Provence and Marseilles France

---

Sunday, October 31st

Today could be summed up in one word - RAIN! It was drizzling when we woke and only rained harder as the day went on. We arrive in Toulon France at 8:00 AM and Nalynn and I had booked a tour of Marseilles, France. The bus picked us up at the dock about 8:30 for a 45 minute drive through the Provence area of France to the city of Marseilles.

The City of Marseilles was beautiful, but it was recovering from a garbage strike from the last three weeks. The French are protesting new legislation that raises the retirement age from 60 to 62. I really feel sorry for them!

There we went to the Palace at Marseilles, which was beautiful. We also went to the Notre Dame Cathedral at Gault which was built on the highest hill in the area. Nalynn and I got a real workout with the 200 plus steps that were required to reach the cathedral.

The excursion was only about 5 hours and we made it back to the ship for a late lunch. We met a nice couple from Utah and shared grandchildren stories over lunch.

Tomorrow we are anxious to see Florence Italy. We dock there at 7:00 AM and we have a nine hour tour there. We hope everyone is doing well.

---