drron29

The next morning we awoke steaming into Saint Tropez. Our excursion was to Port Grimaud. Presumably the inspiration for Mike Gore. For the non Australians he was an infamous property developer on Quennsland's Gold Coast. He got Frank Sinatra and Whitney houston to open his Sanctuary Cove Resort. It was OTT. just before he was to be sentenced for tax fraud he disappeared to the USA his valuable art and antique collection was never found. His son also became a property developer on the Gold Coast and did end up in jail. In other words like this resort gore's resort was OTT. The conspicuous flaunting of wealth everywhere. this pic sums up my thoughts.

Some more views as we were eating. And by the time we had finished the sun had set.

So to the food. First the Antipasti. Entrees. Octopus for me,carpaccio for Rojaan. Next the pasta course. Spaghetti for me, mushroom risotto for Rojaan. Then I had the tomato zuppe. I really like this. And for mains it was the beef for me and the veal for Rojaan. The beef wasn't as good as in the main restaurant but still nice. We didn't need desserts.

As the ship left Marseille it was time for dinner in La Terraza. The menu for La Terraza. Americans seem to love this restaurant so although officially reservations not needed it is best to book. We think the food is nice but not brilliant so we normally eat here only once or twice per cruise. This time we probably didn't need to have booked. The menu

Now back on the Dawn and a few views. And we used to sing a little ditty about this fellow back in medical school.

From the bus back to Marseille. The last of the large cruise ships was preparing to depart.

The last of the bridge and some pics from the part of the Town Wall you can access from the bridge. Back to the old town. We now sat in the shade and had an icecream. It was then about 30 minutes to our bus pick up so we wandered back to the pick up point. Plane trees aren't great for paths. And now we say good bye to Avignon.

Now we visited the bridge. A little of the history.

And on it goes. At least an English commentary. And now a street cut through the rock. It was where smelting was undertaken. Now we wandered around the main square. The most important building for the Popes -the Treasury. We decided we weren't going to bother with the Popes so had a slow stroll around the old town.

We had to wait for one coming the other way so they decided to cram a few more on.I lost my window seat. Without being on the side it really isn't worth it. Handed the camera to Rojaan so some pics.

We made the right choice. Within a couple of minutes of going into the palace the heavens opened up and those outside queuing for the Papal Palace got soaked. Some displays were down right sadistic though. Notice the guy being pulled apart by the horses. As we exited there was a last about to be gory painting. The lines were still long for the Popes so we went for a trolley ride.

Now we walk into the old town.The Palace De Papes. We hadn't booked online and the walk up queue was quite long so we went to the Cardinals Palace which was free. And now for the Cardinals Palace.

After our usual breakfast at the Arts cafe- a cappucino, a cronut and a shared fruit plate we were off to Avignon. Some from the bus. And arriving in Avignon. The Pont everyone comes to see. A bit underwhelming. And the old town walls.

The next morning we were sailing into Marseille. We would not be alone.

We were exhausted after 2 excursions in a day both of which ran overtime. We had dinner in Atlantide. Here is the daily specials - The only different dishes we had from previous meals were the salmon tartare. And desserts. The mango trilogy and the pavlova.

We had an ice cream then Rojaan found a seat and I walked some more of the village. It was Sunday and people were turning up for mass so I could take a few photos.

Another delightful village and well worth a visit. Another feature is defensive towers. Some delightful cheeses. We were now given time at our leisure. Posters up everywhere for the 80th Anniversary of an obscure film.

We were now off to the village of Begur. Another Hilltop village. Passed plenty of orchards. We now got to walk around the village. Many villagers in the late 19th century moved to the Spanish american colonies. Many returned as "Indianos" and if successful flaunted their wealth.

So the last from the castle. Fascinating especially the back story. Rumoured that the pair only coupled once. Dali had to ask permission to visit Gala at the castle, She was constantly entertaining "friends".

Now to the castle. Down to the basement where Gala is buried. Dali was to be buried beside her but allegedly changed his mind and is now buried at his museum.

A pretty little village. In the village is Gala's castle. We started with a walk around the gardens.The major features of the gardens are the pool and elephant statues. The elephants aren't to look interesting they are a part of the watering system.

So first a few pics on the way to Pujol. The area is known for ceramics and agriculture. Then we reached Pujol Village.

First my limit of pampering is having a manicure and pedicure when staying in Bangkok. neither of us used the spa services on this cruise. I suppose I should have said mega yachts as they are what I was referring to not smaller true yachts. around the Mediterranean a substantial number are owned by Russian oligarchs. The others by extremely wealthy people who to me represent the evidence of the inequality in this world. I am talking about those worth more than $US 50 million. So it excludes most of us here on CC.

We have cruised in the medallion suite on the Whisper on back to back Baltic cruises. it was 5 years ago. but we loved it and preferred it to a Silver suite. Noise was never a problem.

So we leave the museum and drive back to the ship. Prickly pear is common in Europe. In Australia it caused havoc and turned farming land into a cactus jungle. Here is what it looked like. It was controlled by introducing an argentinian moth which ate the whole plant. You can read about it here. https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/prickly-pear-eradication But no such problem here. The area is also famous for it's pottery. We did learn on this day why it is not a great idea to do 2 excursions in a day.The excursion got back to the ship an hour late so straight to our room for a comfort stop and picked up a wrap in the Arts Cafe Which we ate as we headed down to start our second excursion for the day to Pujol Village and Gala's castle.