Loud and messy – 18 September (Dawie J)

Once again we landed in France. This was the place where we have been before, but not on the French Riviera. This was completely different.

We had a wonderful house with a small vineyard. I had a water gun with which I shot at the many stray cats. It was strange that they kept on coming back – maybe they were also hot.

I won my 2 brothers and mother in table tennis. That is what I call "sweet victories". We could also play on the mini pool table. In that game I never won. We also drove to a beach and swam there. It was lovely.

We went to the French countryside and drove through many old and dirty towns. It was cool to see all the places. On another day we went to Cassis and took a boat to the Calanques. We were on a small boat that went up and down over the waves. We got soaking wet, but it was worth it to see the beautiful nature. Afterwards we swam in the sea at one of the pebble beaches.

Then we moved to another house. This one was very small, but close to the sea. It was not a beach. We swam every day jumping straight in from the rocks. The people in that street talked lots and very loud till late at night.

Tinus had his birthday there. It was a special day. We went to Vieux Port and the oldest part of Marseille. It was very dirty there. We had supper in a street cafe which I enjoyed. We also visited the Notre Dame De La Garde. It is an old church on top of a hill, from where we could see-in all directions.

Many French people smoke. I wonder if they do not know how unhealthy and stinky and messy it is!

Although the people are loud and not so friendly, and the towns are not so clean, we still had a great time. I was glad that we could include the French Riviera in our tour around the world.