Tuesday July 16

Chateau D'If and Beach

We woke up at about 6 a.m. this morning to have a chat with Catherine, and then went back to sleep.   We had a lazy lay in until about ten.  By 11:30 we were walking towards the old port.  We took a different route, and had a look through Abbaye St. Victor on the way.  A very immense, solid as rock building!  I've been in a lot of churches that feel airy.  This one did not!  Like being in a giant cave.

Inside Abbaye St. Victor

On boat in Old Harbour

Our timing was perfect.  The water is calm today and we bought tickets and only had to wait about 15 minutes for the next boat out to Chateau D'If.  This castle/prison is made famous in Dumas' novels 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and 'Man in the Iron Mask'.  We had a great look around the island and the buildings.  We also enjoyed some local beers and gelato while we waited for the next boat.

Chateau D'If

Front Gate to Main Keep

Marseille from the Prison

Traditional Dantes' Cell

Local Treat

As I broke my watch band the other day, we went by a watch shop I found by searching online the day before, and had the band replaced.  Then we picked up some local sandwiches (tuna, egg, olives, capers, etc.) at a boulangerie, grabbed some more fruit and some water on the walk home. After a snack we wandered back down to the Anse des Catalans beach.  It's about a 15 minute walk from the apartment.  It would be about 60 seconds if we had a good zipline from a few hundred steps up our block!  Megan had a dip in the Sea, and I had two.  The water is warm once your in, which is just our traditional stupid way of saying it's a touch cold.  We lazed a few hours, watching the multitude of folks around us, then came back home.  I've booked tickets for Nîmes on Thursday, and will look around tonight to see if we want to hop a train to Avignon tomorrow.