Day 8 - Provence, France

We docked this morning at our first stop of the cruise in Toulon, France after a somewhat breezy night (up to 110 mph winds according to our Captain). Fortunately, the ship was as stable as a rock so it didn't bother us at all. We were first taken to the village of Aix-en-Provence where we spent a few hours exploring their downtown marketplace and walking through the historic areas of town.

Then we were off to Marseille where we drove past their bustling harbor and went to visit the amazing Basilica Notre-Dame de la Garde (at top of the hill in this photo) that was dedicated to the seafarers.

On the winding road leading to the Basilica we could see the islands in the harbor including the Chateau d'if on a tiny island in the middle. It is famous for being one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas' adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo.

The inside of the Basilica Notre-Dame de la Garde was jaw-droppingly beautiful.

The view of Marseille from the Basilica grounds showed the sprawling city that surrounds it.

Before we leave the city, I must note how obvious it was that the garbage collectors were on strike protesting a legal issue in France and some other protesters were setting the piles of garbage on fire.