Friday in France - Day 7 {Toulon, St. Rafael, Frejus}

Another early morning at the Marseilles train station... This day was going to be another whirlwind day. Time to go to Toulon.

When John and I had been to France forever ago, Toulon is where we stayed as our main location, and we took day trips from there. We were excited to get back for a few of our favorite foods... I mean to see the sights...

In the same location from mission days, and with the same guy behind the counter, John was ecstatic to find his grande pain au chocolat.

This chocolate filled croissant was as big as John's torso. CRAZY huge! And he loved every bite of it.

This gorgeous moss covered fountain was near the boulangerie.

I never get tired of the narrow charming streets!

Our next search was for the Toulon steak-frite. The location had moved, but we still found THE one. This lady had worked the stand when John was a missionary. Crazy the continuity of this place.

Boules court. Also known as bocce. They have courts dedicated for this game, and they take it very seriously.

They have their own set, like bowlers have their own ball here.

Time for more walking.

Beautiful.

And finally! My tropezienne! The pastry of my dreams!!! The one I craved for over 16 years...

And it was A.MAZING.

This pizza place is where John and I had an unforgettable night on our first trip to France. The other customers were out-of-their-minds drunk, and quite a party ensued. It involved the shirtless waiter leading a conga line around the tables singing Ole! Ole Ole oleeee! It was insane. But such a fun memory.

Then it was time to go to Frejus and St. Rafael.

Time to spend some time at the Med again. The harbor was completely changed from when we had been before. But we did find a shop that had not changed one bit - we had bought souvenirs there our first trip, and they had the exact same things there still.

It was such a gorgeous day.

Another beautiful fountain. And another beautiful picture of this girl...

Mango gelato next to the Mediterranean. It seriously doesn't get better.

Dipping my toes in the sea. Somehow, it finds a way to keep getting better.

People really do drive these tiny things.

It's a beautiful setting for a sweet carousel.

Most beaches on the Med are rocky, but this one is sandy.

He has the city in his hands...

It really was such a beautiful day.

We then started on what I affectionately refer to as the grumpy walk. John wanted to find a specific church that was the site of a beloved mission memory. Unfortunately, he didn't realize how far it was from our starting point, and we weren't really sure that he knew where he was going... It was getting chilly, and OH MY GOSH we walked forever! All of us were a bit short-tempered by this point.

But lo and behold, we found the church.

It had a baptismal font for baptisms by immersion...

This is the tree where John and his companion would hang LDS posters and teach people the Plan of Salvation. They called it the tree of life. The door to the right is where the priest would poke his head out and give them angry looks.

It WAS a very cool looking stone church.

We were more than done walking, though, and insisted on a ride back to the start.

Sights from the bus:

The apartment where John lived on his mission.

By this time we were pretty hungry, and there was a crepe/churro stand near the beach. Oh my goodness, so yummy! Have you ever had freshly made churros?? Nothing like it!