Cassis Day 1

There is no internet, no wifi here at the Hotel le Golfe. BUT, sitting on the harbor, our own sidewalk cafe right beneath us and the price of 110 euros a night make up for it.

This morning (Saturday) we took a short walk to Avis, trailing all our wordly possessions behind us. Off we went in our new ride (a 4-door Peugot) to Cassis which was only 30 minutes away. Our Garmin took us right to Cassis. Garmin Nuvi, herein further known as Nuvi, could get us to harbor, but cars were not allowed. As Rick said in "The Book", hotels were signed but hard to find. The roads are tiny, winding down to the harbor and all one way with many roundabouts. We felt like Chevy Chase in European vacation - just how many more times are we going around in the roundabout AND what Chevy didn't have was an irritating voice saying "recalculating". Eventually we got down to the harbor and right in back of our hotel. I walked around front - WOW - the hotel's sidewalk cafe sits right on the harbor and it was gorgeous! Jim took our bags in and we left them there until our room was ready. We took the car to the car park and there it will stay until we bail it out on Monday when we leave for St. Tropez. We surveyed the harbor, had lunch, checked out the beach and then headed back to our room.....and our balcony. We are still here - can't take our eyes off the view!
We were not sure of what time to eat, we can see all the cafe tables from our balcony and many tables were empty. We went out at 7:30 to shop for where we wanted to eat. Quickly we learned that we were out of luck due to not having a reservation. We finally found a cafe with good priced menu, not far from oour hotel. And, they were able to seat us. For 24 euro we had a 3 course meal. This was a cheaper menu, as one can also find 30 euro and higher menus. For the uninitiated "Menu" means what they use to call a fixed price meal. For one price you have your choise of various items for the 3 courses. All are written in French, but we can usually understand what we are getting and an occasional waiter who speaks as much English as I do Frfench will help assist with an item I can't figure out.
We have already decided not to take the boat ride tomorrow to the calanques. Seeing photos, well, sort of been there and done that in Capri last year. Everyone has them, and they all want you to pay and go see them. We saw them in Italy....and will skip doing it here. It will not only save a few euros but put us on the beach!! And there are many places to eat ice cream, plus the Grand Marnier crepe stand to keep me busy. Check out new photos.