One great thing with nearly all accommodation is that petit dejeuner is included. So the children love it as we head to breakfast and they get to eat as much as they like. The attraction for this breakfast was the fresh juicer. Cut the orange / grapefruit in half and away it goes.
On the road again and 1:30 hours later we arrive in the bustling Mediterranean metropolis of Marseilles. This is France’s oldest and second largest city with a population of about 810000.
After we worked our way around the city to find accommodation we ended up right in Vieux Port (Old Port) the hub of life based around the port and cafes lining the 3 sides of the marinas with thousands of yachts moored there, a fabulous sight to see. 
The hotel had a car elevator which took us down 3 storeys to the parking floor. This really amused the children – a very tight squeeze though, in the elevator and getting in and out around all the concrete obstacles. Thank goodness we are in a small car! We also had to have 2 rooms – next to each other, incredibly basic but adequate. The girls didn’t mind having their own room and thought it was very grown up!
Lunch – Zen Zen, the asian equivalent for Fast food – Sushi, wontons, prawns and various other treats. Very nice to sit in the sun next to the port and watch the goings on and how the other half live.
We jumped on a ferry out to the Château d’If. It was the last sailing of the day and there wiould be none on Monday as the Chateau is closed.
This island was once a 16th century fortress turned prison. The island isn’t very big but became immortalised in the 1840’s novel – Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo). Political prisoners of all persuasions were incarcerated here along with hundreds of Protestants, many of whom perished in the dungeons. 
Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the dungeons – we all would have liked to!
Tea was at a Pizzeria with a very surly waitress – she never smiled and you felt you shouldn’t be there. The meal was average – pizza, calzone, pasta but the wait for the bill (l’addition) took about 45-50 minutes. I wonder how many get sick of waiting and do a runner! Would they chase you? Would they notice? Would they care?
On the road again and 1:30 hours later we arrive in the bustling Mediterranean metropolis of Marseilles. This is France’s oldest and second largest city with a population of about 810000.
After we worked our way around the city to find accommodation we ended up right in Vieux Port (Old Port) the hub of life based around the port and cafes lining the 3 sides of the marinas with thousands of yachts moored there, a fabulous sight to see.
The hotel had a car elevator which took us down 3 storeys to the parking floor. This really amused the children – a very tight squeeze though, in the elevator and getting in and out around all the concrete obstacles. Thank goodness we are in a small car! We also had to have 2 rooms – next to each other, incredibly basic but adequate. The girls didn’t mind having their own room and thought it was very grown up!
Lunch – Zen Zen, the asian equivalent for Fast food – Sushi, wontons, prawns and various other treats. Very nice to sit in the sun next to the port and watch the goings on and how the other half live.
We jumped on a ferry out to the Château d’If. It was the last sailing of the day and there wiould be none on Monday as the Chateau is closed.
This island was once a 16th century fortress turned prison. The island isn’t very big but became immortalised in the 1840’s novel – Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo). Political prisoners of all persuasions were incarcerated here along with hundreds of Protestants, many of whom perished in the dungeons. 
Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the dungeons – we all would have liked to!Tea was at a Pizzeria with a very surly waitress – she never smiled and you felt you shouldn’t be there. The meal was average – pizza, calzone, pasta but the wait for the bill (l’addition) took about 45-50 minutes. I wonder how many get sick of waiting and do a runner! Would they chase you? Would they notice? Would they care?
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