Dreaming of Mediterranean Weekends

• July 28, 2010
• Mari Bickmore
• 2 comments

Here I am again. Didn’t expect me again so soon, did you? I have to move along quickly now, as I come home on Saturday. 7-1/2 weeks ago it seemed like a long time, and now our sojourn in France is quickly coming to a close.

We bade farewell to our hostess at La Cordiere and headed south to the Mediterranean and Le Ciotat, but not without a pit stop in Aix-en-Provence. Why, pray tell, do you think we would make a stop on a drive that would only take at most an hour-and-a-half? Have you so soon forgotten La Tropezienne? – the cream puff? Doesn’t that seem like the perfect breakfast? We pulled into town and dropped the B’s off in front of Bechard, made the block and came back ‘round to pick them up. Of course, they weren’t there, so I just pulled up and waited…and waited…. and….soon they appeared. It was apparently a hot spot that morning, but they bought me calissons and all was well in the world.

We arrived at Le Ciotat by 10 a.m., checked into the hotel, Hotel Plage Saint Jean, and headed for la plage. Well, Amanda and I headed for the beach. The Bs now had A/C and were going to make the most of it. They said they stayed at the hotel beach for an hour before heading in for a late morning siesta, but I’m not buying that story. In any event, Amanda and I bought a big beach umbrella and a burger and fries, and proceeded to enjoy the water, read, rest, repeat scenario. There is a great sandy beach here and it is fairly shallow for a long distance out, with that wonderful deep blue color you just don’t see anywhere else. It just makes you sigh and know that when you are at home you will be dreaming of returning.

Amanda at La Ciotat beach

When we knew we had enough sun and surf and people watching, we emulated our amis and returned to our room to crank up the A/C. Took a little afternoon nap to refresh ourselves for dinner. Hotel Plage Saint Jean is not on the strip, but is in a nice area. It has an indoor pool and spa and is a very short walk to the rock beach. What it lacks in character it makes up in having modern amenities and cleanliness. It is definintely moderately priced and has parking!

In Le Ciotat, there is a very, very long beach-front drag taking you from where the sandy beach transitions to a rock beach down to the original port town where the fishing boats dock. This, we assumed, was where all the tourists ate. Hence, we set off to find a local’s hangout. Try as we did, even using our handy GPS, we struck out. Every entry led us back to the drag. Finally, we parked our car, which was a feat unto itself as there was a paucity of parking. However, the area we were headed to was a bit farther down than we thought, kind of like thinking the Rockies are close when you are in Hope, Colorado.

View of La Ciotat from near our restaurant

After a little hike, working up our appetite, we got to the port area. We had no idea which restaurant we wanted, and they are lined up one after another around the U-shaped port, all with tables spilling out onto the sidewalls and colorful umbrellas inviting you in. The menus are posted on large placards out in front and just make the decision harder. We pick one, I think because Beverly didn’t want to sit at the plastic chairs of the one next door. I mean, when you cannot pick a café that’s as good a reason as any. However, we peruse the menu, the waitress brings a carafe d’eau, but we can’t find anything we want. We leave. This is a recurring theme in our travels. We move along a couple of places down and choose another.

This one is a good choice. La Grotte. They are serving food and it makes our mouths water. Amanda and I choose the scallops and ravioli in, what else, a truffle cream sauce along with a toasted chevre salad. The B’s ordered some kind of sea bass and a seafood appetizer. We saw people getting pizza and it looked fantastic. Thin, crispy crust – just like I like it. Sitting outside under the umbrellas as the sun was getting lower, with the sea breeze gently blowing in from the Mediterranean, and enjoying a delectable meal. How divine. I thought we were full – at least I was. However, they had set up a small market of sorts lining the street outside the restaurants for the evening, and we were lazily strolling looking at the wares, when, lo and behold, there was an ice cream shop. I guess by now we were beyond resistance. Story over.

We took a circuitous walking route back though the alleys of the town, but finally hit the drag again and headed toward the car. On the way, we happened upon a little festival of sorts in a courtyard off the street with belly dancers for entertainment. Well, they were students of the art and a couple were fairly good. I am sure one was the teacher. But it was festive and fun. At the end they invited people up on stage and a couple of OLD men got up to dance with the young girls. Now that was entertainment.

La Cadiere d’Azur

Cassis Beach

Day two we headed out to take a drive along the coast south of us. There was no real coastal road to view the ocean, although we did see some exquisite countryside and a particularly lovely town called La Cadiere d’Azur. But lacking a good road to view the sea, we headed back north to Cassis. This is originally where I wanted to stay, but finding no rooms in our allotted price category, we ended up in La Ciotat. While La Ciotat has a great beach and the port area is nice, it is not as fetching as Cassis, so if you plan to come to this area book in advance. The town is built on a fairly sharp rise which, obviously, lends itself to a more picturesque setting, and it also has a nice sandy beach with a lot of activity. We didn’t stay here too long, but long enough for gelato! Maybe one day I’ll return for a beach holiday. It is really quite lovely and not as hectic as the beach towns around Nice.

Cassis in Town

It is time for the B’s afternoon siesta and Amanda and I for some more beach time. This time we use the hotel’s beach area which is solid rock. Not rocks like Nice, but solid rock. We find a little alcove, like a topless cave, and settle in. Speaking of topless, there are some sights to behold here. Some things you just don’t want to see. I mean I am of the opinion that just because they make it in your size doesn’t mean you should wear it and just because they make a bikini doesn’t mean you should either and just because it is a beach you don’t have to take it off…. But for some of you out there, there are definitely some sights you wouldn’t mind seeing. Amanda and I wonder that if there is so much skin to be seen all the time, doesn’t that take the mystery out of it. I mean, if you can see it anytime on the beach it is just not special anymore. Just an observation.

Beach at Hotel Plage St Jean

Looking up from our open-air grotto

Beach Hotel Plage St Jean

Mediterranean view from Hotel Plage St Jean

Sitting in our private alcove, we can see from the point south of La Ciotat across to the point of Port d’Alon and the expanse of crystal blue sea in between. We dream of boating from town to town along the coast and planning places we would like to see. We watch the clouds and the seagulls and the yachts, which is where we got the idea of boating. The afternoon passes quickly and we realize we are supposed to catch a boat at 5:30 and we have to find a parking place – and it is later than we thought.

BUT, we did it, parked and made the boat. This is for a ride through the calanques. I have been wanting to see them for years now. They are, for lack of a longer and more geological explanation, looking like mini fjords, but in warmer water. They are magnificent. We meet a Moroccan guy and his wife onboard. and Hakeem attaches himself to us and gives us tidbits of information, since we cannot understand the guide on the loudspeaker (French). He really likes us…. The water color in some of the calanques defies explanation, it actually glows. It makes you want to jump off the boat and relish in the sheer brilliance of it all. If I return, I will find a boat ride that allows you to do just that. Gary will love it! A thoroughly outstanding afternoon.  It was very hard to choose just a few pix from this calanques trip; it was so amazing.

The Amazing Water of the Calanques

Calanques 1Calanques 3

Calanques 2

After returning to the room to refresh for dinner, we find that the B’s have consumed a bottle of wine betwixt themselves before leaving, so they are a bit giddy. We are just walking from our hotel and have three choices of restaurants, but the decision still eludes us. Is it just us, or do other people have such a hard time choosing? We make our choice based on….was there a reason? Pizza. They have an outdoor brick pizza oven. That was it. It was good pizza – and Dizzy ordered herself and BS more wine. Ooops. They had already had enough and this was enough to tip the cart. Suffice it to say, you might be glad you weren’t at our table. We were loud Texans. I am glad I drink water, else who would record the evening for posterity. Did BS proposition the waiter? She did break her glass, but she breaks at least one every trip. It is a good story. We like good stories. I don’t write about the good stories here.

We make it through the evening unscathed, relatively. When we were back in our respective rooms I get calls from both B’s. They are amusing. If you ask, I just might tell.

Another segment of the trip over, except for a stop at the corner boulangerie for breakfast before heading to the Dordogne. The brioche was just okay, but the B’s got a sort of cream puff they say was heavenly, maybe better than Aix, but much smaller. As far as I am concerned, that is just hearsay.