When planning where and how to spend our 20th wedding anniversary, we considered several options: various destinations in France and Europe but also something as extreme as the place where we got married, namely Bloomington, Indiana. Since we had just returned from the two-week year-end vacation of train traveling in Germany, we narrowed our options to more local travels: either to go South enough it to be sunny and warm or high enough in altitude it to be cold and have good skiing conditions. After consulting the magazine “100 Less Known Marvels of France” and having found “Cove of Méjean” we chose the nearby harbor town of Toulon in Var department as our destination. After Marseille, Toulon gets the most annual sunshine hours in France. Also rain is rare but can be torrential, though.
On our first whole day in Toulon it was raining constantly but moderately, and it was quite warm. We spent the day exploring the city center, especially the great market hall, where we also had lunch. The seafood counter was awesome — remember that fresh fish is not available where we live! We bought a whole sea bream for dinner with a plan to roast it at our apartment that had a brand new oven (we were the first guests at this apartment). But what we did not understand was that the fish was to be grilled by the vendor and served with a side of mashed potatoes and salsa. So we had a whole meal to take away, and to warm later in the evening.
Next day’s destination was the cove of Méjean. We had learned that there was a coastal trail from La Tour Royale near downtown to the cove, but we could not find it since it was clearly underwater. We drove a little further to the beaches of Mourillon to look for the trail. There was a lot of activity of going on on these beaches: sunbathing, walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, snorkeling, and even water aerobics, but we still could not locate the trail.
We ended up driving all the way to the parking lot near the cove and descended to the beach on a very steep paved path. The secluded beach offered a scenic hike in all tranquility — there were few people there: a couple of joggers and sunbathers. This little bay was also very warm since it received a lot of sunshine and practically no breeze.
Our third and the last day in Toulon didn’t go quite as planned either. We wanted to go hiking in the peninsula of Gaou, from the port of Brusc, South-West of Toulon. For some reason, unclear to us, the island was closed until the end of February. We were not the only disappointed visitors there on this gorgeous sunny day. So, we had to devise a new plan. Luckily there were a lot of hiking trails in the nearby forest of Bois de la Lèque — we only needed to find to them. It required some climbing on a steep road, but once we were on the top, the paths were gentle and smooth, and the scenery spectacular.
On our drive home we stopped by at Cotignac, one of the most beautiful villages of France. The village is located at the foot of the cliff of troglodyte houses that were inhabited in the Middle Ages. As it was off-season, the walking tour to the cliff was closed. We strolled the town’s narrow and steep alleys for an hour before buying fresh springrolls at an Asian vendor, and enjoying them at a rest area after exiting the town. Originally we thought about visiting several ‘villages de Caractère du Var’, but fortunately didn’t since it was already late and we had a long drive home ahead of us.
In summary, after experiencing many weeks of gloomy and rainy weather, this relaxed vacation was very welcome. Except for the first day, we got a lot of sunshine. We also liked Toulon a lot: it was beautiful and clean, and the city center was quite lively: there were fruit and vegetable vendors on the pedestrian streets every morning and the downtown businesses were flourishing — unlike in many other tows of the same size we have visited where most businesses had died and the spaces left empty.
One more glimpse of the peninsula of Gaou:
