Discovering the Coast of France

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Just a quick recap of last night… we went back to the Restaurant de Pins, the same one from the first night, which seems to be Eddy and Pascale’s favorite. I thought I was being safe when having ordered a cream pizza with ham and bacon, but once I cut into I realized that their  “white” pizzas were made with some kind of gross cheese. I don’t know what it was, but I definitely could have avoided this if only I had not waved off Pascale and said that I knew that it was the “white” pizza. I am sure she was trying to tell me about the gross cheese… ***It was goat cheese. Will definitely note to avoid that in the future....*** But oh well. The pizza was quite good after I scraped off the cheese underneath! And the crust was just simply delicious. I also got to try a lot of different types of seafood, because Eddy and Pascale had gotten this HUGE seafood dish. So I got to try one of everything that didn’t have eyes (now those, I refused) and I figured out I like clams. Or at least the type they serve in Southern France… So now, I think we may go back Thursday night because it is all you can eat clams night. YUM! After dinner, we went through Martigues on a night drive to see all of the pretty lights, and even though it was 11 PM it was still a bustling little town.  I simply think that any town in Europe is the town that never sleeps.

I am at the end of what I actually think has been the best day in France yet. We woke up at the reasonable time of 8:30 (of course, I had to be woken up…) got ready, and immediately went on the boat as planned. But, for whatever reason, once we got to Allen’s boat and knocked on the… boat, I guess, he was nowhere to be found. After searching for him for a bit and calling his cell phone, we gave up the search and went on our way. So, no secret area, but I didn’t mind! We travelled along the coast for what seemed like FOREVER (probably a good hour and a half) and then we got closer to the coast, which revealed a little brake in the rocks. On either side of you, there were these huge, but gorgeous rocks and on the left, there was even a little building with a cross near it and a restaurant. After seeing this, I got excited for what was to come. We travelled for probably about another half hour along similar rocks, some very high with houses hanging off the side,  and the view was spectacular. It was also nice because it was something new to see, because there definitely wasn’t road access to what we were seeing. Eddy finally reached our destination after a while. It was the beautiful little cove, with lots of buoys to hook your boats up too. There were so many sailboats there it was crazy, in our speed boat I felt like a minority.

Kinda bad quality, but gorgeous!

Please excuse the fishing pole that is in the way...

I was in love with the cross. It was just nice suprise in the middle of nowhere!

Our cove we stayed in!

So we spent the majority of the day in the cove, which I definitely did not mind. First, I went to the front of the boat again to tan (this time thankfully with sun screen), read, and just simply relax. It was absolutely perfect. Not only did I have the entertainment of my book, but there was also a lot of people watching going on. The cove we were in, of course, was surrounded by pretty tall cliffs. But everywhere, there was people climbing up onto the cliffs and jumping off. A large part of me really wanted to do it, but I knew I couldn’t stand to do it by myself, so I just enjoyed watching other people jump off instead. It made me want my family to be with me, because I knew I could probably persuade my dad, Bolton, and possibly even Erin to do it with me. But then again, Mum, who hates heights, probably would have stopped us anyhow. Or she would have been yelling at us to be careful the whole time anyhow…

One of the coves... If you look really closely, towards the middle you can see some kids jumping off of the cliffs!

The coves were gorgeous!

The rock that is sticking up on the right is called by the locals God's thumb:)

LOVE!

After having lunch and doing lots of relaxing, we headed back because it was actually a pretty long journey back to the canal that our port is at. We did, however, go a bit slower this time and even went closer to the coastline, which I was happy about because it meant that I could even better see the sights and that the ride would be less bumpy (I easily get motion sickness, and I keep forgetting to bring my medicine with me…) So on the way back, we saw the city of Marseilles, which was definitely way bigger than the quaint little Martigues near us, as well as any other cool parts of the cliffs and the crazy houses on them. But my favorite thing we saw is the actually prison, on an island just of the city of Marseilles, where the Count of Monte Cristo was held. Now, having avidly watched the movie a number of times, I was delighted to see this prison. But the thing is, until now I didn’t even know that the Count of Monte Cristo even existed. Well, I am still not 100% sure, but the way Eddy was talking about it it seemed to be real. And also, the prison didn’t really look like the prison that was used in the movie, so I guess it must be real! You learn something new everyday…. ***Okay, well I know feel extremely stupid, but I know that the fictional story was just set at Chateau d’If, which is what I saw***

Marseille, the 3rd Biggest City in France

Close-up!

Chateau d'If

Crazy houses on the side of the cliff...

Just one piece of France's endless beauty

In France, I have tasted, seen, and experienced many new and different things. I’ve swam in the Mediterranean Sea.  I’ve tasted all sorts of sea food that I have never tried before. I have learned more about the flora of Southern France than I think the locals even know. I have learned a bit more French (but hey, it is holiday!). I have experienced European swimwear (and unfortunately nudity at a far distance…).  I am finally getting a decent tan. I’ve learned about driving a speed boat in the ocean. I’ve seen the prison of the Count of Monte Cristo and learned that his story is, at least, partially real. I have experienced Belgian cuisine. I have seen many Southern France coastal towns. I have fallen in love with the whole atmosphere of the world around the Mediterranean Ocean. I have been reminded exactly why it is that my mom always tells me to put sunscreen on.  I have gone to a French bakery and thoroughly enjoyed their croissants.  I have been to a European supermarket and seen what they have to offer. I have eaten more fresh baguettes than I thought ever would. I have slept, and hopefully soon, will sail on an actual sailboat. I have learned that American toiletries are better than Europeans. I have had it be sunny ever day for almost a week. I’ve been the minority among a lot of French speaking people. And yet, even after all of this, a part of me still misses home. I’m not crazy, am I?