To France and Farewell

Posting from home now . . .

I want to finish up with the stops we had

and maybe later in the week, describe the happenings on the ship.

The last full day of the cruise landed us in Toulon, France

and we took our final bus tour.

We had registered for a tour of a Medieval town by the name of Hyeres.

As we drove along beaches, past vineyards and eventually through town

our tour guide kept talking about "Yers" . . .
making us wonder if we were on the wrong bus . . .

but eventually we clued in to the pronunciation.

Hyeres is picture of Medieval times with its many arches and

influences from the time of Queen Victoria and Napoleon the Third.

Medieval burgs,

churches that look like military fortresses,

 and narrow streets 

allow you a glimpse into the middle ages.

The town is situated on a hill, overlooking the sea, with a fort at the very top.

Our guide had a strong French accent and was telling us of how the people used to run 

for protection when they saw the parrots coming from North Africa. 

Although I understood, I saw the blank stare in my H's eyes until he realized what she meant.

 Running from pirates made so much more sense, 

but for the rest of the tour, we envisioned otherwise.

 I ended up laughing so hard, I cried. This was good.

To get up to the fort, we walked through a beautiful garden once belonging to the American novelist Edith Wharton who used to winter here. Its terraced steps and beautiful flowers made for a nice climb to the top.

where we had a view of the town's tiled roofscape and beyond, to the sea.

It was a birthday like none I've had.

On our way down we stopped at a hole in the wall cafe

and ordered some crepes.

The best I've had.