Tuesday - Cassis

Tuesday November 10th – Cassis
We awoke to a glorious sunny day – actually the first we’ve had with intense sun. I watched the sunrise from my hotel room which looks out at the beach and towards the huge cliff that is next to Cassis. It is supposed to be the third tallest in all of Europe. A lone fisherman in his boat fishing with a net was the only thing on the water. The morning sun was so bright that I had to wear sunglasses while we ate breakfast on the patio. A few brave souls were actually swimming off the beach in front of us. Quite a few sunbathers were on the beach as well including a 60+ woman without her suit top.
After breakfast we walked into town with the goal of getting on an early boat trip for the Calanques. The Calanques are inlets in the limestone formations that form the cliffs around Cassis. The first boat we could get on was the 12 noon. Unfortunately by the time it headed out clouds were forming and the wind had picked up considerably. Despite the fact that it was mighty cold on the top deck we stuck it out and the scenery was breathtaking. Inside the Calanques the limestone gives the water beautiful shades of turquoise and iridescent blue. Outside the Calanques the water was getting pretty rough. The cliffs are massive and beautiful shapes. The only drawback for the experience was the fact that we weren’t really dressed warmly enough. The sun had been so warm when we left our hotel that we were not prepared for the change in the weather so we were pretty hypothermic by the end.
After the boat trip we drove up and took the rim road along the cliff above Cassis that goes to the next town, Ciotat. The road was very windy, narrow, steep and the views were awesome. Near the top we came across a large gathering of a Citroen club. There were probably 40 or so Citroens painted bright colors and the group was obviously having a great time. At this point they were playing a raucous game of Boule (French for the game called Botche ball in Italy and San Francisco). The finished their game and formed a parade of Citroens heading along the rim road. Quite a sight.
In the evening we went into town searching for authentic , bouillabaise not to repeat the strange experience of the night before. Our search was more of a success than we had hoped for. We ate in small café. We asked if they had bouillabaise – yes they did. We were given no other choice or conversation from the waiter. He brought 3 bowls and set them before us. In about 15 minutes a woman brought a large platter of raw whole fishes which she described in detail in French (all we knew is that they were fish and apparently going to be the ingredients for our dinner). After another 30 minutes a platter with the condiments arrived – Rouille (the Aoli with saffron and bread crumbs added) and grated cheese. Finally the fish came in other bowls set before us and a kettle of broth to add to the fish. It was very basic, very fishy (with bones), but also unbelievably delicious. There was way too much for us to consume, and it would have been nice to have a little something else for variety (like salad or shellfish, or just about anything to break up the fishininess) but it was good and definitely was authentic. Our search for the authentic bouillabaise is over.