Toward Nice

Packing up for another town, this time toward the French Riviera we travel a few hours to Cassis.  Cassis sits on the southern coast just east of the larger port of Marseilles.  The tiny pleasant coastal town reminds me of northern California.  Grape vines cover most of the land. Tiled roof Mediterranean style homes with colorfully landscaped yards dot the rolling hillsides. 

Here we board a boat to take a ride through a few of the La Calanques.  La Calanques are fiord like inlets along the coast with dramatic shear cliffs and small sandy coves.  We visit three out of the possible eight calanques and return back to the marina to find lunch and shopping.

Our time in Cassis is over, but not before Auriel, our bus driver, takes us for a scenic (read harrowing for some) bus ride up and over the cliffs that surround the town of Cassis.  This too reminds me of northern California, specifically Highway 1, south of San Francisco, only not so long of a distance in our instance.  We stop for a picture taking moment before we find the highway and finish the final leg of our bus journey to Nice.

It is late when we return back to the hotel, but a few of us venture out into a near by square.  The cafes have the television playing the World Cup and France is playing.  When they score, cheers erupt from every corner of the square.