Villa Massalia Concorde Marseille

We have at long last arrived in France! We ended up scrapping the visit to Marseille, both since travellers we've met said its not worth the visit, and since we heard it's not really the place to be wandering around the streets at 10 at night looking for a place to stay. So instead we caught the bus up to Aix-en-Provence, which is pretty much the cutest town on the entire planet. We're pretty sure we were the only people ...

... 8230;<br><br>First of all, we had a deadline. Something neither of us are accustomed to dealing with right now. Ferry departs Marseille at 7pm. Brian was concerned about covering the 100 km distance and finding the port in time. So, up extra early and on the road withour even eating breakfast! After all of the worry and fussing, and snaps of the whip to go &#8216;faster&#8217;, we arrived at the port at ...

... Enjoyed the film (but enjoyed the post-cinema demi-fraise - beer with strawberry syrup - more) and was proud at how well I managed to follow the French, without much concentration! A sign of improvement I hope!<br><br>This weekend in particular has been fantastique! As everyone else's parents have come to visit, Amy and I spent our Saturday shopping, eating and generally having a good time without alcohol. As usual, I got very excited about a sweet shop and between us we ...

... 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.

... ask where they will sleep and what they will eat?" Yep, I reckon that&#8217;s about all they do. Jesus was lucky; he never had to score WiFi. But he could multiply fishes; now THAT&#8217;S cool.<br><br>Sometimes I tell my wife when I feel she&#8217;s not being appreciative that all she has to do is close her eyes, click her heels three times, then re-open her eyes and everything she needs is right within her grasp ...

... to their home, and the first thing they did was to lay a big-big table, with different very tasty things. <br>French people eat sooooo much!!!!! And they talk a lot too. If something happens to them, they have the habit to tell it several times to different people very very detailed)))

... unforgettable. Three special thanks: - To the 2 French brothers I met on my first day in Delhi when my moral was at the lowest and I wanted to go back home. Thanks for your motivating chat. - To Seb who is an example for all the travelers in the world. Thanks for inspiring me. - To Pilar who made this experience more a beginning than a simple journey. Thanks for being there. I am a very lucky man.... Just do it! Merry Christmas and Happy 2009.

What a difference a city makes! Don't get me wrong, Marseille is a great city. It is France's second largest city (and the largest port), but because it sits on the Mediterranean, there is a whole other dimension to it. It reminds me a lot of San Juan Puerto Rico- loud, busy, crowded, impossible to navigate, dirty, but with fantastic beaches and coastline. Carrie and I spent most of Monday ...

So I put in some pics of Fanny's parents' house. Really nice place! Fanny's parents and youngest sister (who's 14 and in the top-10 of France for rock climbers in her age group) left to go on vacation, but her grandma hung out with us for dinner. She's pretty cool... she put down more whiskey than I did and smoking it up with the other people. Did I mention that everybody in France smokes? Oh yeah, grandma was down with the techno ...

... apartment. It was also the place to go before any big game involving Marseille or France, to light a candle for the son of Marseille and french legend, Zinedine Zidane. Shortly after we traversed the city and out into a national park where the Calanques began (beautiful fjords lining the coast between Marseille and Cassis) and did a serious walk, bordering on hike, through the mountainous park to a superb beach with clear water and few people. Our ...