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Provence Cycling Tour: Day 6

Ah... sun, sea, beach... what more could you ask for? For our last day of the tour in Cassis, we had a clear schedule. We had already prepared our bikes for pickup yesterday, and gathered all the materials we needed to return to the tour company, so today was much ado about nothing. Except laundry. That was the only chore we needed to get out of the way in the morning.

After laundry, we just wandered and did as we pleased. There were touristy things to do, but this small seaside town was tourist central, so I didn't really feel compelled to follow the other tourists. For lunch, we stopped by a sandwich shop and grabbed a couple of baguettes to eat by the beach. Watching the swarms of French people shed their formalities by the water was fun - turns out they are just like everyone else at the beach! They like picnicking, tanning, and running into the waves.

There was one downside to this particular beach - wind. Every once in awhile, a strong gust of wind would pick up the sand and swirl it around. Not great if you had food. Ah well, it was still beautiful and enjoyable.

What to do after lunch on a hot summerish day? Eat ice cream! And drink beer! Check, and check. We grabbed some ice cream (the Italians have the French beat on this particular dessert), wandered through the streets, and then found a pub (a rarity in France, and more proof of the touristic atmosphere) to sample some beer. Ironically, the pub was named Le Mistral - even on our rest day, we still managed to find the mistral!

Next, we figured we ought to check out at least one of the local wineries, so we walked up the hill to find not only a winery but a savonnerie (soap shop) too! The savonnerie had some nice soaps, but I didn't see anything that stood out, so we continued to Clos Sainte-Magdeleine. A friendly hostess came to greet us at the door and offered to let us taste their wines - a rosé and their specialty white wine. The rosé was very light, with a subtle flavor, while the white was a sweeter, refreshing wine.

For dinner, we picked up some bread at the local boulangerie, and some salad from the same sandwich shop from this afternoon and enjoyed a simple meal in the park. While eating, we kept our eyes on the pigeons that were circling us and eyeing our bread - these French pigeons have no fear and will fly extremely close to you! I wouldn't be surprised if they dive-bombed tourists for pleasure. One thing I noticed - this town is kept as clean as possible, with polished tiled streets, almost as if the streets are part of an outdoor mall.

We finished dinner earlier than most days, which left us plenty of time to consume a couple of bottles of wine while chilling out at the hotel.

Next stop - Nice!

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