Our cruise ship’s first stop was France. We initially docked in Toulon (La Seyne) on the first day. We had a TBL (Tours By Locals) guide meet our group and take us around the area. In Toulon, Tim & Sandy guided us around the region. It required 2 vans to take our group of 16 around.
From Toulon we went to Aix-En-Provence which is a place we had not previously visited. It is a large town in the Provence area. It has a very wide street in the center of town, just down from the main fountain, where the rich people of the era built large homes that overlooked the street. Entertaining and business was done on the ground floor of these large homes while the residents lived on the next higher floor. The servants lived in the top of these mansions. Architecture styles varied somewhat but all the homes were built to impress people. Most of these homes have now been converted into shops or places of business with people living in apartments above the ground floor. Today there is a marketplace that sells clothes and other items on the street with some very natural looking fountains along the way. We walked through several open markets in Aix-En-Provence, selling meats, fruits, flowers, cooked foods and anything else you might want to purchase. The old city consists of many winding cobblestone roads that have a myriad of shops, restaurants, and bars lining these roads. We were dropped off in Marseilles which is certainly one of the largest cities in southern France. Most of the group ate lunch there while others walked around the harbor and visited the many shops. After lunch we viewed Notre-Dame de la Garde which is a beautiful basilica that overlooks the harbor. It was built on the offerings of people to keep the sailors and fisherman of the area safe. From there we went to Cassis which is a small fishing village just east of Marseilles. We stayed just long enough to get a few scenic pictures, but this is a place we would like to go back and visit again sometime.
Sharon & Greg
From Toulon we went to Aix-En-Provence which is a place we had not previously visited. It is a large town in the Provence area. It has a very wide street in the center of town, just down from the main fountain, where the rich people of the era built large homes that overlooked the street. Entertaining and business was done on the ground floor of these large homes while the residents lived on the next higher floor. The servants lived in the top of these mansions. Architecture styles varied somewhat but all the homes were built to impress people. Most of these homes have now been converted into shops or places of business with people living in apartments above the ground floor. Today there is a marketplace that sells clothes and other items on the street with some very natural looking fountains along the way. We walked through several open markets in Aix-En-Provence, selling meats, fruits, flowers, cooked foods and anything else you might want to purchase. The old city consists of many winding cobblestone roads that have a myriad of shops, restaurants, and bars lining these roads. We were dropped off in Marseilles which is certainly one of the largest cities in southern France. Most of the group ate lunch there while others walked around the harbor and visited the many shops. After lunch we viewed Notre-Dame de la Garde which is a beautiful basilica that overlooks the harbor. It was built on the offerings of people to keep the sailors and fisherman of the area safe. From there we went to Cassis which is a small fishing village just east of Marseilles. We stayed just long enough to get a few scenic pictures, but this is a place we would like to go back and visit again sometime.
Sharon & Greg
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