15th November, 2017 Toulon , France and tour to Aix en Provence
/We remained excited following a wonderful day yesterday and then a lovely dinner in the French Restaurant following the usual life and emergency drill.
The weather appears to improve and we wake to a splendid clear blue sky. The ship berths at 10..am and we are cleared to leave the ship in the first group of people ahead of the busloads of the Ship's official excursions.
We have a part of 8 for our excursion from Toulon to Aix en Provence.
But we should comment initially as to Toulon, the former Naval port for the French Navy and it remains an historical port area providing access to some of the famous wine areas. Of course it is still famous for the prominence of lavender and lavender products.
We meet out tour guide Nathalie Smith (nathalie.smith@outlook.com) who turns out to excellent and quite expansive in her commentary and detail. We enter a Mercedes Van which is extremely comfortable and we then embark on 7-8 hours of wonderful activity. The weather is ideal with temperatures rising to 25 degrees Celsius and a light breeze.
We travel the 75 minutes from the beautiful port city of Toulon, with sail boats and yachts bobbing around in the harbour,and make our way to Aix. This turns out to be a most enjoyable drive through country-side which is memorable with undulating hills and beautiful valleys. Toulon can be used as a gateway to explore the Olive groves, the fields of lavender, and wooded hills of Provence to the West. Aix en Provence entices visitors like us with its combination of of a medieval atmosphere, art museums, splendid architecture and so much to see. The city itself has been through a renaissance with much work completed to modernise the shopping and entertainment areas, whilst preserving the beautiful boulevarde and the market places. The old town has been through a remarkable rebirth with many old buildings repaired and restored to their glorious past.
Whilst the rich and famous prefer the upmarket resort town of Saint tropez, the tourists prefer the Aix area. We find a wonderful morning to walk having parked the van then traverse a spectacular boulevard. There is all sorts of classical architecture, many interesting cafes and restaurants, a classical circus venue and the famous rides.
We then walk through the the town to the Cathedral , for which it is world famous. A beautiful Cathedral with fascinating and just another amazing church. From here we walk through the fascinating streets and walkways and admire the beautiful architecture, wrought iron balconies and stunning structures. We eventually come to the famed Provencal Market, which is set up by a variety of storekeepers selling all sorts of fresh foods, lavender, and a range of other items from sausage to breads. It is simply amazing to see the people and the range of fresh quality foods.
Our guide Nathalie then takes us across the square to a shop where we sample superb chocolates and similar sweets and biscuits. The time is passing very quickly and we still have much to see. Aix has been a delight, beautiful weather, wonderful produce, friendly people and so much history as well as recognising that this is a recognised tourist haven.
From here we walk back to the van, discuss lunch requirements which we defer. The short trip up into the mountains and then a superb view over the spectacular area looking down to Cassis. This is the beautiful Calanques National Park, with stunning rural scenery, rough peaks and craggy hills . We come to a superb viewing area have travelled through several hairpin bends. We have the most stunning view over the beach area and playground of Cassis.
Our guide then takes photos of us from this peak and viewing area, just wonderful.
Then we drive back down to the harbour and beach area of Cassis. This is a small coastal abd beach resort area. The harbour and marina is circled by a range of restaurants. There are many small boats offering short cruises ranging from 60-180 minute. We all decide against a boat ride, preferring to see the port and harbour area and then walk to have a sandwich or bagguet and a soft drink. although four of our party find a restaurant with chilled bottles of champagne and a range of french sandwiches. This is just fantastic, sitting in a cool breeze enjoying the beauty of the untouched historical areas of this port.
From here we sit as a group and watch young children playing on the beach, then our driver returns in her van pick us up and we return to Toulon. It has been just a spectacular day in a beautiful part of the world. We have all enjoyed it and the group has got along well
We get back to the ship at 5.50 pm, just ahead of our schedule. We are convinced of the beauty of this area and intend to revisit in the future.
A quick change and long cool shower, we dine in the Grand dining room and our discussions centre upon what has been quite a remarkable day.