Cassis by the sea

Cassis is a lively, touristy little town on the Mediterranean coast, less than half an hour from Marseilles.  We stayed here on the advice of Rick Steves' travel guide, to avoid the traffic congestion in Marseilles and was glad to be able to catch a glimpse of daily life in the town.

A wedding at the local church.

Stylish guest in a hurry to get in...

Patient grandma in a hurry to get out...

I crashed the wedding ceremony - just one photo of the church...

And yes, it's a long-haired priest you see at the altar, pretty hip, I'd say.  

This old fountain is in the town centre.

We'd come across lots of statues of Mary on the walls of houses.  This one is different with steps created just to attend to it.  I wondered if this is the site of some significant event or other.

The sacred...

and the profane

Budding flamingo dancer performing by the waterfront

A parade of couples looking for food

Food found - scrumptious!

Perfection!

Great tasting bouillabaise - and we didn't care if it had all the "correct" ingredients

You couldn't see the actual sunset in Cassis but it seemed the reflected glow was even better.  It created  a warm glow in the town in the evening which you could enjoy from many vantage points, as you can see below.

The setting sun caught the red rocks behind the town's chateau, which apparently was not open to visitors.