Holiday Inn Marseille-Avenue Du Prado

... poor university residences, the state subsidise the university restaurants and canteens. Friday, for example, I had couscous, carrots, runner beans and a beautiful piece of fish, followed by a piece of bread, a slice of tarte aux pommes and a small bunch of grapes, for 2,90€. Aixellent. Just need to balance the mentalities of trying to get a good grade, but at the same time knowing that this semester is only worth 3% of my whole degree, so it's time to relax before ...

NO MARSEILLE for us!!! The captain went by when we had 21 foot waves and winds of 50 gusting to 65. It was sunny but not good enough to dock in Marseille, so on to Barcelona we go. In spite of it, we had a great relaxing day and i had a 3 hour nap this afternoon. Naps are totally not my thing but apparently i was exhausted from our whirlwind schedule. Anyway, nothing exciting. We have seen numerous people in arm slings and just ran into a woman in a ...

... 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.

... as if they omit bathrooms strictly as a matter of space. So I’ve got the bell tower room, high above the street and across from the Gare St. Charles, watching people come and go at all hours. I don’t have TV, but I do have Tinariwen on my buzz-box.

This room could probably be dubbed the ‘suicide suite’ if it weren’t so small, given its high perch five stories over the street far ...

... to Aix-en-Provence.

Some random observations on the way to Aix: parking is much better in Avignon than I would have thought. There is not a whole lot of parking in the city walls, but free parking is available in large lots just outside the walls and even up against the wall. Men do hang out and play bacce ball, just like in the books and movies. There is a group that loiters about the tobacco shop that I have seen several times. Lucy’s preferred ...

... br>
Marseilles hotels are almost TOO cheap, but some close the doors early, and some are simply- I never thought I’d say this- below my standards. In France that means not only might there not be a shower attached to the room, but THERE MIGHT NOT BE ONE IN THE ENTIRE HOTEL. I’m not joking, and places that basic might be rare nowadays, but optional bath-for-a-charge is not. Maybe that will answer some longstanding questions for you. Now ...

... probably the best one of the whole trip) Dom picked out this weird looking brownish thing and I had a cookie. I couldn't figure out why he picked it because it was kind of expensive. We didn't know it at the time but it was a famous French macaroon! And it was caramel. Yum!!! It was the best thing I had ever tasted! I think we figured out what it was the next day when we went by another shop and they had them labeled. I called it a sandwich cookie ...

... lovely (which is what would have attracted people here), but now it's overbuilt, busy, soulless, and lacking any charm - Yvonne couldn't wait to get out of there (once she'd had her bowl of ice-cream, that is :). So we continue along to the French Riviera, stopping at Cannes for a short time so I can observe more of the rich and famous at play. We drive down to the sea-front and cruise along the boulevard but I am disappointed - it looks a little tawdry, much like many other sea ...

... against rick, les Mistrals blowing, the occasional squawk of a seagull, and the random outburst from Kendra singing half a line of the song playing on her ipod will remain the same. 'I just saw a seagull flying with a fish in its mouth, drop the fish and catch it in midair - twice! Must be dinner time." So, did you get a feel of how amazing it is here? I would really like to climb the cliffs and camp up there ...

... 35 different movies made from the novel! The Chateau was also a lot smaller than we had thought it would be, but it was still pretty impressive and we had lots of fun wandering around it. We were a bit sad that we didnīt have much time to explore the actual city itself and were a little reluctant to leave, but it had started to turn cold and we were ready to head to Spain for some warm weather!!!