Day 47, Monday 30/4:

Toady we awoke to find that it was raining. We caught the metro into the city centre. Philip showed us his old digs, where he lived for a year when he did a teacher exchange in the 70’s. We had coffee at a café run by an extremely eccentric man, telling his staff and us on numerous occasions that we would have to clear out as there were not enough people coming for lunch. We walked back to the main station through the Marchè de Capucinus, a very vibrant Arab market, eating some very delicious street food as we went. 

Once back at the Metro station the weather’s inclemency had somewhat increased. We decided to catch two trams that would take us through various areas of the city, meaning we could stay relatively dry. We got off the tram in the docks area and wandered towards the Docks Museum which, being Monday, was unfortunately closed. We did some shopping and then caught a ferryboat to Pointe Rouge, a journey of only 30 minutes as the sea was surprisingly calm. We had a drink in a bar while we waited for Mari-Mad and Louis to pick us up. Louis then took us for a short drive along a short section of the Callanques coastline. This limestone coast is particularly picturesque. We drove through several very pretty fishing villages before stopping at a vantage point to admire the view, near Cap Croisset. We walked along a path to get an excellent view back along the coastline.

All was well and we hopped back into the car when Philip noticed that his shoulder bag was missing! We all jumped out and opened the boot to find that my and Patsy’s backpacks were also missing, along with Mari-Mad’s handbag with her identity papers, car keys (clearly they were not aware of this at the time, or the car could have been taken as well) and house keys inside. Fortunately we didn’t lose any important documents or expensive equipment and what we had lost was covered by insurance and could be replaced. I was very relieved that I had removed my now extensive coin collection before we left earlier that day. We swiftly returned home with the thought that the thieves could potentially burgle the house as they had the keys and address. When we entered the house it was full of smoke as Mari-Mad was cooking some pork and the timer had not turned the oven off. Other than this, the house was untouched. Mari-Mad and Louis had invited their friends Dominique and Moye to dinner that night. Moye is an American jazz musician who has travelled the world extensively to perform with his band. Shortly after their arrival, Mari-Mad and Philip went to the police station to obtain the necessary paperwork relating to the theft. We continued on with the evening and it was not until 10:30pm that they returned, well in need of refreshment – the police were very difficult as they too would be on holiday tomorrow! However, all things considered, a most enjoyable evening was had, well into the morning hours.