Travels with Maman Pt. 2: Cassis

Salut!

Finally, I am back after the struggle that is internet and wifi in France. I won't go into that again, but good news: wifi in our apartment exists!! Hurrah! Oy with the poodles already! Sorry I miss home, my family and Gilmore Girls. Also, I have a French phone, bank account, bus pass, and nail polish remover, so all the living in a foreign country essentials are checked off the list. And I am so tired. These past two and a half weeks have been traveling a lot, trying to alternate between French and English and failing, searching for face wash and finally finding it on the bottom shelf as if Carrefour was hiding it from us all and doesn't want us to wash our faces, and walking upwards of 5 miles a day (I have an average of 6.33 miles/day on my iPhone, actually). So I am exhausted. But, now I can update this blog, so here we go.

After Emma and I found our place, Mom and I set out to travel for a few days because my first day "on the job" was October 1st. So Sunday, the 27th, we took the train to Cassis. I went to Cassis almost exactly a year ago with Sara and posted all about it on this blog so check out "Cassis: Sunshine Amidst a Storm." But, basically, Mom and I did almost the same things and it was equally as delightful as it was that day.

View from the train

Passing through other cities

I got in trouble for having my foot on the seat: Don't do it! 

The train only took about 40 minutes, so we were in Cassis early. We took the bus down to the water from the station with, I swear, the exact same bus driver, taking turns too fast but getting us there safely and being quite gregarious. Once, we stumbled around, we found our hotel, a Best Western La Râde (which I discovered means "harbor" in French). It had an insane view of the bay of Cassis and the mountain Cap Canaille, all from a deck with a pool and hot tub. Highly recommend. It was probably the best hotel we stayed at throughout our travels.

View from the hotel: It was a little cloudy in the morning.

Coincidentally, Joe and his friend Megan were visiting Cassis the same day so we grabbed lunch with them and chatted, until we parted ways to experience the calanques of Cassis in different ways. Mom and I went to Plage de Bestouan first. We swam in the Mediterranean Sea and laid on the rocky beach. It was so cold, but a nice lady told us to swim out on our backs and it would be easier to get accustomed to the water. She was right! Then we took the same boat tour that Sara and I took a year ago, while Joe and Megan hiked to the first calanque and then went kayaking. The calanques are little inlets that only exist in the Mediterranean. They are very picturesque and you can hike all along the tops of them (for the avid hikers among you). In one of the calanques, our boat driver drove us into the narrowest little inlet, we nearly scraped the sides of the boat. Then he proceeded to back up into it just so we wouldn't be jealous if we were in the back!

Lighthouse and view of the castle on the hill above Cassis

Plage de Bestouan (the beaches are often rocky!)

The other side of the beach

Crêpes at the Grand Marnier house (as much Grand Marnier as you want on top!)

Waiting for the tour to start

We are leaving the Bay of Cassis

The small calanque that he backed us into

The most photographed calanque: En Vau 

Another calanque

Mom looking cute with the houses in the background!

Pretty boats!

Recreating an old picture

Beautiful momma! 

Finally, Joe, Megan, Mom and I met up for dinner at the same place Sara and I adored, La Défonce. The dinner was delightful, as delicious as I remembered. Luckily, everyone agreed. After, it was time for some gelato and off to bed!

The next day Mom and I woke up in Cassis and we decided to just wander. We got coffee and wrote postcards. We ate sandwiches on the beach, shopped a little, got another crêpe, got gelato, and met two really nice ladies who were from New Orleans! We chatted with them for about a half hour to an hour, but the story doesn't end there…. :) you must read on next time I post to read about the rest of our trip. I'm tired of blogging for the day. haha!

Cat sleeping in the street

Shutters near the church

Purple doors!

Cutest streets!

Bisous xoxoxo