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| Parc naturel regional de la Sainte-Baume Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
THE NEXT stop was Toulon ("for Provence"). Our ship seemed to be docked in a pretty out-of-the-way location. According to our guide for the day (Franck), it was. I am sure there were bus-tours sponsored by the ship, but we didn't see them that day. There was a gated entrance that seemed to be on the back side of the port. We met Franck outside that gate. His comment was that we were fortunate to find him, because most of the tour guides would not come out to this port. Marseille, about 35 miles away, is a much larger cruise port, and presumably, a better spot for business. But find him, we did (my sister-in-law found him well prior to the cruise - and she made a great choice). Franck was a good guide.
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| Climbers - Parc naturel regional de la Sainte-Baume - Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
IN FAIRNESS to the Toulon port, much of what we would see for the day was right there. We would have had to drive there and back from Marseilles. Though we actually would likely have done so either way, as a highlight of the excursion was a visit to Aix-en-Provence, a really nice city and popular tourist destination in the Provence region. But we began our day high up in the adjacent national park: Parc regional naturel de la Sainte-Baume. There were some spectacular views of the valley and the sea below from up there.
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| Fontaine de la Rotonde - Aix-en-Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
PHOTOGRAPHERS HAVE a saying: "f8 and be there." F8 is a measure of the lens opening (aperture), that is pretty much in the middle of things and more often than not, the technically correct aperture. "Be there," means you have to be there to make the image. And sometimes, that is just a matter of serendipity. The rock climbers' photo was totally unplanned - either by Franck, or by me. I didn't know, until we got up there, that this area was a popular climbing spot. Franck did know that. But he didn't know there would be anyone doing it where we stopped.
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| Cours Mirabeau - Aix-en-Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
AFTER SPENDING some time in the park, Franck took us to Aix-en-Provence, where he gave us a short tour and then free time on our own. He had made reservations for lunch. We had been to Aix in 2015 but had been on our own (our excursion was a couple vineyards, and then free time for lunch in Aix). We found our way back into a very cool little courtyard and had a really nice lunch. I made the mistake, however, of drinking the local tap water (instead of bottled) and while I cannot guarantee it, I strongly believe it was responsible for some significant intestinal issues a couple days later. For the most part, my advice since then has been only drink bottled water!
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| Aix-en-Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
FOR THIS trip, Franck took us back into the city again, with a short, guided tour. He then left us to be on our own and wander the area for a while. He had an issue with his vehicle, so he went to attend to that. We were to be at our restaurant, which was just next to the Cours Mirabeau on the Rotonde, with its iconic, large, 1860 fountain in the middle. Cours Mirabeau is a wide, very popular street in the city with many restaurants, shops, and street vendors. I had photographed the fountain some years back, with a view of a couple, arm-in-arm, sitting on a bench viewing the fountain. I have it in my Stock Photo area on my LightCentricPhotography website. There are some quiet, beautiful spots on the back streets, with fountains, piazzas, and some impressively majestic architecture. We also found the Roman Catholic, Aix Cathedral, originally built in the 12th Century and reworked a few times over the next couple hundred years. The exterior is impressive, with a mix of Gothic, Romanesque and neo-Gothic elements. But my favorite memory and takeaway from this church was inside, in a little baptistery off to the side right after entering.
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| Aix Cathedral - Aix-en-Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
OUR LUNCH was nice enough, but just average in terms of memorable dining experiences; particularly compared to the place we had lunch in Monaco the day before.
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| Le Castellet - Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
OUR FINAL stop for the day was back toward our cruise port, in the very quaint little village of Le Castellet.
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| Le Castellet - Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
THE VILLAGE is a quaint, pretty little spot high up in the mountains above the Cote' Azur. It has medieval origins but is today a favorite spot of vacationers hoping to spend a day or a few in such a quaint environment.
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| Le Castellet - Provence, France Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
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