Showing posts with label Cassis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cassis. Show all posts

Sunday, 14 August 2011

Cassis by the sea


Cassis is a lively, touristy little town on the Mediterranean coast, less than half an hour from Marseilles.  We stayed here on the advice of Rick Steves' travel guide, to avoid the traffic congestion in Marseilles and was glad to be able to catch a glimpse of daily life in the town.


A wedding at the local church.

Stylish guest in a hurry to get in...

Patient grandma in a hurry to get out...
I crashed the wedding ceremony - just one photo of the church...
And yes, it's a long-haired priest you see at the altar, pretty hip, I'd say.  


This old fountain is in the town centre.

We'd come across lots of statues of Mary on the walls of houses.  This one is different with steps created just to attend to it.  I wondered if this is the site of some significant event or other.

The sacred...























and the profane

Budding flamingo dancer performing by the waterfront


A parade of couples looking for food







Food found - scrumptious!
Perfection!


Great tasting bouillabaise - and we didn't care if it had all the "correct" ingredients

You couldn't see the actual sunset in Cassis but it seemed the reflected glow was even better.  It created  a warm glow in the town in the evening which you could enjoy from many vantage points, as you can see below.

The setting sun caught the red rocks behind the town's chateau, which apparently was not open to visitors.









Saturday, 13 August 2011

Les Calanques

From the port of Cassis (or from Marseilles) you can take a boat ride to go out to gawk at the Calanques - fjord-like inlets with high white rocks on both sides.  The rock layers are very distinct features - reminded me of the geography lessons I had in school.  The great thing is they are also accessible by land and have become recreational areas for hiking, swimming and rock-climbing.

At Cassis, you can wait at the quay here for scheduled boat rides.  We went for one that took us to see eight calanques, all quite different.

Cassis with its backdrop of rocky outcrops seen from the sea

Great place for a picnic!












Sphinx?


The headland of Cassis in view again.


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