Sunday in Cassis

Sunday, 21 July
Today has been a very sad day.  Maree woke to the news of her mother's death which was a great shock as she had not known anything of her  sudden illness.  It is very  hard being so far away from family at a time like this.  The family at home have persuaded Maree and Mel to stay on in France for the remainder of their holiday and a memorial service will be arranged when they return to Australia.
There is some comfort for Maree in that she saw her mum and celebrated her 88th birthday with her just before she left for France. We will do our best to support Maree and Mel.

We had not planned much for today but decided that a stroll around the town and lunch by the water would be just the thing.  Cassis was less crowded than last night, except for the beaches which were packed.  It is certainly difficult to find a car park in the town - we wouldn't even attempt it.  Jessica was working on her music so we left her to creative pursuits  and accompanied by the constant and quite loud cicada song ambled down the hill to town.

Passing by Plage de Bestouan on our way to town

It is fun to check out the menus of all the restaurants and to choose which one we should grace with our presence.  Today we picked a brasserie with a wide choice of light meals and managed to score a frontline table under the shady awning.

Spoilt for choice - restaurants on the waterfront, Cassis

So it was salad, galette and a nice glass of the local white accompanied by a stunning view and a gentle breeze off the water.  Quite a bit of people watching too as passersby strolled along the waterfront.  Cassis has a real holiday atmosphere and seems to be popular with families - lots of little ones with buckets  and spades.

Lunch with a nice view of the castle

 The main beach at Cassis is very busy and quite sandy with lots of water sports activities available such as kayaking and tiny sailboats which can be rented.  It is overlooked by the mighty cliffs of Cap Canaille.  Plage de Bestouan is on the other side of the bay (where we are staying) and is small and rocky but very pretty and extremely popular with a couple of beach clubs.  The water is clean and clear and looks so inviting.

Plage de Bestouan this afternoon - so the place to be!

It was very relaxing to linger and chat in such a beautiful place and we reluctantly dragged ourselves back out into the hot sun to have a look around the village.  Maree was in need of a new umbrella/parasol as the one she picked up in Paris was definitely not going to last the distance.  There are a few nice little shops but I would say that Cassis is all about dining and outdoor pursuits rather than shopping.  Umbrella mission achieved, we took our time climbing the hill back to the apartment.  Fortunately the trees give shade on most of the streets.

Our street - Avenue des Calanques

Back home it was straight into the pool - sooooo good!  A pool is a real bonus here given that the beaches are so crowded. 
A nice siesta in the afternoon is also a good plan in the heat of the afternoon - it seems to be hottest around 3 - 4 pm (daylight saving here). 
When the sun was a bit lower, around 7 pm we walked down our road to the first calanque in the direction of Marseille, Calanque de Port Miou.   Of course it is a long descent to sea level from here. 
There are about a dozen calanques between Cassis and Marseille.  They are mini fjords with high pale limestone cliffs on each side. The one at Port Miou is the longest  and it also serves as a marina - filled with yachts of the sailing variety.

Yachts moored in the Calanque de Port Miou

 We didn't walk right out to the end of the calanque this evening as we are taking a boat trip to visit some of the calanques tomorrow.  Despite the uphill return it was a lovely walk in the cool of the evening.  We had a bite to eat and sat outside chatting until dark when the cicadas finally fell silent.  Maree is doing ok and has had lots of messages from home.  I do hope she can get a good night's rest.

Cassis - hard to beat for a lunch spot!