Port Napoleon 27 August

Home for the next 7 months.

Made it to Port Napoleon, a great place to leave Lellebelle. Right next to the mouth of the Rhone.

The last mooring! No more casting off at 6.30, no more 2 km treks to the bathroom!

Very efficient they are in France. Steered in Lellebelle at 10.30

Washing

Leslie keeping a safe distance in case just in case something goes wrong, typical!

Next step, onto the trailer 

Off to parking spot, Vienna.

All over at 11.05! 

And here we go again. Goodbye Lellebelle and thanks for a wonderful and all the superlatives  there are for a fantastic trip. Thanks to all the crew, Kevin (Sozopol to Kavala), Pete (Corfu to Rome) Calle (Rome to Pisa), Alex and John ( Cannes to Sanary-sur-mer). It would not have been so much fun without you.

Sanary-sur-mer to Port Napoleon 26 August

This might or might not be our last day! We have plan A and plan B. Depending on wind and waves we might stop over at Carro, or we might continue to Port Napoleon.

But first a last look at lovely Sanary-sur-mer, which was full of activity until late last night.

The coast between Sanary and Marseilles is called the Catanque.  High coastline limestone rock, a completed of barren Islands,  narrow bays with steep sidewalls. Favorite place for divers and day trippers. 

The last Island is St Marie. The gap between the Island and the mainland is shallow and narrow. 

Leslie put on the life jacket and closed her eyes. 

Passing Marseille .

As we enter into the bay leading to Port Napoleon we see this big sailboat who must have run aground and boat sank. 

We made it all the way. 

Sanary-Sur-Mer to Marseilles by train 23-25 August

We were planning to leave for Marseilles today. Alex and John will take the train from Marseille to Nice to catch their flight back to Bristol on Tuesday morning. BUT, the wind stopped us, so we took the train to Marseilles instead.

Getting Lellebelle ready to be left alone for two days.

Lellebelle in the marina.

Marseilles, what a vibrant city! Down by the port there is this reflecting canopy which is just perfect for a selfie.

One of the reasons for visiting Marseilles is to have Bouillabaisse. We walked for kilometres along the coast trying to find the perfect spot. And we did in this little harbour. 

The fish ingredients for bouillabaisse for 4 people. The bouillabaisse was very expensive, very large portions, but oh so very tasty and well worth it. 

The home of the Marseillaise, the French national anthem.

Which other people could lead the revolution, give France its national anthem, and then rebel against the revolution they were amongst the first to fight for? the punishment was severe and the blood was flowing in the streets from the daily guillotining. 

My own interpretation (Carl) is that the Marseillans have a laisse fair view on life and make good food and lasting music.

Carl found out that the beer to drink in Marseilles is their own brew, Cagole. He could not rest until he tried one, or two or three. And the first Cagole goes down accompanied by another Marseilles original drink, the pastis. That combination is a Carl invention.

The little harbour where we found the bouillabaisse restaurant FonFon. 

In order to get some perspective of Marseilles we took a hop on hop off bus, but we did not hop off, just enjoyed a 1 1/2 hour tour of the city.

We learnt that Marseilles was founded 2600 years ago. It started raining during the trip, but that did not deter us.

Alex and John looking very sad because they have to leave us soon.

Our trains left at about the same time so we only got to take a photo of Alex and John's train. Goodbye Alex and John, it was so wonderful having you with us. Hope you want to join us next year.

Present from John and Alex, a Cagole beer tray.

Back in Sanary-Sur-Mer, not a bad place to be stuck in.

Beautiful houses, shops and too many wonderful boulangeries. 

The baguettes and the semla like Tropezterri cake are so good. 

This house is for sale. B&B?

The wind is still blowing and we plan a 5 hour trip tomorrow. The weather forecast says the wind will die down tonight. We will see, might be another day in Sanary-Sur-Mer!

Cavaliers-sur-mer to Sanary-sur-mer 22 August

Another early morning start planning to get to Bandol,  but they could not confirm a place until 11.00 so we called Sanary-Sur-Mer. According to our guide it is one of the most authentic Cote de Azur towns.

Waiting for instructions for cast off. The boat with the stripes behind us is owned by a French couple who spent some years in Stockholm, which they loved. They had two dogs on board with Swedish names. One is called Solna, which is the name of the suburb of Stockholm they lived in. The other is called Hejdå, which is Swedish for Goodbye!

Alex taking in the fender, Nellie.

At last, all set to go. Old Nellie and new Nellie on board. Crew is happy the hard work is over. 

Another lovely early morning.

Alex trying her hand at the wheel. Born sailor.

Beautiful scenery on route.

Arrived in the absolutely lovely town of Sanary-Sur-Mer earlier than expected. Harbour master had to interrupt his lunch break!

Sanary-Sur-Mer is a town on the Cote Azur named after the 1st century Roman martyr Saint Nazaire. It is one ofthe coasts most typical and authentic fishing ports.

It has an ancient natural harbour set in the heart of the town, where we are moored.

It is the permanent home to around 100 heritage vessels dating back to 1895, plus some several old Provencel fishing boats locally known as "Pointus". Beautifully restored boats  all along the quay.

Alex and John taking care of the navigation.

Cannes to Cavaliere-sur-mer 21 August

Woke the crew at 6 am to start the trip to Cavaliere-sur-mer

The Pirates from Bristol arrived with their pirate flag. This means we have pirates on board.

Getting the hang of it and Instructions from the captain.

Passed the cruise liner Norwegian Epic. We know the captain, Ronny,  that is if he was on the ship at all. We hooted and hooted but no Ronny appeared.

Looking into the future. What's in store!

Adjusting to sea life.....

......taking it easy.

Approaching Cavalaire-sur-mer.  Saw this person on water jet propelled from a jet ski, walking 5 metres above water. Cavalier-sur-mer is a modern holiday resort with lots of shops, restaurants and bars and music all night. People take their holiday seriously here. The town is modern, neat and it is easy to be here.

Following the usual routine, arrive in a Marina, fill in the log, grease the prop shaft bearing, collect the  key forbthe bathroom and then lunch!

And then beach!

Bought some new umbrellas, private beaches were full and very expensive.