Saturday we left La Spezia and headed for France. It was a fairly stress free five hour drive to our new destination of Marseille. No less than 150 tunnels on the Italy side of the border, saw us safely through the mountains; although we did wonder about the combination of Italian engineering and age of the tunnels.

It may have been power of suggestion, but many things did seem to change once we reached France. Such as, fewer tunnels, wider lanes on the freeway, more frequent toll points, less disrespect of the speed limit and no pit toilets.

We reached a sunny Marseille mid-afternoon and easily found our bayside accommodation, which is modern and very secure. When booking this part of our trip, a few people suggested not to stay in Marseille due to its high crime rate against tourists (muggings). It has been called the Naples of France; but we could not be happier in this part of the city.

Like all good Aussies on holidays, we hit the beach as soon as possible and ate some takeaway dinner on the foreshore. We had joked about not ordering the steak tartar (basically raw mince), but our hamburgers were effectively prepared ‘blue’. I just sort of ate around the edges, the most cooked parts, Rod just smashed his down without looking (said it was easier that way). Jess had a cheese omelette.

After a disrupted night’s sleep (Hamish woke up three times for various reasons) we had a beautiful brunch. Rod and I did a lap of the esplanade and grabbed the kids and a few snacks for some beach time.

We then headed to a section of the esplanade that had rides and parks and restaurants. We all went on a huge Ferris wheel and put Hamish on a carousel ride, which he said, was the best part of the day (although the pictures tell a different story, you be the judge).

We attempted an early dinner but was told we could only get ‘sugar’ at this time of day, so we ordered crepes and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

On the walk back home, we found a take away shop called ‘Mr Kebab’. One of the guys working there spoke pretty good English, although we did end up with hot chips in half of our kebabs – not as a side order. The cook asked Jess and I if we were Russian – I was quick to correct him that we were Australians.

Enjoying the last of the European sunshine here in Marseille. We head to Dijon (the coldest city in France) Tuesday, where it will be 10 degrees and then on to Ballancourt sur Essonne and Paris.