Mornings where we are departed usually feel hurried and a touch frantic, but the calm of Cassis exerted its influence that morning as well. Things were well in hand, giving us time to return to the town center in hopes of going out on one of the boats to look at the calanques.
Before checking on the boats, the first stop was the bakery.
As we made our way to the bakery, we stumbled upon the morning market in Cassis! Seeing this small square bustling with activity, filled with colorful fruit and vegetables and having a faint scent of fresh baked goods brought a smile to all our faces.
Since our original bakery had provided such amazing pastries and bread, we walked back up to that tiny store.
Life is full of precious moments, and we've been so lucky for this trip to provide so many.
Walking out of that bakery holding Sammy's hand in my right and two warm baguettes along with a bag of pastries in my left hand, with the bright Cassis morning sun shining down is a moment I will always cherish.
Unsurprisingly, we were down to one baguette in a matter of minutes. When we reached the marina, there was a notice that the boats would not be going out again this morning due to strong winds.
We bid adieu to Cassis and walked back to the apartment. The car was packed.
Next stop: Monaco via the Côte d'Azur.
Sure, we've all heard about Monaco being the "playground for the rich and famous" with the giant yachts, the ridiculous sports cars, the casino full of high rollers, all in the setting of a flawless city rising up the steep hillsides with lovely vistas of the Mediterranean.
Well, it's pretty much true.
Not far from where we parked, we looked out over the marina towards the palace.
The wind was crisp and no hats were safe! We took this picture of the boys before taking their hats off in fear it would never be seen again.
We mostly strolled along the hillside waterfront, enjoying the atmosphere of this unique principality. We walked by the Grace Kelly theater (who, as it turns out, was a Philadelphia native!).
The walk took us up the hill to the casino. Here the boys had a chance to enjoy a few Ferraris and a Rolls Royce Wraith.
Joey is nearly eclipsed by the guy in the red plaid shirt but he did get to enjoy two Ferraris at once.
The Wraith is pretty crazy, sporting a 694hp engine and a $296,000 price tag.
They also had a chance to pose with Iron Man. His presence has been felt in Monaco since 2009 and a dynamic scene in Iron Man 2 that takes place at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
http://www.thepaddockmagazine.com/2010/05/monaco-meets-iron-man/
Although this was no Spiderman Gordo, the boys enjoyed meeting another superhero.
We stayed for a Monaco priced lunch for which Lanna and I took a few selfies.
Given we had several more hours on the road, we headed back to the car.
The drive out was equally beautiful and steep but we eventually made our way out to the highway.
Almost as soon as Monaco disappeared behind us in the rolling coastline, we crossed the border into Italy.
Once in Italy it did seem that the countryside was different, but that's likely more exaggerated, feeling a new country would bring significant changes despite just going 1 mile past a border.
The towns and road designs were slightly different as we crossed what seemed like an endless series of bridges and tunnels. I'll always think of Italy's northwest as a series of hamlets in the valleys between the mountainous coastline, each with one, sometimes two small white fingers of a church towers rising up above the scattered one or two story homes that make up these clusters of townships.
As we drove towards our final destination of La Spezia, Italy, we could see the sky turn pink and slowly darken as the sun set behind us. The rugged coastline didn't allow us to see the sun vanish for the day but we finished our drive in the evening twilight.
The day had been long, but it was a good one. It started with a brilliant sunrise and we traversed three countries before the sun set.
Now it's time for our Italian chapter to begin!
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