A Day at the Beach

France
   
  France
   
  France
   

June 27, 2008
By Katlynn Dutkiewicz

 

After ten days of non-stop picture-taking and creating layouts, we were finally rewarded with a much-needed break. We all gathered our beach gear, piled into the cars, and headed off for Cassis. Cassis is a small sea-side town on the Mediterranean Sea. As soon as you exit from the highway into the town, you can see the bright blue sea and beaches. We were all very excited to be spending the day there. It was an absolutely gorgeous town.

As we walked from the parking lot towards the beach, we passed boutiques galore and small cafes. The town was small but very busy. On the pier there were vendors selling various items tourists never knew they needed. Just past the vendors, there was the port where all the boats were kept. It was a scene from the movies with all of the sailboats lined up with their sails. As we headed towards the beach, we were all unaware of the new things we were about to experience.

Upon arriving, we decided we needed to use the restroom. After 20 minutes or so of wandering around town, we decided to ask the tourist office where we could find restrooms. They directed us to the building "behind the palm trees". We had finally found the restrooms, but there was a sign on the door explaining that we needed to pay to use the facility. Pay to use the restroom? We had heard that this might happen, but we never thought we'd actually have to pay to use a public restroom. So after scrounging up the change to get us all in, we were able to change into our beach gear.

The adventures and experiences of the beach were nowhere close to ending though. Our first comment as we approached the beach was "Well, at least it's not a nude beach." And we were right, it wasn't quite a nude beach, but as we neared the sand, we began to notice: hardly any of the women had their tops on! What a sight to see! Young children and old women alike were lounging around topless. After a little while, we got used to the scenery and settled down on our towels. Then the fun began.

We spent the afternoon laying on the beach and fighting hypothermia in the freezing water, but it was all worth it after the hard work we had put into the class so far. And with no assignment, we were able to relax and take pictures at our own leisure. After a couple of hours of sunning ourselves, we decided to walk around the town and see some sights. We took pictures of the lighthouse and the bluest water any of us had ever seen. The sailboats made for some great shots as did the landscape surrounding the beach.

It was a great day and after one last nap on the beach, we once again piled into the cars and headed back to our villa. The break did us a lot of good and replenished our energy and enthusiasm to continue working. Now we're all ready to take on the rest of our assignments and finish out the course with a bang.