On our way to Marseille today, we stopped in Cassis, a most charming town. It is a lovely port city, which has the advantage of a shallow harbor, thus avoiding the blight of the merely big yachts and the obscene mega-yachts. Unlike St. Tropez, Cassis offers a real view of the harbor when dining at the port.
It is small and not too tourist-centered, though we suspect being here on a Wednesday in April made our experience even more positive.
We took a boat ride out into the harbor to see some of their famous calanques, which are sheltered inlets that appear like little surprises in the massive rocks that surround the port. Near the first, Port Miou, was a now-dormant quarry which was the source of the rocks forming the plinth for the Statue of Liberty!
The other calanques we saw were equally hidden and delightful. The water was amazingly clear, and we were able to see the sea bass swimming below us – what the French call loup de mer. What a sweet little part of paradise.
Part of any decent paradise is good food, of course. We found our share on the port where Don dove into marmite de pecheurs, a version of bouillabaisse available for one. He adored it and I admired it.
We are now in Marseille, where adventures await.
Every time I want to take a break from Seattle (sunny as it is!), I just pop onto your blog. Ahh.
We saw a cloud yesterday and panicked, but it disappeared shortly. Relief!
Don, you are looking very french!
Especially when he frowns at the wine.
Another sunny day in paradise.
That’s our morning mantra.