July 27: “Roman” through Arles, and Almost Cliff-jumping in Cassis

We were sluggish to wake this morning, but still packed up in time for 11 am checkout. Beth had identified a cafe in central Arles for petit déjeuner, but because of challenges in finding parking, we missed the cutoff for breakfast. We landed at the brasserie next door and ordered morning drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate) and what turned out to be our brunch. Faith had plat du jour (lasagna), Beth had fish & chips, Thane had carpaccio de boeuf, Luke had burger & fries, Reid had goat cheese (chèvre) on baguette slices with salad. We also enjoyed that in France they serve cold tap water for free, rather than what happened in Spain where the only option was to buy bottled water. The restaurant was across the street from a tourist info booth and carousel - Faith was particularly interested in the unusual animals one could ride.

Arles is famous for where Vincent Van Gogh painted some his masterpieces in the 1800s, but it is an ancient city that dates back to at least Roman times. Evidence for this is clear from the ruins of an amphitheatre dating to the time of Jesus (1st century), where gladatorial contests were once held. The site has been restored to allow events to be held even today, including concerts and rodeo-style events like running of bulls. It was neat to sit where Roman citizens did two thousand years ago. The only downer on this outing was getting a parking ticket, as I failed to put enough money in the meter…

Our next destination was another national park called Calanques, on the opposite side of Marseille from Arles; about a 2 hour drive including stop for snacks and gas. Funny memory here at the gas station: each gas pump was playing the same pop song, presumably to provide some muzak when pumping gas. But each pump was playing the song at different times, and anytime you pushed a button on one pump, it would reset the opening line of the song “when I think about the way it used to be, when I think about the love you took from me”…. It was like 4 or 5 different record players all stuck on the same song at once!

We arrived in Calanques national park later than expected, maybe hoping to check out some the landscape, but unsure if it was possible due to wildfire risk. Due to these factors, plus our AirBnB booking falling through, we decided to see if we could stay overnight in this area.

Aimed for a town in the centre called Cassis, which is kind of like Banff is to Banff National Park, with both mountains and coastline as the playground. Cassis is also a noted wine-producing region, and we drove past several vineyards.

I found a hotel online through Booking.com that stated they had two rooms to fit the five of us, including sea views! Unfortunately, when we arrived at the hotel (Le Jardin d’Emile), they stated the Booking.com website had erred; there was only one room available. Bummer… but the staff were our angels of the day, and sorted out three of us could stay in that one room, and arranged for a second room in the sister hotel next door! The room turned out to be a gorgeous suite, with a lovely extended rooftop shaded terrace overlooking the ocean. The boys’ room next door was also more than adequate.

Once we were settled in (took awhile - the kids went on a walk to explore the beach during the check-in process), Thane took a nap on the terrace, Beth did some internet thinking about the next couple of trip days, and I went with Faith & Luke to the beach. This “beach” was not sandy, but more like a B.C. rocky coastline with a pebble rock beach. Good for skipping stones, but no sand sculptures here. Kids had noticed someone earlier jumping off a cliff-like rock, and were interested in trying it out. However, we chickened out on the attempt after testing out the water and rocks….

Dinner that night was at a picturesque restaurant district next to a small harbour, lit up with sparkly lights, and a busker playing Beatles songs to the passers-by. We had pizza (including “vegan-but-not-vegan” pizza where we added ham and cheese to the toppings) and I had steamed mussels.