Last week I read this great blog post over at French Essence.  It was such good reading we jumped in the car the following Sunday morning and went to lunch at Le Lunch. 

 

And 45 minutes later we were looking down from the crest at the Sormiou calanque (like a lagoon with high limestone escarpments on either side), just a few minutes from the center of Marseille.

You can’t get much more urban than Marseille and it doesn’t get much more “au naturel” than the Sormiou calanque.

Lots of Marseillais (citizens of Marseille) were there already on the tiny beach.  By the way, you know when you’ve joined a group of Marseillais.  They are a character apart, totally lacking in pretension.  They are down to earth, take-it-or-leave-it types, not the foo foo French personality that can be found in other parts of the country.

The restaurant was wonderful. 

Right over the water.  Check out this table for one.

When you order grilled fish in France, it generally comes served like this.  And you are resposible for extracting the nummy morsels from it.

We went snorkling and saw lots of fishes swimming in their schools.  And the water is, of course, Mediterranean blue.  Must be seen to be believed. 

 

Pascal, who is as into vintage as I am into his tv soccer matches, thought my awesome 1970’s French folding chair put me into the Mamie (Granny) category. 

The joys of grannyhood!