Cassis, France  March 30- April 1, 2014

We spent Sunday and Monday driving to the south coast of France.  It had been our original intent to take our time getting to the south and explore along the way.  But once we left the Loire Valley there was very little to see other than beautiful countryside so we just kept driving.

The Loire Valley is about an hour or so south of Chartres and is famous for the many Chateaux that have been preserved and maintained. Many have been given to the French government. We picked out one that appeared from the guide book to be interesting: the Chenonceau Chateau.  Chenonceau was built in 1194 over the River Cher. King Henri II purchased, or more likely just took over, the chateau and gave it to his mistress to live in. When Henri died, his wife, Catherine of Medici kicked the mistress out and gave the chateau to her son who became Henri III. During the French revolution Chenonceau was owned by the grandmother of the author George Sand and hosted many of Sand's friends at the chateau. Because of this, the chateau survived the revolution, unlike many chateaux that were in the hands of royalty. The many rooms of the chateau are maintained as they would have appeared during Henri II's time. There is a lot of the original art hanging in the chateau including two paintings by Rubens. The ceilings in all the rooms are probably 12-15 high. Sunday was a cool day and we had a sense of how uncomfortable these opulent-appearing chateaux could be during cold weather. There was a fire in the huge fireplace in one of the drawing rooms that helped keep the chill off. There were two beautiful formal gardens outside of Chenonceau. A small one built by Henri's mistress and a larger one built by Henri's wife(!). One final point of interest: in addition to the several drawing rooms, many bedrooms, and large galleries, there was a small chapel. We are not sure what the chapel was used for. Probably the King was constantly asking forgiveness from God for giving his mistress this nice home.

Monday was a long day on the road but the scenery made it interesting.  We passed through large fields of we know not what into rolling hills of woodland before driving through reasonably mountainous terrain. South of Lyon we drove along the Rhone River and could see the beginning of the French Alps off in the distance. For those of you who may tire of our constant discussion of wonderful meals, we stopped in a highly forgettable French town for probably the worst French meal we have ever had.

Lynda had decided that we would travel to Cassis, find a hotel for two nights before going to our apartment that we have rented. Cassis turned out to be a picturesque fishing village on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea located east of Marseilles. An old fort sits on top of a hill overlooking the small harbor. Our hotel is right on the harbor and it is going to be hard to leave.  While we have been here Cassis has been a sleepy village but we are sure during the summer it is a bustling place.

Tuesday we drove east to Monte Carlo. In 1986 when we came to England for Tim's sabbatical year we had a couple of weeks before we could move into our home in Guildford so we spent the two weeks traveling on the continent. We won't bore you with a long explanation as to why, but we ended up staying overnight in the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel in the suite above the main entrance to the hotel. It was a magical visit. Besides the beautiful, more then we could afford, accommodations we watched Chinese fireworks over the bay while ogling huge yachts, many with helicopters situated on them. Today we proved that you can't go back and relive former glory. In 1986 the Hotel was located sort of off by itself outside of Monte Carlo. Now there are many high rise luxury hotels encroaching on the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel. It no longer looks so big and special. But fear not. The huge yachts with the helicopters are still there.

Tuesday night all the planets aligned just right for us to have a truly memorable meal.  Marseilles and the surrounding region are famous for its bouillabaisse. Bouillabaisse is in simple terms a fish stew, something that Tim has always had on his bucket list should we ever visit Marseilles. At the recommendation of our hotel we went to the Poissonnaire Laurent for dinner.  While a bit cool, because of heat lamps we were able to sit outside to eat. We could look across the bay at the fort lit up. Tres romantique! Tim had bouillabaisse while Lynda opted for sea bass.  It turns out there is a very strict procedure for properly eating bouillabaisse. A large plate was brought to the table that contained large pieces of three different grilled fish surrounded by six mussels still in their shells with a large roasted potato on top. A large terrine of hot fish broth was also brought to the table along with a basket of croutons, and containers of shredded cheese and an aioli made of mayonnaise, saffron and garlic. You begin by spreading aioli on several croutons, placing them on the bottom of the soup bowl and sprinkling cheese on top.  Then you put small pieces of the different fish and pieces of potato amongst the croutons.  Finally you ladle the broth on top. As the croutons soak up the broth the dish takes on a consistency of stew. It was sumptuous. The meal lived up to the many years of anticipation. We ended the evening on the little balcony of our hotel, reading and sipping Bailey's Irish Cream and feeling truly charmed.

Au revoir Cassis.