibbles and beer. Fabulous old place
well-kept or restored. See the photos of
the bar and the brass beer taps.
See especially the photos
of the pissoir. A great tiled, spotlight
wonderful spot outside the kitchen on the way to the toilet with swinging doors
as in an American saloon.
We had two very long days
there, taking the train to Marseille and changing for Cassis. About 1.5 hours one day and a little over 2
another.
Lovely trains. Annoying most built by Bombardier while the
trains at home are uncomfortable noisey antiques in comparison, much as I love
them.
Highlights of Cassis for
us were a picnic on the beach, a beer in café overlooking the beach and using
our camera. We also did a boat tour of the calanques, kinda like small fjords
along the coast nearby. Nice enough but
our memories of Newfoundland and Labrador are still pretty fresh so there wasn’t
any real wow factor there for us.
Speaking of which, Cassis
did kinda make us think of tropical St. Pierre with a lot more tourism. But underneath the cafes etc I am not certain
it is much prettier. Warmer, for sure
though. 😊
Geri would highly
recommend Cassis to anyone. I’m not
quite so enthused but on a sunny day…or week for that matter…I can see myself
dividing my time between a few cafes, the beach and wandering the back streets
(a very pleasant surprise).
Photos of Cassis and a few
of Marseille and the trips to and from are HERE.
The kindness of strangers. Geri in a bit of difficulty
when we got to the stop for the bus to the Cassis rail station after our first
day there. Another bus was at the stop and the driver I chatted with about the
rail station bus schedule (45 minutes to wait) was on his break. He watched me try to get a taxi. When either
his departure time came up and he had no passengers or because he had enough
time before his departure time (he wouldn't be specific) he urged us to get on
his bus and took us straight to the station. No charge he said because he couldn't charge for rides not on his route. Nicer than nice. Also kinda fun to be chauffeured around as
the only passengers on a city bus. 😊
We try to check in at our
bar, the PTT, at least every second day.
With about a week left here we are treated if not like regulars at least
like regular tourists. Didn’t take long
for things to get back to the way they were we were last left here after a couple
of weeks. Last night we, after getting
back from Cassis, paid our tab, drank up and made a move to leave when we were
handed two drinks on the house and more nibbles in an effort to get us to stay.
I want to live here.
We are off to Budapest on
Thursday. Well, the Marseille airport
Comfort Inn on Thursday. Budapest early
Friday morning via the Munich Lufthansa business class lounge. 😊
I am hoping to get in a
day in Marseille if the weather, currently raining on and off, gets a bit
better but if that doesn’t happen there will no news until Budapest. Which I think is at UTC+7 (we’re at +6 now)
so apologies for the increasingly disjointed Facebook and e-mail conversations.
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