Bon jour! We are back from France.

Remember all that rain I discussed in all those blogs--rain that, for weeks on end, was predicted for the next 4 days but never arrived, rain that the garden could use but people could do without, rain to fill the rivers and lochs to their normal levels? Well it appears to have arrived. As we were driving over the Langside moor road from Braco to Comrie on Friday afternoon, we passed a sign nearer to Comrie which said "Flooding!" but never saw any standing water until we encountered a few more or less normal-sized puddles just as we entered the village. The sun was shining and it was fairly warm so we knew it had rained but couldn't tell when. At an event we attended Friday evening, we were told we had gotten some effects of a recent Atlantic Ocean hurricane that brought persistent and heavy rains on Thursday. Just as we were leaving for the event on Friday at about 7 pm, it had begun to rain lightly and kept it up all night. It was dry yesterday but remained overcast. It began to rain sometime in the late afternoon and continued all night and on through Sunday so far (it's 2:30 pm our time as I write this and it looks as though it will rain all day). I was somewhat relieved because I left my garden without a gardner for 5 days and expected to return to withered plants. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

Where we were, we had sunshine and warmth—lots of it. Both Marseille, which we flew into last Monday, and Cassis, our destination, are on the Mediterranean and so were warm (high 70s) and very sunny. Our flight out of Scotland was delayed by about an hour, some of which the pilot was able to make up. As usual it took a while to get our bags, walk to the car hire place, and get into our hired car, a snazzy black Opel diesel estate wagon (station wagon) with 6 forward gears. (Don used them all.)

The trip from Marseille to Cassis was pretty easy but we made a few premature right turns before getting the correct one into our friends' condo complex. The first turn was into a camper site and the second was into a gated condo community. The gate was open when we arrived because we followed another car in, but when we realized our mistake and turned around, the gate had closed so we had to sit and wait for another car to come open it again. We couldn't imagine how, without speaking French, we could find someone and get them to let us out. I don't know about Don but as we waited, I had visions of knocking on condo doors and then playing a manic game of charades. Fortunately, a car entered after about 2 minutes and we were able to sneak out.

Claudine and Bernard's condo sits on a bluff overlooking the harbor town of Cassis (pronounced CasSEE, and no, the liqueur doesn't come from there, although it is made elsewhere in Provence). Above is a photo of the view from our bedroom. You can't see Cassis from here as it's nestled into the area in the lower left of the picture. The cliff in the photo is called Cape Canaille (pronounced Cap CanEYE) and is the highest clifftop on the sea in all of Europe at an altitude of about 400 metres.

After we had unpacked our things and freshened up a bit, we had a light lunch and then a brief lie-down. (We had gotten up at 2 that morning and left at about 3 for our drive to the airport for a 4:30 check-in.) Later the four of us walked down the hill to Cassis and just rambled around the harbor where there are fishing boats, pleasure boats (sailboats and yachts), excursion boats, and near the lighthouse, some small boats used by the sailing school. We sat on a bench for a while and watched groups of men playing petanque in a small park area next to the harbor.
Then we walked along to the beach where people were sunbathing or swimming. Farther along a paved jetty, we came to the lighthouse with its statue of Calandal the Fisherman, a symbol of Cassis.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The Mediterranean was deep azure, the sky was bright blue, and there were whispy white clouds. It was plenty warm but there was always a cooling breeze as the Mistral was blowing cooler air in. Looking back toward the harborside village, we could see Cape Canaille on our right, white cliffs that lined fjords called the Calanques to our left, and up on the hill to our immediate right, an ancient walled castle, unfortunately not open to the public as it is privately owned. The mixed modern and old buildings of Cassis sit below the castle. The view was really breathtaking, especially on such a day.

We wandered in and out of a few shops, strolled through one of the streets in the old town, and had drinks at one of the many port-side restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating. At 7, we went to the Dussert's favorite restaurants, La Commerce, to try the local speciality, fish soup, as well as other delights. Fish soup is made by cooking up a variety of local fish along with tomato sauce and vegetables, then pureeing the whole thing. It is served hot with croutons (sliced toasted rounds of a baguette) and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. You take a crouton and spread it with a mustard-mayonnaise mixture, then put the crouton into your soup bowl and ladle the soup over it. Next you liberally sprinkle the Parmesan over the top. It took a bit of getting used to but once you did, you could see why it was a favorite with the locals.

We had a lovely meal, starting with Kir (made with Cassis white wine and the liquour called Cassis), the soup and entrees with more wine, and ended with fabulous desserts and strong coffee. We needed fortification because there was the trek on foot back up the hill. At points, the grade was 12% and the total distance was about a mile. You can believe we were plenty ready for bed that night! Our ornately carved bed, which had belonged to Claudine's mother, was made up with linen sheets which had been fancily and expertly hand-embroidered by Claudine's granmere. On top of the covers was a beautiful lacy coverlet which Claudine's mother had crocheted.

On Tuesday, we were taken on a tour of Cape Canaille, following a winding road up into the ancient red sandstone rocks with chalk running through them, from the top of which were the most amazing views in all directions. In addition to views over Cassis and the Calanques beyond looking westward toward Marseille, we could see vineyards that lie just outside Cassis as well as the nearby city of La Ciotat to the east. We drove down to La Ciotat and alongside its harbor and took the inland road back to Cassis, stopping on the way at a roadside farm shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. There was an abundance of delicious fresh fruit for every meal as well as fantastic local olives, vegetables, cheeses, and cured meats. Of course, there was a baguette with every meal with good strong coffee and the occasional glass of wine or liqueur. There was time for another nap after lunch. In the afternoon, the four of us played a couple of games of Petanque across from their condo car park. We won one game and they won one. Perfect.

Wednesday was Cassis market day, so Claudine, Don, and I went down with our basket and shopping list. (Bernard dropped us off and then went to visit an Internet café to check his e-mail while he waited for his faulty modem to get sorted later in the day by his nephew.) Claudine knew that our priorities were to buy and send off a French birthday card to our now 12-year-old granddaughter, Jami, and to find a vendor of Provencale fabric so that I could buy fabric as a backing for the Provencale bed quilt I've been working on off and on since our trip to Paris in 2000. We were in luck, we not only found an adequate selection of wide fabric in the perfect colours, but we also found a patterned table cloth which we hadn't been able to find in Scotland. Claudine bargained for us in French (of course) with the vendors and got them to throw in a baguette holder for free. (Just what we need here in Comrie! Actually, it works perfectly well as a plastic grocery bag holder.) We found some nice souvenirs which Claudine also managed to facilitate the purchase of so that we got 5 for the price of 4. She, meanwhile, purchased more fresh cheeses and meats. On the way back to our rendezvous spot where Bernard was to collect us, Claudine stopped in a shop for something and sent us ahead to the bakery which would close soon to pick up a fresh baguette. Don said you know you're out of your depth when you go into a French shop, order a baguette in French (Bon jour! Une baguette, si'l vous plait) and they answer you in English!

Claudine's nephew Dominique joined us for lunch. He was on his lunch 2 hours from work and managed to havelunch with us, do a successful diagnostic job on Bernard's modem, and drive back to his office in Marseille in time to run a meeting at 2. Having obtained a degree in English in a Yorkshire university, Dominique speaks perfect English without much trace of an accent. It was enjoyable getting to meet and spend a bit of time with him.

That afternoon, Bernard dropped Claudine and us off again down in Cassis so we could take a tour of the Calanques (CaLANkus). These cliffs are 400 metres thick and are formed of chalk, dating back millions of years. They line fjords that were said to have formed when the sea level rose dramatically at the end of the Ice Age. The cliffs jut out into the Mediterranean and thus form the inlets or fjords of sandy bottoms and clear aquamarine water, some with inviting beaches. We took one of the excursion boats out and were able to see the first 5 of the Calanques that stretch along the coast all the way back to Marseille.

It was an interesting tour with very little commentary. Unlike the steady and often loud patter one usually hears in tourist excursions of this sort, the boat operator only announced the name of each fjord as we entered it and told us one thing about each of them. The boat was full of tourists from all over. Many photos were snapped. These white cliffs are so dramatic, especially with the gorgeous water beneath them, that it is hard to give you just one. Coming back into Cassis, the harbor was stunning in the late afternoon sunshine.

We had a restful late afternoon back at the condo and another beautiful evening meal. On Thursday morning after breakfast, we packed up and headed off to Aix-en-Provence, which I will tell you about tomorrow. Claudine and Bernard were heading out themselves for a few days in the village of Corps not far from Grenoble and the little village where they both were born and raised. I am also providing you with a photo of our hosts, Claudine and Bernard Dussert.