Cassis

After leaving Arles we wound our way through the French Provencal countryside to Cassis. It is a beach town on the Mediterranean which is famous for the Calanques nearby. They are kind of like French fjords which you can only access by water or hiking in from inland.

Kurtis's artistic 360 shot of our apartment.

We have rented a small apartment on the 3rd floor of a small apartment building on the Rue Marie Therese.There is no vehicles on the streets many little cafes and shop interspersed throughtout the little lanes. Truly no place like this in Canada. There is a gelato spot 2 steps outside our door and an amazing restaurant 2 steps from that. On the next lane over is the port with all of the activity of fisherman, restaurants, tourist shops, hotels and general people zoo. It was a bit of excitement to find this place which involved 3 priests, 2 frenchmen, 1 chambermaid and a lot of prayer to finally park the car somewhere safe and gather ourselves together. I'm not sure we are ready for that story to be funny yet. Use your imagination.
On Tuesday we chose to drive to a place called Tour de Fondue and board a ferry to the Iles de La Poquerolles. It promised white sand beaches and warmer water than is here in Cassis. Marvelous recommendation. It was a relaxing day for me to swim and lay on the beach. Kelvin and the boys took turns touring around the island on bikes.

We were completely exhausted when we finally got back to Cassis so we bought some premade Croque de Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) and ate them at the apartment. As in the french tradition it was 9 pm by the time we ate supper.

Wednesday we rented 4 kayaks to go exploring the Calanques. Again magnificent. I am sure these pictures will not come close to explaining the blue of this water, the white of the cliffs and the marvelous heat. There are about 7 Calanques in the area. We explored 3 of them and spent most of the afternoon at the beach at the far end of the 2nd one we entered. What was a bit of work to get there was worth every second when we were there. Kurtis, Troy and I spent most of the afternoon in the water. They climbed up the cliffs and jumped. I lounged in the water and took pictures. Tough day.

We are finally back at the apartment with enough time to relax today, so everyone is having a snooze. I probably should be too but it is great to get down some of our events so I don't forget.

My friend Tensy has completed abandoned our family but Joy is shining brighter everyday

Wedding

July 2 & 3 we spent with the Estienne family celebrating Jon and Justine's wedding. It was amazing and tres magnifique. Saturday there was a BBQ in their yard. Madame Estienne is a hostess tres extraordinaire. She gave a party to showcase the Provencal traditions. Fresh lamb roasted on a spit to eat and a 15 piece brass band to entertain. No one sits quietly or goes home hungry. Check out the pictures on my picasa site.

The wedding on Sunday afternoon/evening was a an occasion to remember. of course Aurelie was gorgeous and Jon was blissfully happy. I have posted some pictures of the food the flowers and the site. again we were in Estiennes yard. After an afternoon of drinks and appetizers like nothing we have ever witnessed, we sat down to a 5 course French feast with much dancing between each course. Celebrations like nothing I have ever seen. Truly amazing.

On your marks...

Starting any project is the most difficult part. In the case of a travel blog you cannot wait until you have the time or the desire - the determining factor is wifi connection. It is strangely difficult to attain in some places.

On Thursday June 30 we began our journey to the south of France to celebrate Jon and Justine's wedding, then enjoy an extended European vacation. This trip has I have already met up with my first alterego Joy and my less favorite friend, frustration - I shall call him Tensy. I have travelled with these two before but I had forgotten how much they add to our vacations! Note, these are my personal companions, they in no way resemble my true travel companions- my 3 amazing sons and my wonder-hubby. They have learned to recognize Joy and Tensy in me but they love me anyways.

Tensy jumped on board right away in Calgary to delay our first flight. Joy of course ever the optimist tried to convince us that delays to fix mechanical problems on the plane are ultimately valuable and mean that the trip will be safe. Teensy made those silly faces and I chose to ignore his silliness. However, one delay, leads to a sprint through the Toronto airport, to another delay, to no plane available to us in Munich to get to Marseille. Apparently the Prince of Monaco is also getting married this weekend and all 4 flights to Marseille are booked solid. Rerouting us to Frankfurt will give us the best opportunity to all arrive in Marseille this week! yes Tensy is enjoying this - 6 hour delay: your rental car will
be gone and the office closed when you get there, your hotel will be given to someone else there is no way your bags are going to make it to Marseille. Joy is struggling for positive outcomes - You get to see Frankfurt, airports have wifi To contact the rental car place and the hotel. There will be a place to stretch out and sleep.
In the end we arrived in Arles 12 hours later than expected; in a car, with our luggage to a fabulous hotelier Eric at the hotel Regence with keys to our rooms a warm shower and a clean bed. Joy is being fairly smug, Tensy has gone to sleep but is sure jet lag wil rush in the room any minute.
Rehearsal BBQ at Estiennes tomorrow.

Tuesday

There are multiple piles of things around the house - half finished projects- but nothing complete yet. I am getting slightly frustrated. However Thursday will come whether I am ready or not. I am optimistic it will be a happy day!

Getting ready

It is Monday am and this Thursday we begin our trip. I can't sleep for all the lists of things I need to get done this week. The rest of my family appears to be sleeping soundly without incident.