DAY NINE

JR had a short visit to the gym before breakfast. We were off on a day trip of Isle Sur Le Sorgue, a wee village about an hour’s drive from Marseille. It’s famous for the water wheels. We’d been there when we travelled around in a combi van in the 80s, but the image I had in my mind’s eye did not seem to fit today. We spent weeks travelling in Provence, which is such a fantastic region.

It was blue skies and sunny, but a cold - very cold - wind has developed, which while being quite unpleasant, is also ominous for anyone taking to the open seas later today… I think we can expect another rocky night.

We had a wander round the wee town and the brocante shops - some of them were very groovy. We had a couple of sit downs for coffees and crêpes. There were LOTS of dogs. 

We were back to the city in the afternoon, and had it been more pleasant weather, we would have gone up to the church on the hill, as the wee tourist train goes there. In fact, we did set off, but decided that a coffee and little treat in the Arts Cafe, followed by a snooze, was more appealing than being in the wind any longer than necessary.

We are very lucky to have the ship berthed just a short stroll from the old town, because all the other cruise ships are at the other port five miles away.

Dinner tonight overlooking the cathedral, though because of the high wind, there was no outdoor seating. But the cathedral was lit up pink in the evening sun, and I was desperate to get to a better vantage point to get a photo. Alas, I was too late by the time we finished our meal and got to the Arts Cafe.

Our overdressed pals arrived and we had a bit of a laugh with them. They are more P&O Cruise fans - they like the entertainment. They went off to the show again tonight, but we’re flagging a bit, and decided to retire early.

The wind has died down slightly, and the captain has delayed the sailing, as we’re in a very tight space for manoeuvring out, so maybe we won’t have such a rocky sail to Monte Carlo…