We arrived in France to clear skies and a chill in the air. No sundress for me today, I'm guessing that the warm temps are a thing of the past until we touch down in Miami on Saturday. It's our plan to be off and running as soon as the ship is clear...we have a short port day with all aboard set for 3:45. We arranged for the car rental agency to meet us at the port, our goal was to get on the road to Aix by 8 am.
Calm seas, clear day
Our last breakfast in Michael's Club
Sad to know this is our final morning in one of our favorite spots on the ship
We grabbed a quick bite, then were walking down the gangway by 7:30--right on schedule. A cursory glance around the dock area, and we didn't see a representative waiting for us...hmmm...this can't be good. There was an information booth set up beyond the row of busses, so we figured whom ever was sitting there may be able to assist us. The last thing we expected to hear from this helpful woman...unfortunately, we were not in docked in Toulon as expected, but instead had pulled in at La Seyne-sur-Mer...across the bay for our original destination. Not good news, especially with a very tight travel day..we had timed the road trip down to the minute. She was extremely helpful and contacted the agency for us to hopefully make alternative arrangements. By this time almost a hour had passed and we knew we should just jump on the shuttle into Toulon and forget about Aix. It was not in the cards for us to visit the country side that day, the port of Toulon was a very pleasant substitute. When our travel plans are unexpectedly changed, we usually just go with the flow and enjoy the opportunity at hand. I wish I could say this would be the last time during our vacation, that we'd have our plans rearranged due to no fault of our own.
Great farmers market in the town square
A 13k trip into town during rush hour turned into a 30 minute ride. At least there was no charge for the ship's shuttle that day. We were dropped off on the pier near downtown and found our way into the main square. A large, busy open-air market was right before our eyes...oh boy...shopping in France...I can do that!!! Because this is a port that is off the beaten path, this market actually catered to the locals, not just potential tourists. We enjoyed strolling through the maze of streets with shops as far as the eye could see. A bakery here, a candy store there...I was more than happy to spend my day searching for treasures among the many stalls and storefronts throughout that quaint little town. Among other things, we stumbled upon a 2Euro Store, the equivalent to our Dollar Store here in the states...how much fun was that. I'd been searching for days for some blank notes cards to jot down an individual word of thanks to several of the crew that had contributed to our incredible cruise experience. How silly of me to forget to bring some from home. Instead, I purchased some card stock, decorative paper and envelopes--then with the help of a bit of double stick tape and scissors, I crafted my own note cards...it worked just fine.
Let the drooling begin!
It is so not fair that I can't take some of this home with me. I'd fill a suitcase with this stuff if I could
It is never difficult for me to find the chocolate...
They roasted meats right on the sidewalk...it all smelled so good...too bad I wasn't hungry yet
They sure don't have anything like this back in my neighborhood
Next stop the bakery...all I can say is WOW...very tough decision, it all looked so good. I ended up with a nice loaf of multigrain for later, and a mini cheese baguette to eat on the spot. As much of a chocoholic as I am, this entire vacation I had turned into a carb freak...what's up with that. Guess I was getting my chocolate fix from all the gelato. But that certainly did not stop me from taking photos of all the sweet stuff in the windows. I really think it was all a bit overwhelming at some point, it was just safer to take pictures than to try to taste everything. I had just as much fun capturing the beauty of all these delicious looking treats as I would have had I taken a nibble of even a small portion of what I saw. I also found that I didn't have much of an appetite most of the time. We ate so well on the ship, I usually didn't feel a strong need to buy things in the shops.
Window shopping is over...it's time to put my money where my mouth is
Next up--Rog gets his coffee fix...I get my Moules in Toulons
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