Mars say ah (equals me not navigating!)
Marseille was beautiful - we had fantastic weather, and it actually got hot. So we went on a boat ride the first day we were there, and it was yeah, yeah, so exciting, a boat: but the boat went to the Chateau d'If. And the Chateau d'If's main claim to fame is rain falling on the plains of Spain the fact that Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo uses the Chateau d'If as the jail for his escaped prisoner. So Edmond Dantes, then, becomes not only a fantastic literary reference, but also creates a rumor of the only escaped prisoner of the chateau (which was used as a prison). There is thus all sorts of nerdy fangirlism that went into this trip.
Other illustrious prisoners of If? A dead body (someone had a grudge; kept the body incarcerated for 15 years after the person had died) and a rhinocerous (which Albrecht Durer made a woodcut of, thus also famous!)
And aside from the nerdery, there were signs that warned of dangerous seagulls. (in english and french) Evidently it's mating season? (But said seagulls are no longer endangered; so they're trying to convince them that they don't need to mate as much as they'd like & are dipping their eggs in paraffin so that the birds keep incubating instead of trying for a second time, but they'll never hatch. Poor aggressive seagulls.)
Dinner at a very french place where the waiter laughed at us. A lot. And Cori ate an octopus. With all sorts of adorable tentacley bits.
Second day in Marseille was beach day. Evidently it was a top-optional beach. There were a lot of boobies running about. Also, old fat men in speedoes.
And the Mediterranean is cold. But we (Robert & I, then Dad, Robert & I) made it out to the buoy and back - so we have swum in the Mediterranean. The boys complained a lot about that. Whiners. :D I have enough flubber that it's not a huge deal for me. (yay?)
And I introduced the family to the wonder that is a Doner. Though they are substantially different in France than Germany, they did all enjoy it. Also, there was lots of gelato. Cassis is probably my favorite, but I'm just kind of obsessed with cassis (black currant) - tea, gelato, fresh off the bush... - but limon (lemon), framboise (strawberry), chocolat noir (dark chocolate), tiramisu, and something with cherries... I don't have flavors of gelato that I don't like.
Today was a travel day - drove with family from Marseille to Nice to Milan (on the coast, then turning north); they drove me to the train station and we got gelato. (Navigating foreign cities minus a map and plus a foreign language that no one in the car speaks? This is why public transportation exists. Otherwise you get confused tourists and Daddies who are irked at traffic. But we made it there eventually.)
Other illustrious prisoners of If? A dead body (someone had a grudge; kept the body incarcerated for 15 years after the person had died) and a rhinocerous (which Albrecht Durer made a woodcut of, thus also famous!)
And aside from the nerdery, there were signs that warned of dangerous seagulls. (in english and french) Evidently it's mating season? (But said seagulls are no longer endangered; so they're trying to convince them that they don't need to mate as much as they'd like & are dipping their eggs in paraffin so that the birds keep incubating instead of trying for a second time, but they'll never hatch. Poor aggressive seagulls.)
Dinner at a very french place where the waiter laughed at us. A lot. And Cori ate an octopus. With all sorts of adorable tentacley bits.
Second day in Marseille was beach day. Evidently it was a top-optional beach. There were a lot of boobies running about. Also, old fat men in speedoes.
And the Mediterranean is cold. But we (Robert & I, then Dad, Robert & I) made it out to the buoy and back - so we have swum in the Mediterranean. The boys complained a lot about that. Whiners. :D I have enough flubber that it's not a huge deal for me. (yay?)
And I introduced the family to the wonder that is a Doner. Though they are substantially different in France than Germany, they did all enjoy it. Also, there was lots of gelato. Cassis is probably my favorite, but I'm just kind of obsessed with cassis (black currant) - tea, gelato, fresh off the bush... - but limon (lemon), framboise (strawberry), chocolat noir (dark chocolate), tiramisu, and something with cherries... I don't have flavors of gelato that I don't like.
Today was a travel day - drove with family from Marseille to Nice to Milan (on the coast, then turning north); they drove me to the train station and we got gelato. (Navigating foreign cities minus a map and plus a foreign language that no one in the car speaks? This is why public transportation exists. Otherwise you get confused tourists and Daddies who are irked at traffic. But we made it there eventually.)