Steve in the outdoor lobby of our B and B in Cassis
Typical French Breakfast above…Tea or Espresso and a Croissant
What a whirlwind tour of the south of France this has been …..we just arrived back at our first B and B in Beune and are resting up for a great dinner at a restaurant we made our first visit a week ago. The photo above starts where we left off….arriving in Cassis. This is where we were writing to you from in the “lobby” garden of the B and B
Some goodies at the early morning Cassis Market…we get up about 6-00 to get in on the local market fun
This area was just phenomenal and I sure wish we could have stayed longer!! We just have a great excuse to come back! That boat photo you all liked from the Iphone turned out so funky cool didn’t it? That was at dusk and the colors came up so surreal. I do agree it would make a great painting.
A CHEESY TOURIST SHOT…i HAVE MY DAUGHTER TO THANK FOR THIS HABIT
We went up the coast for a few hours and stopped in some of the harbor towns and walked around. The towns varied from quaint B and B sort of towns to upscale Yacht Club /Casino areas. Those are a bit touristy for us but this time of year it was soooooooooooooo quiet. The perfect weather in the upper 70’s and not to muggy. The summers get brutal and that’s the height of tourist season. I highly recommend going in autumn. OMG it’s gorgeous!
ANOTHER MARKET FIND
The sky and clouds yesterday were so dramatic, it was hard to take a bad photo!! I chose a couple of fun ones here from the coast to show you but have over 3500 images to sort through…the best are yet to come when I get my sea legs back after we return home.
OUR B AND B ATOP THE HILL
Last night we arrived at our Medieval hilltown B and B at dusk and after getting the bags up a flight of very scary cobblestone steps (it was fun nonetheless) we went out into the town to hike the alleyways and look over into the vistas as the sun set.
A STUNNING NEW KITTY FRIEND AT A WINERY ENROUTE
Oh you guys………………..this is my kind of place!! Hilltowns always make me hear voices…..in a good way I hope you understand…lol!! I can hear the laughter of children of Medieval times echoing down the cobblestone paths…the dogs barking….peasants chasing the cats away from the fish preparation area
THE VIEW FROM THE HILLTOWN
STEVE AT THE BOTTOM OF ONE OF THE SWITCHBACK COBBLESTONE STREETS
….the clip clop of horse hooves as the men return from a good day of patroling their hill and bringing home a hare or boar for dinner too!!
ONE OF THE RESIDENT DOGGIES
As night fell I can imagine as the children retired to their straw beds in the little niches of the stone walls, the hushed voices of the adults as they sat around the fires or the hearth to reflect on the day over French vin (wine…pronounced “va”)
THERE WERE FOUNTAINS ALL OVER THAT ECHOED THROUGH THE NARROW STREETS
Yes I have a very vivid imagination…just ask my mom…but this is the stuff my best dreams are made of and to live it out for even just a single night was heaven for me. I didnt’ want to leave!!
OFF TO TOWN FOR A LITTLE PRE DINNER SHOPPING!
MINE MINE ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MINE!!
ANOTHER MINE MINE ALL MINE MOMENT…STEVE JUST BOUGHT ME A NEW ARTISAN PANDA
AND JUST AS IM WRITING THIS POST..IN WALKES STEVE WITH A STEIFF PANDA FROM HIS WALK IN BEUNNE!! omg i LUB THAT MAN!!!
A new day dawns….today we wake up with the roosters on top of the hill to find ourselves completely alone in the town. It was a slice of heaven!!
We decide to go down the hill and grab a pastry and coffee at an outdoor cafe in teh very brisk air, then off to visit an obscure hilltown off the tourist path called Crestet which was highly recommended if we wanted solitude and great photographs
We thought our hilltown with the B and B was perfect till we arrived at this storybook fortress perched on a high jagged peak overlooking the grape vinyards. We were the only “outsiders” on the hill. The families were waking up and you could hear the clanging of pans, the roosters crowing and even the echos from the ladies humming as they cooked breakfast…talk about a time warp. This was REAL life in a REAL place .
BE SURE TO SEE THE NEW AUDIO BOO i POSTED FOR MORE DESCRIPTION OF THIS AWESOME TOWN
aT 8:00 am church bell starting ringing. The echos bounced off the buildings and the other hills so loud you would have thought it was a symphony…just for us!!
To “discover” a stunning original mosaic like this hidden behind some scrub shrubs is a sight to behold. It sent chills up my spine. Who created this wonderful work of art from such tiny tesserea of stone and pebbles? I would have loved to have met them in person!
What more can I say….this hilltown was one of the many highlights of our 3 week journey
This photo pretty much sums up the mood , the chill in the air and just imagine the churchbell overhead.
Steve just told me it is going to be 45 degrees tomorrow AM when we head for the 3 hour drive to Paris..brrrrrrrrrrr…the coldest day yet and you can see the vines starting to change color in some of the photographs above
The cobblestones are all original and a beasst to walk on. You wonder how the Medieval residants ankles held up. Was it Elise that mentioned ankles earlier??? Maybe Vonnie???? I can’t remember but it does a number on them at any rate..lol
But DANG the cobblestones do make the most artistic photographs and I am looking at them 85 percent of the time to prevent falling with my bad vision. I see floors first…scenery second. I have to literally stop,,,take my pix, then move again on this kind of footing. No snapping as I walk like I do other places
That warm morning light……………it’s worth getting up early when the camera loves it so much
So until my next blog post when we arrive home, check out the Facebook updates to the right as well as teh audioboos in case I get a WIFI moment at the airports to say a quick hello and update again
Thank you all so very very much for following our adventure. I truly hate to see it come to an end but there will be another coming up in February as my friend Gayle and I set off on our Thailand /China journey to visit the pandas, moonbears and Asian Elephants in Chiang Mai
You all made this trip extra special and we appreciate each and every comment. You all put so much time and thought into your posts….we talked about that a lot. We are very blessed to have so many wonderful friends on this big beautiful planet. As soon as I get home I’ll start getting together the treasures for my drawing so stay tuned!!
Love always,….from Sandra and Steve, Bling,Humphrey,Beaune, Beau, Mini B….and the new Steiff panda to be named soon!!!
