Near the end of the trip we didn't do a whole lot of research about the destination. The boat docked in Toulon, France but we took a tour of Aix-en-Provence, a nearby city and then a tour of Marseille, another port city up the coast.

On the way there we enjoyed views of the countryside and nice vineyards. We did stop for a bio break at a rest area and we were shocked to find the old style hole in the ground toilets and even worse, no toilet paper! On the bright side it was Cicada season and there was a nice big juicy one on a tree near the bus.

Once in Aix-en-Provence we were dropped off by the fountain and then did a walking tour of the old parts of the city. We traversed the narrow streets and endup up at the old Cathedral. We had some free time after that so we choose to get some lunch at one of the nice looking cafes along the main boulevard.

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Marseille, France

We spent the afternoon in Marseille, a good sized port city. There was a LOT of new construction going on. This city is definitely going through a building boom, especially around the private boat port. The highlight of the city was the nice scenery and a visit to the Notre Dame de la Garde cathedral on top of the tallest hill in the city.

We enjoyed the very richly decorated cathedral. The highlights were the amazinginly detailed mosaics covering the ceiling. Outside it was a beutiful day and enjoyed the city views as well.

Then while leaving we learned that the main highway back to Toulon was blocked by an accident as well as a strike of some sort. Our guide decided to take the scenic coastal road which was much slower but open. This is another time we were glad we booked through NCL because we ended up getting back to the boat about 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time. The guide did get a call wondering where we were.

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