Day 21: Marseille

We got up in the morning to drive down to Marseille (pronounced Marsay), the largest port in France. If you're a reader you might know it because of a fantastic novel known as the Count of Monte Cristo.  Just off the coast is a couple of islands- including one tiny little island with a prison fort called the Chateau d'If (Shat-oh deef).  Though the fantastic movie of the Count of Monte Cristo makes you believe the island is far from any other coasts and it is a great feat that Edmond Dantes swims to freedom, in actuality it is very close to the port and even closer to the bigger island Frioul (Free-ool).
Unfortunately it was a very windy day- very windy.  So windy that it was impossible to land any of their boats at the Chateau d'If, but we could still go to Frioul. So that is what we did.
Frioul is a natural reserve and it has many beautiful places to swim (which was on mom's list to do), and many places to get a great view of the Chateau d'If.  But you have to walk there- cars and bikes are not allowed without special permission.  So we had about a 20 minute walk to a beach that was suggested to us.  The environment is so different from what I was used to in my more northern areas in Europe.  We felt like we were in Mexico.  It was very desert-y and there were a few dilapidated abandoned buildings.
We found the beach, which was gorgeous, but we also found a large group of people filming a french tv show.  We could only swim in one portion of the beach to stay out of their shot.
Mom and Dad got changed and went swimming, but I knew I would freeze.  Even if the water temperature were more reasonable, the wind would not be fun.  These things didn't stop my parents however. So took pictures of the beautiful clear Mediterranean water while they got their fill.  We didn't stay too long but we watched the filming from a distance for a few minutes as we walked back.  The scene they were doing was some woman murdered on the beach.  We think a dog finds her and leads some man to her body.  It was fun to listen from afar, "ACTION!" and "COUPEZ!"
We got lunch back in the port before we got on our boat back to Marseille.
The boat ride is fun because it is extremely choppy due to the wind, so it is a fun challenge of keeping your feet under you as you walk around.
Back in Marseille we passed by a boulangerie and decided to treat ourselves to some delicious pastries.
After we left Marseille we went to Arles so my parents could see another roman arena but I slept in the car. They woke me up to see a monument to Van Gogh and then we left Arles to go to St. Remy, where Van Gogh painted Starry Night.  There is a trail through the town that goes out to the hospital where he lived.  They have historical plaques spread out along the way.  It got dark while we were there- which seemed appropriate for the place where the most famous night landscape was painted.
Before getting home we went to the grocery store to find some easy dinner and food for the road tomorrow.