Cosytel Aubagne Gemenos

... teen grabs a bottle from next to me and hurtles against a lamp post in their direction, then runs off. A garbage fire in a little alley draws a crowd, and the fire department. Nearby revelers sing rowdy drinking songs to the amusement of the gathered crowd.

It would be a lie to say that this place coincides with my prior visions of France. This is chaos. Yet still, while I feel unnerved to be here, couples walk past arm in arm, children walk with their parents ...

... I don’t mean against) about the future of Europe and ideas of European citizenship, especially in the current uncertain international climate.

Enough of that political rant – Uni has been going relatively well, keeping me busy with assessments most weeks, Russian and History last week, and another Russian one this week. My marks are OK, and I’m not worrying too much about it, just doing the best I can...be bothered to do, although did very well ...

... and instead went out to a great classic Provencal dinner, and got some good wine. But then, we started to see a couple kids in costumes, or rather just kids in sheets. I think one of them had a mask. But on our way back from dinner, we found the bar scene. Mostly it was just people out on a normal Saturday night, but we had to at least go check it out. We were somewhat impressed with the Halloween scene, and probably could ...

... stay at this lovely lady’s home and forward onto Italy from another port
2) change destination to another port on Corse where there are more options for forwarding onto Italy
3) wait 2 days until there is a direct ferry from Marseille to italy (the one we thought we were on)

In the end we decided on No. 2. I was actually thankfull for once of Brian’s obsessive earliness as ...

... parents for a trip to Cassis, Toulon, and for a drive around the Sainte-Victoire mountain. Yes, I was an 'honoury' northerner for the day (Lizzie, je blague, je blague!). Cassis is absolutely beautiful, picture perfect, with a little marina and a beach, with amazing turquoise-coloured water. We had a huge breakfast there which meant I didn't need to eat again until 7, and then headed along the coast to Toulon, where we walked through a market to one of the marinas, which ...

... yesterday, Saturday, and it is cooler but still nice. The trip here was spectacular with many olive groves and big mountains. Today we went on a tour to Les Beax - another medieval town with a castle - poor Graham and on his birthday too. Then we went winetasting and to the premier olive oil producers in France. The Mistrql was blowing on the tour and it was very cold but warmer back here in the camp. Tomorrow we explore Aix on foot then we go to Avignon.

... I lived here- that’s the epiphany of any trip for me- Skyping my wife every day and eating instant noodles. The big grocery chains charge more than a € for a pack, but you can score in the Vietnamese shops for a quarter that. So I buy an electric water kettle for inn-room coffee and noodles. It’ll pay for itself in the long run. Ever the creative one, I experiment putting Nutella in my coffee, figure ...

... brousse! Alors 1km à pied ne pouvant faire peur à un tel aventurier, JPB est à 14:30 dans les bureaux du courtier en bananes africaines (entre autres). Le transitaire indique alors à notre courtier que le client ferait mieux de prendre une chambre pour la nuit, car rien n'est prêt! Coup de sang du courtier qui fonce chez le transitaire, pour "arranger" l'affaire. Il revient, calmé, et indique que l'attente sera de une heure... Une heure apr ...

... deserves mention: "How to Cook a Wolf,' published in 1941 and written to fortify English and Americans who were undergoing extreme shortages of staples such as butter, sugar, and eggs during World War II. While the book contains a few actual recipes, its main text is devoted to the philosophy of eating and to stories of friends whose hospitality was an act of sharing limited provisions with spiritual abundance. One chapter develops the story of an isolated woman living in a ...

I was very eager to return to the restaurant where Marcella and I had eaten crepes a few years back. The crepes with vanilla ice cream and chocolate were just as delicious as I remembered. On this day, we took a stroll along the beach and admired a collection of colorful statues.