Day 9 - Toulon, France (Cote d'Azur)

It was a Sangria event in the buffet...so...sure! 

We had an early tour this morning, so as we woke up, we thought about our bus rides yesterday, and the bus rides today, our “free time in the city center” yesterday, and the free times today.  And…we opted to sleep in and have another “sea day”.  Almost everyone got off the boat this morning, so we mostly had the place to ourselves.  Leisurely breakfast, and then hit the coffee bar and work on the ship’s puzzle a bit.  We went up to Deck 12 to play some shuffleboard (terrible terrible game…Theresa won), then croquet (much better game, Bill won).  We tried the “driving range” (a netted area where you can drive, chip, or putt, or just hack and miss). 

Theresa sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view.

Bill sat on the balcony and baked under a hot sun.

Soon it was lunch time.  So, we found the buffet and to our surprise it was sort of a German theme, with Goulash, dumplings, spaetzle, and German potato salad.  After lunch, we eventually made it to the last lecture, “Globalization and De-Globalization”.  It was interesting, but perhaps a little incomplete.  Still, it’s nice to hear what political science people might be thinking when they use those words. 

Finally, we headed to afternoon trivia.  We…had fun, but did not win!  But this was the last one where we got the special “Regent points” to trade in for merchandise.  So, we got a shirt and something, and gave away our leftover points to our trivia teammates. 

The French Navy?!

We headed up to the 12^th deck for the sail away, and the piano player was actually playing the song “Come Sail Away”.  We ordered a drink and watched the scenery melt away.  But first, we realized we were right in the middle of a French Naval base!!  There were numerous Navy ships, including an Aircraft carrier (we’re told it was the Charles de Gaulle) and several not so seaworthy hulks.

An aircraft carrier with a piece of rusted junk behind it?

That looks like an aggressive ship!

There is a whole field of naval ships here!

The "Charles de Gaulle" Aircraft Carrier.

Those seem unfriendly.

Big big big ships back there!

What is going on here?  Two rusty old ships as a breaker?

Almost spooky!!

A quaint little town as we headed out of dock.

Lobster Thermador.

We headed to dinner, where they were serving Lobster Thermador and Beef Wellington, and we obliged by having one of each.  It was a pretty nice day and fast evening.