11/07/2009
Up early to go to the panorama behind the old town (Parc de la Colline du Chateau) and caught the tram down to bottom of the hill, and then climbed up for a great view of the city. The lookout is situated on what used to be the old castle/fort, but it was demolished a few hundred years ago. It was nice to be up early before the crowds, and we enjoyed a great morning tea with Pain de Raisan and double espresso avec lait.
Checked out the old town a little more and then back to the hotel to check out, and off to catch a train. Maybe made a mistake and went to the SNCF counter and bought tickets for the train to Marseille for 13:29 ($120 for 2.5 hours, but very comfortable and quiet) which gave us a couple of hours to kill. Went to check out the Russian cathedral and also a quick visit to the supermarket for more supplies. The day continued to warm up and the train ride was very comfortable, passing through Cannes and into Marseille around 4. I realised the next set of tickets I bought for the train were for the wrong days (Doh!) and managed to get them changed before we left the station. Also managed to get the tickets printed for the train trip from Avignon to Lyon that we’d bought over the internet from home. Glad we got that done because I wouldn’t have been able to do that on my own at some machine at the station…
Wandered for a bit … visited the tourist office and got some great help from Corinne who gave us some useful tips. We decided on a City Pass (that’s good for 24 hours) and costs 20 Euros each. For that we can get entry into museums, free buses & trams, a boat trip to an island, a visit to castle and a (Thomas the Tank Engine) train ride. Did a self-guided walking tour around the old city which gave us a good idea of the lay of the land. Bumped into a wedding but missed a couple of churches because it was late and time to close up – maybe catch them tomorrow… Did come across a great art installation of a couple of giraffes made out of books!
