My second weekend in France, and the first time since arriving here that I truly had no obligations, called for a little bit of celebration. That obviously meant two friends and I planned a trip to the beach. When in the south of France, eh?
After I got over the fact that some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are less than an hour away from my new home, we started figuring out logistics.
Hitchhiking and ridesharing are more common and generally considered safer in France than in the United States, so we looked into an app called BlaBlaCar that has recently taken off in France. Basically, you reserve a spot in someone’s car who is already on their way to your destination for a few Euros.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any rides to our preferred destinations early enough in the morning, but I’m excited to use BlaBlaCar for future trips.
The ease of movement in Europe constantly amazes me. Our plan B went off mostly without a hitch, and we jumped onto a bus Saturday morning to La Ciotat.
I had never heard of La Ciotat before, but I’m certainly never going to forget it now. A relatively small seaside town on the southeastern coast, it was basically a little slice of Mediterranean heaven.
We hopped off the bus at the last stop, which was, of course, just steps from the picturesque Vieux port filled with yachts and brightly-colored little boats. Only a 20-minute walk away was Parc du Mugel, with a pebble beach on the calanque where we took up residence for the next six sun-filled hours.
Calanques are rocky, steep inlets found throughout the French Riviera and other European coasts. They make for the most beautiful scenery and give a private, secluded feeling to the little beaches they surround.
French day-trippers and locals alike crammed onto the small beach, and my friends and I were lucky enough to snag a prized spot just inches from the shore.
We actually had had no idea the beach wouldn’t be sand, and my friends had to improvise beach towels out of the clothes they brought. Not the most comfortable way to relax, but sacrifices must be made to enjoy such incredible scenery.
We dug into our baguette sandwiches, fresh fruit and rosé with our feet dipped into the perfectly cool sea and worked hard on our tans.
One thing I love about the French is their discretion in public places — no blaring music from speakers; no rowdy, drunk groups stumbling everywhere; and even the little kids were composed while enjoying the water.
Americans, take note!
It was a peaceful little piece of paradise, and a few times I even dozed off, despite the rocky ground.
Leaving La Ciotat later that evening was hard, but my friends and I reminded each other that we could easily come back any time — just hop on a bus and voilà! Sunny beaches and cool water in no time at all.
