A Marseille Journal (Part 2)

23 April 2024 – Cassis

By Lidia Karanfilovszka Zikic (Creative Writing and English Literature/Year 1)

Next morning, the choice of breakfast in the hotel was amazing: croissants, pains au chocolat, madeleines, apple sauce, camembert, among other things… I didn’t do any research beforehand about Cassis and, instead, allowed myself to be surprised. We went there by bus. The short trip of about 45 minutes offered a spectacular view of the seacoast and some splendid cliffy, forest-y terrain everywhere. Cassis is a charming little fishing town, nestled in a cosy shelter among the famous limestone inlets or, as they are called in French, the Calanques. We had a stroll through the narrow streets and came to the harbour. We rented a boat to see some of the most popular Calanques. It was quite windy but nevertheless breathtakingly beautiful. After the boat trip we went to have lunch. I met Jenny, one of the students from our group. She was from Colombia, studying translation. We both agreed we would like to eat something local and sit in one of the many restaurants along the shore. We ordered sea bream or “daurade” in French. It was a beautiful sunny spring day; we had our sunglasses on, and we were sitting by the sea, drinking house wine, and waiting for our meal. It was a perfect way to experience the energy of this unique place. We took everything in. Huge smiles on our faces. I think I will always remember Jenny, our spontaneous mutual agreement, and our choice of restaurant. It happened so instantaneously, but it seemed so inevitable. The Uni covered a value of £25 for daily expenses for us, so we started to collect the bills to get a refund later. After lunch, we went along the shore and found an ice cream shop. Gianduja and raspberries. The best combo ever! Yum! We met with the rest of the group and went to visit a family-owned artisan soap factory. The owner was a very charming, funny man. We were all amused by his presentation of the soap making process of ‘in his own words’ – the best soap in the entire world. His soap. We bought little souvenirs from his boutique in the end. Saskia and some of the students decided to climb one of the cliffs while the rest of the group, including myself, went down to the shore one more time. We sat and had coffee with Heather, Jenny, and Mariam. Great company, great conversations. Soaking in the sun. Soaking in every inch of this lovely little town. Another little stroll along the whimsical cobbled stone streets, and it was time to get back to Marseille and our hotel.