France June / July 2019
Inishnee’s … Tour de France
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| Pastis.... very popular beverage |
We had a fantastic and exciting overnight passage to the mainland of France. Just west of the official French Riviera coast, we landed in Saint Raphael just in time for the first heat wave of the season. It was a doozy! We saw temps in the high 90’s f and a few days topping out at just over 100. 113*f in Paris… it was too hot to do much but we managed…
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| grocery delivery |
July…
After a pleasant afternoon and night aboard it was time to launch the dinghy to explore the town and maybe spot a movie star or two… Our sad little dink had a hard time finding a place to tie up to since the docks were all reserved for the big boats and their tenders… after circling the harbor we were finally able to tie up to the outer wall for a few hours.
The old town was neat and clean, bustling with tourists. The courtyard for the fortress of the old city was repurposed for a boule, similar to bocce ball.
We had a very pleasant lunch before heading back to the boat.
Toulon next. A large harbor with a manmade break wall. Boats are not permitted to anchor near or in the harbor due to the military base and the dozens of scuttled boats from WWII. The French sunk or disabled approximately 90 of their own vessels prior to the German invasion, preventing the Germans from taking possession of them. The crew and ship thoroughly enjoyed fresh water showers after settling in.
Toulan is a good sized city. Many outdoor cafes. A nice mall with air conditioning. A nautical museum and active crew race teams, both scull (2 oars) and sweep (1 oar). Both quite lovely to watch.
We located several chandleries in search of a flexible solar panel to replace one of ours that has failed. None could be delivered for several weeks. We’ll have one sent to us in Barcelona where we plan to stop and play for a couple of weeks.
Toulon does have a slightly seedy side unfortunately. There are many homeless individuals roaming the streets. Most with beer in hand or close by. Though disconcerting, we never felt threatened by anyone.
We spent some time on boat projects: sewing ripped sun screens and addressed some wiring issues. Then off to watch the women’s world cup finals… US won, in case to missed it!
We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with dinner ashore. beef and bird. French steaks are hit and miss, but duck… Duck is fantastic! Duck Magret (breast) is unbelievably tender. We actually called the waiter over thinking he gave Jim the wrong dish. Nope. It just resembles the most tender, thick and juicy steak you might hope eat … roast till the fat is rendered… rest, serve with miel (honey) sauce …
La Ciotat harbor next. We called several times to the marina…Lunch time. No answer. So, we came about and anchored off the beach. La Ciotat is a small village but home of the large mega yacht shipyard. Starting in the 15 century with small fishing boats, eventually steamships and now mega yachts… repairs and refurbishing. Venus, Steve Job’s former boat, was in for servicing while we were there. 
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| remote controlled submarine |
Between La Coitat and Marseille lie’s the very impressive Calanques. A series of rocky limestone cliffs, bays and underwater caves. Parc national des Calanques. Very popular with locals and tourists. 
The Mediterranean coasts have many localized named winds that plague sailors. More prominent in the summer, these winds can cause catastrophic damage. As the winds travels down from the mountains they heat up and funnel though the valleys to the sea.
They blow for many hours each day for a week or more at a time, normally gusting in the mid 20 kt… Sometimes much more. The area around this part Mediterranean France is known as the Mistral.
Jim has been diligent about checking the weather and finding safe passages for the crew and ship. An upcoming big blow was expected to last a week or more so we decided to move on to Marseille, the second largest city in France. Fortunately for us, this long layover would coincide with Bastille Day (July 14), France’s independence day.
The old port , Vieux Port would be our home both these events…
Marseille
We were given a berth near the Captaniers office, the old town all around us. The old fort protecting us from sea invasions while the Basilique Notré Dam de la Garde guarding us from above…
Another fresh water bath for all, then we set off to see the many sights the city has to offer.
A free walking tour where were visited the …
Cathédral la Major
Centré de la Charité, formerly a hospital for the impoverished, now a museum
MuCum, Museé des civilisations a bit of history; both geological and archaeological
The Basilique Notré dam… built in the new harbor, it was meant to be the first thing visitors would see on approach…
The Nautical museum of history build on and over the ancient harbor. It’s focus; maritime artifacts, ships recovered from the sea etc. There is also a nice collection of items from other countries. 
The fire works were like none we have ever seen. 30 barges spanning the harbor, a 1/2 mile, end to end and the old fort raining down liquid fire from its walls. We were like ping pong balls in a heated tournament, our heads snapping back and forth watching show…. 30 minutes of flames…
Marseille was a rather undesirable city not to long ago; vagrants and street dogs, litter and filth. The stoops of doors needed boot scrapers so you didn’t bring in the excrement … 
The city planners did a great job of cleaning it up with the funds provide by the EU when it was selected to be the host European Capital of Culture for 2013… a one year term with a cash incentive. The city is quite revived and thriving. Cruise ships delivering thousands of passengers daily…
