Vacationing –  in the OTHER South of

                           France

When we left  to go on vacation last week I said to David, ‘Do you remember in the 90’s when we were not even 50 or 50-ISH – that we were NOT going to plan our vacations anymore, we would have ALL of it done for us?  – Do you remember that, darling?”

And the next thing to happen was that we did plan, still plan, will forever plan our vacations and probably will never have the 6,000 USD all-inclusive plan, where bags are picked up at the outset, delivered to your first/second/third location, carted around in one GINORMOUS bus that rivals the height of the Eiffel Tower, where every meal is carefully planned out for you, and that if there isn’t SNOW where you are longing to be for your “SKI Vacation”, that indeed, the bus will turn around and take you to once again another village that does have the snow, so that you can be happy. (& won’t ask for a refund to the travel company that has left you without snow).

This is a story of what a vacation like ours, and a vacation like “the others” take…..and I apologize before hand.  It is lacking in anything remotely made up, fabricated, as it is entirely, beyond belief,  true.

DAY 1 –  MORNING – Leaving Cassis via Train to the “OTHER” South of France

Excitement looms.  We slept but two hours as we just could not bring ourselves to going to bed.  We haven’t had a vacation away in France for a long time.   It’s 5:00 in the morning.  We haven’t been up this early in AGES.  That’s excitement all by itself.  (David works supremely late nights so we have late sleep habits).

The taxi arrives and takes our luggage and us to the little tiny train station in the dark and in the cold.  Cassis train station is the absolute embodiment of PROVENCE.  Even without the Cicada’s humming.                The COQ, however, (Rooster’s ) ARE crooning as we wait for our train to arrive in the darkness.  It’s magical.  My whole life I’ve dreamed of having “Le Coq” outside my window waking me up.  Not really, just having the CHICKENS so that I could have the fresh EGGS, is really what I wanted.    ZROOOOOOOOOM, the fast train swooshes past me and wakes me out of my dream state on Le Coq’s………and then our slow train comes to a standstill and we climb aboard.

As our SNCF train glides around  & hugs the tiny seaports of Sanary-sur-Mer, Bandol, Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, sunrise is beginning to peek it’s iridescent glow and it’s never been more beautiful than it is right at this moment.

the picturesque harbour of Sanary-sur-Mer, a commune and bathing resort in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-