Bonjour de Marseille

 Today we are in Marseille, France after a good day in Monte Carlo yesterday.  One of the first things you see when you sail into Monte Carlo is Prince Rainier's yacht.  It's almost as big as the Riviera!

We've been to Monte Carlo many times, so yesterday we wanted to explore a different area.  We decided to walk to France.  Now, I know that might sound impressive but the French border is only a 20 minute walk from the pier.  Our goal was Cap d'Ail which I had read about though to be honest I wasn't sure what we would find there.  Before we left Monte Carlo, we came upon the market.  Exploring that, we found a truffle restaurant inside and immediately decided that we would return for lunch.  (Apologies to our friend Charlie.)

Onward to Cap d'Ail, we found a pebbly beach and then, to our great joy, we found a path that led along the waterfront with wonderful rock formations.  We could have walked much further than we did but truffle pizza was calling.

And then, the truffle pizza!

After lunch, we headed for the main square with its famous casino.  Of course, we had to indulge in the world's most expensive coffee at the Cafe de Paris.  Hey, all of the tourists do it!

Today, the weather forecast for Marseille was bad.  It looked like rain and wind most of the day.  We had decided that, since we were here 2 weeks ago and would be returning next week, we might just stay on board and rest our tired legs.  But, suddenly, the weather looked brighter so we hit the old port.  We started to walk around the port but then decided to wander off to some of the pedestrian streets.  We also came upon one of the fanciest H&M's in the world.

                                                  

The weather held long enough for us to return to the restaurant from 2 weeks ago for moules frites. round 2!  And then it was nap time.

By the time we returned to the ship, the forecasted rain had arrived.

  And now for a couple of observations regarding Covid.  We were told today that the authorities in Marseille require us to wear not just masks, but KN95 masks in indoor spaces and on public transportation.  So, like good kids, we wore our KN95 masks on the shuttle bus into Marseille.  Immediately, walking around, we saw very few people wearing masks.  We wandered into a kitchen store (Linda loves to browse a good kitchen store) with our masks on and found that almost none of the patrons were wearing masks.  Ours quickly came off.  In line with that, one of the plus sides of our Covid is the liberating feeling of being super-immunized for the next 90 days.  Eat mussels inside of a restaurant - no problem!

Today's Rule of Civility is directed at all of you blowhards out there - you know who you are!  Rule #41. Undertake not to teach your equal in the art himself professes; it savors of arrogance. 

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry