One of the main reasons James and I made the side trip to Cassis was to visit the famous Calanques. Since we didn't have enough time to explore the area on our own, we decided to take one of the highly recommended boat excursions.
There are three options for boat tours; you can visit the first three, five or all nine Calanques. The first three will take you approximately 45 minutes, the first five will take you 65 minutes and all nine will take you 90 minutes round trip.
The problem is— I typically get very, very sea sick.
I took some motion sickness medicine earlier that morning, but since it was my first time taking the medicine, I really didn't know what to expect. In my mind (and my husband's mind) an hour and a half "at sea" was a bit too risky, especially since we had a full travel day ahead of us...
We decided it was better to be safe than sorry and chose to stick with the shortest tour.
Overall the tour was lovely. Quick, but lovely. I was pleasantly surprised that the medicine worked and I enjoyed the boat trip without getting any motion sickness... I diiddddddd end up feeling a bit disappointed that we didn't just 'go for it' and see all nine of the Calanques, but it was a hard decision to make at the time.
Do yourself a favor and take the extra time and pay the extra money to see all nine! No excuses! Plus, I think some of the more famous and picturesque locations are further down the coast, so we really missed out on seeing some of the iconic landscapes that made me want to go in the first place.
eh. oh well.
Once we got back to the harbor, we spent the remainder of our time around the meandering around, people-watching, and basking in the sun with a couple of MASSIVE Hoegaardens. It truly was a perfect summer day in the South of France.
I wholeheartedly believe that we will visit again and spend our time hiking, boating, cliff jumping and laying out on the makeshift beaches around the Calanques. I can't imagine a better place to do it!
welp, at least you saw a few of them, right? i could through out my cliche "well now you have a reason to go back" but i won't...
ReplyDeleteAt least you took beautiful photos of what you did see?! Unfortunately, it would have been impossible to know in advance. Hindsight is 20/20. Ugh
ReplyDeleteThe South of France has been somewhere I've wanted to go for a while but it keeps slipping my mind. BUT I just made a note so I won't forget about it anymore. Any other places you'd recommend in the area?
your pictures are STUNNING! And I completely sympathize with you ... I keep a pack of dramamine in my purse because I am prone to motion sickness. But the bad part is that medicine always makes me veeerryy sleepy :-/ Great pictures, though! I would love to visit the South of France someday.
ReplyDeleteYou're pictures are gorgeous! I want to go to the south of France so bad!
ReplyDeleteI think France must love the massive Hoegardens.....I found similar sizes in Paris! But these pictures....obsessed.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures! I really want to visit the south of France, I think that is more my scene than Paris.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a really incredible adventure! I'm sorry you got a little seasick. If we go, I'll make sure to see the whole thing!
ReplyDeleteMelanie @ meandmr.com
Thanks Ragan! You definitely should visit! Back in college, I used to take dramamine as a sleeping aid! LOL! But whatever I took didn't affect me from what I can remember!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Courtney! The South of France is a great summer holiday. I would definitely recommend it!
ReplyDeleteYou're so right! Hoegaarden is one of my favorite light beers, so the bigger the better! :)
ReplyDeleteThe south of France is just a totally different animal. So laid back. So organic! I haven't been back to Paris in almost six years, but I will not stay that long away from the South of France.
ReplyDeleteYou won't be disappointed! xx
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about hindsight... The South of France is really laid back. We had such a great time driving through the country and into the mountains... It's a totally different vibe from traveling to major cities.
ReplyDeleteWe really do plan on going back, so I will make sure to explore all of them properly!
ReplyDeleteHi! Did you drive along the coastal area of Southern part of France during Summer? If so, was there traffic along the way? I am heading to that area this July and am thinking or not to rent a car! I love the idea of just driving along the coast leisurely but definitely don't want to get stuck in traffic either! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Marilyn! We went the second week of October and had unusually warm weather. It was like the last breath or summer. We rented a car and it was leisurely, but I don't know about the middle of summer. I still think it would be fine though. Hope that helps! :)
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