The Gallivanting Grasshopper: Cassis, the Circus, and Lazy Afternoons -- Toulon

This last week has been relaxed, productive and incredibly stimulating. I take Alessandro to school every morning at seven thirty, do a small household chore after I get back to the apartment, and then have the rest of the day to practice French, write plays, practice yoga, walk along the beach, visit the local market, and make dinner.

The beach is a ten minute walk away from the apartment

Alessandro attends school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wednesday, he goes to his nurse -- a delightful elderly woman whom Alessandro adores. However, this last Wednesday, Alessandro's beloved nurse called in sick. I offered to look after him for the day, but Caroline felt like half a day of babysitting would be quite enough for me, so she took the morning off of work and drove Alessandro and me to a beautiful little town not far from Toulon.

I did not protest.

Caroline says that this is an excellent restaurant

On Saturday afternoon we loaded ourselves (and Alessandro's "motorbike") into the car and drove down to Cassis -- an idyllic town not too far from Marseille. It's the sort of place you walk through and think, "this isn't real, is it? Something this beautiful couldn't be real." The streets weren't just cobbled, for instance -- the cobblestones had little snowflakes carved into them.

After returning from Cassis, Jerome cooked us a mouthwatering pork rib dinner with an asian sauce he made up on the fly. He's incredibly passionate about food, and I asked him if he'd ever considered opening his own restaurant. Jerome replied that the restaurant business was far too difficult.

This is a man who works as a navy diver. He deactivates bombs for a living. Puts things into perspective, I guess.

Sunday morning was the circus. I've been to plenty of rodeos in Colorado, but this was my first circus experience. It involved a lot of men with superhuman core strength in very tight pants.