First real day writing on Huguenot historical fiction--La Ciotat, France

Morning drive to Cassis, hairpin turns, single track road, breath-taking drop offs, magnificent panoramas of the Calanques and the Mediterranean Sea--now down to the business of getting back in character with my historical fiction work on the Huguenots. 

View out the window of our old world apartment in the south of France. You can almost see Jason Bourne leaping from the wall, the tile roofs clattering beneath his feet, cut-throat thugs hot on his heels.

And a few more groups shots of our tour group time in Geneva. 

Down-time Relaxing in The south of France--Huguenots country!

After our final goodbyes to our dear friends who joined us on this Reformation exploration tour, we got our Peugeot and headed off to La Ciotat and our Airbnb apartment in the old village on the Mediterranean Sea, Huguenot country. We grabbed some groceries at the Carrefour around the corner. Oh, I almost forgot, finding our apartment was rather exciting; I did the classic chase movie deal, driving down walking streets little wider than sidewalks, with old world stone houses rising above us, and passing through squares with cafes and Provencial French people looking at us like we had just been dropped from another planet. It was a crack up though Cheryl hides her face as we walked through the relatively small town market next morning, afraid that we will be recognized. Or dear friends Monica and Lionel and their children spent the first two nights of our stay and passed off the key to us. 

It is warm and sunny and the pace of southern France is exactly what we need right now. Plus the French is spoken so much slower and more easily understandable to us. Delightful time just outside our door at the morning market where we gathered food and a few other items we need. Then we gathered our things and went to the beach where I'm working on getting a ten like my friend Rick (like that will ever happen, me not being exactly the tanning type, but still just soaking up the vitamin d felt awfully good). This is the town where the Lumiere brothers made the first film in 1895, so there is some other history to explore also. 

Yes, I am going to do some writing this afternoon at a church built 600 years ago; sites, sounds, smells from an area where Huguenots suffered, fled for their lives, and some died. Giles and Gillian can watch a half hour of Hogans Heroes and then they have to watch a half hour of French cartoons, part of the summers regiment of learning French.

We shopped for grand baby clothes at the market, anxiously awaiting our second grandchild in the days ahead. Olives, cauliflower and beans, sunglasses, french picnic knife, and a few other items. I slept like a rock last night!

Here's pictures from our first day on our own: