Mercure Hotel Marseille Prado

... made some friends had we the time and resources to put together costumes... I decided we were dressed up as Canadians, which I thought would have worked great until Tom pointed out that Canadians would probably speak more French. But we weren't really left out, there were only a handful of people dressed up. Overall; here is the tally of costumes in Aix on halloween: 2 girls in witch hats (with one stocking each), 5 ...

Over the last months of travel, we’ve met and talked with many people about what we’re doing. As you can imagine, we’re greeted with many responses. Most can’t fathom a trip without end or adgenda. Some say they admire what we’re doing. Setting off onour own, turning our back on convention and creating an adventure. Others think we’re fools. Although the woman who said that ...

... was treated to a surprise tea party chez moi (complete with Disney napkins and cups...and wine) and I bought her a kettle, tea, and biscuits, what every British girl on her year abroad needs (well, apart from myself, being a strange and rare non-tea-drinking creature)! She had a fantastic time and all were home by 10:30 (the buses don't run late here), but then again we had started relatively early! For Louise we had a film night and then a night out. I think her ...

... 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.

... my traveler&#8217;s scurvy, so I&#8217;m feeling better internally, enlightened if not illuminated.<br><br>The only problem is WiFi. I change rooms but still no WiFi, even from a place that advertises it on the door, same with the café. This is getting frustrating. If you don&#8217;t have it, don&#8217;t advertise it. I really don&#8217;t want to have to badger anyone over it, but I&#8217;m running out of options ...

... house, I went over to my room in the guesthouse and unpacked all my stuff... I think I brought way too many clothes. At one point, I went into the bathroom (the part with the toilet and shower), closed the door, and then when I tried to leave, the door was jammed! I tried the handle, and it broke off! There was no way to force the door. I started to freak out. I had to end up using a little piece of the broken metal to unscrew the plate covering the lock ...

After exploring the first island, we went to the other islands - L'Îsles du Frioul (the islands of Pomègues and Ratonneau)... The islands of Pomègues and Ratonneau, connected by a sea wall, present an arid, windswept landscape where sea birds seek refuge. The rugged contours of the coastline are broken up by rocky inlets, fine ...

So I left Barcelona in the middle of the night. The rains had already started by then. I thought maybe I'd get lucky and ride out of it, but no such luck. By the time I got to Marseille, it was worse, God taking a dump on us, rain falling in sheets and wind blowing up a storm. We pulled in at six in the morning, I oblivious to most of the trip, though somewhere we changed drivers, probably at the Spain/France border. If ...

... it seemed also the only ones who realised the gravity of the situation. The Italian had sneered before moving on. The night at the Irish bar was what we needed, there was a Kiwi behind the bar, a Yank getting sauced at the bar (a regular apparently, unsurprising because Marseille was often inundated with the American Navy) and two soldiers from the Légion Etrangere, one polish and the other half ukrainian and half portuguese. What a mixed bunch ...

... I felt some trepidation in then jumping into our hire car but we did have only a short distance to drive to Aix en Provence Stayed at the sumptuous Villa Gallici - in the end rather a waste as our time was reduced so much. Too tired to eat, we lolled in the over-the-top typically French bathroom &amp; fell asleep in an instant.