Toulon, France
Toulon, France Saturday, April 30, 2022
Toulon
is not just a port but yet another jumping off point for tours to scramble
through the countryside to sites beyond.
It’s a military town with an arsenal, the naval base, military hospital,
etc. New learning: Before photos every military battleship had
an artist aboard to portray the battles.
Driving
along the coastline, there were a series of 14 forts or fortresses dating to 14th
Century. Currently, the area is known
for its flower production and wines—especially rose’. Our bus was headed to two places we’d never
heard of: a town called Sanary (SAN a
ree) to visit their Saturday market and then to Le Castellet, a restored medieval
village in the mountains.
Sanary is a picturesque coastal city where all the rich retire. The marina was lined with colorful and majestic boats of all sizes and the promenade along the edge of the city and coastline was wide and welcoming. The expansive square off the promenade had room for tents with fresh vegies and spring clothing on racks. On the other side of the market was a street that had barriers at the ends to turn it into a pedestrian area. On the other side of the street were blocks of restaurants with chairs spilling toward the market. Each chair was already occupied by locals who were sipping coffee and accustomed to the treat of people watching. Chic dogs leaned toward one another. Jerry and I wandered among large placards that had photos of marine animals and stories about them. Educational and eye-catching with award winning photographs.
We were
given an hour to explore the area as it had recently won the award for the
nicest markets in France, then we loaded up and headed into the hills. As we rode, the guide provided probably the
best quick overview of the history of occupations for this and other
areas. Here goes and mistakes are
because I couldn’t write faster. Beginning about 600 BC, inhabitants had lived
by the coasts for easy access to fishing, but disease and the sense that water
bore the diseases drove them inland.
Then came the Greeks, then the Romans in the 1st Century BC,
then the barbarians, then Romans and Greeks who could live together, then the
revolt against Emperor Augustus, then the Visegoths and the feudal system
allowed farmers to farm in the valleys and then seek shelter in fortresses/castles,
then the King of France took over and imposed the French language rather than
the local provincial, then the late 17oo’s and the French Revolution, then
Napoleons 1-3 until 1971. Finally,
President Macron and his improvements and hey! He was just re-elected!
As we
drove up into the mountains and glimpsed villages wedged into vertical valleys,
we learned that most of the medieval mountain villages (see above) had been
abandoned by the beginning of the 20th Century, aided by the
depleted population due to WW I & II.
But thanks be to God for the hippies who climbed up and re-established
and re-fortified and restored. Now they
are popular attractions gleaming with artist shops, edgy boutiques, bakeries,
candy shops, and coffee shops.
Le Castellet is not just a destination for families and shoppers. It also hosts the (are you sitting down?) Grand Prix Racing every other year!!! Nope. Had no idea. Standing at the top of the village, one can look out over hilltop village after hilltop village with rich agriculture happening below each. Jerry and I ambled around, enjoyed the 22 degree Celsius temps, and took lots of photos. There was a children’s festival happening, so families and delighted children were everywhere.
Back to
Toulon and thus to the ship in time for team trivia (about a dozen teams of 8
compete over 16 questions. Takes about
30 minutes to be completely humbled over the things I do not know…). Then we played a few hands of bridge with
Marty and Margaret in the ship’s card room before going down to the 5th
floor for dinner in the Grand Dining Room.
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