The Calanques

Bonjour. Hopefully all of you at home are still fast asleep, seeing as it's about a quarter to 3:00 a.m. your time, although I've already gotten up and walked around outside some this morning, taking photos of the gite. I really love that the weather here necessitates jeans and at least a long-sleeved shirt in the morning and evening, yet heats up in the afternoon with enough warmth for shorts or a bathing suit. The cooler nights allow for perfect sleep. Jarrett and I leave the bedroom windows open all night, and we awake to the sun peaking from between the curtains. Last night we were up pretty late drinking wine and chatting and, really, I should have tried to sleep longer, but the sunrise was calling for my cameras.

On our way out of St. Remy yesterday toward Marseille, we stopped by some Roman ruins. Perhaps I'll become numb to the numerous ruins and old architecture by the end of the trip, but I can't imagine it... it's too astounding to me now. Unfortunately the signs for these particular ruins were, not surprisingly, in French, so I'm not exactly sure of the story behind them.

Thankfully our GPS decided to work for the most part yesterday. I think we finally found the sweet spot for the antenna, as it seems to finally hold it's satellite signal. Tim navigates like a pro, but even he likes the aid of the GPS when trying to maneuver through larger cities such as Marseille. There has been many a laugh over the various names we've called the stupid little machine, and we've threatened to throw it out the window and even sacrifice a chicken over it because of it's seeming lack of intelligence at times. Anyway, we made it to the Calanques and back yesterday without much of a hitch. Jarrett is becoming a pro at the French driving. I'm sure it will help him maneuver even more agressively through the Atlanta traffic upon our return.

The Calanques were gorgeous. We only saw two of them on our hike, which was probably about four or five miles roundtrip, over rocky terrain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. There was one section of the hike that again tested my and Jarrett's fear of heights, but we made it through this time, thank goodness... it would be sad to miss out on the Calanques themselves. These are accessible only by foot or boat, and are a nature preserve of fjordlike inlets and crystal clear blue waters, lying between Marseille and the port town of Cassis. The water was a bit too chilly to swim in, but we enjoyed sitting on the rocky beach (much more pleasant than sand in my opinion, albeit not as soft).

Prior to the hike, we ate lunch in Cassis at a waterside sidewalk cafe. Kate and I both had a lovely green salad, topped with mushrooms, tomato, and goat-cheese-covered pieces of toast. Tim opted for the the mussels and frites; Jarrett had a crepe filled with ham, cheese, and peppers. All of this paired with a bottle of white local wine made for another fabulous meal. I learned that tip is almost always included in restaurant bills, which is of important note -- something I definitely didn't realize. And restaurants are stinkin' expensive for the most part, but that's the way it is. For dinner we made a pasta with tomato, bacon, sauteed onions, garlic, and a bit of hot pepper, mixing in some pecorino romano cheese at the end. Hungry yet?