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Location Date Europe 
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- Toulon
Wednesday 4th November
Tied up in Toulon harbour on a pier well away from the town & after breakfast, took a shuttle ferry across the harbour to the town site. The harbour is huge with many areas occupied by the French Navy as it their Mediterranean base & with quite a few of their warships dotted around. We met Cindy & Mike on the ferry & wandered off into the centre of the old town which is quite quaint with narrow streets & an excellent fruit & vegetable market. After a break in one of the squares we returned to a lovely cathedral where we had seen a funeral service before & explored it. It was quite dark inside & relatively austere inside but with one very ornate chapel.
From there we walked down to the Navy port entrance past some military surplus stores with the most formidable & terrifying knives, knuckledusters & guns. We went into the Naval Maritime Museum which was truly a gem & a revelation, as the entry fee included an English audio guide which traced the history of the city & its importance as a naval base.
Several of the exhibits showed how the 17th century ships were built in exquisite detail & also how the huge masts were positioned on these ships. Another model showed the careening process used to repair their undersides in which the ship is tilted by pulling the masts down. Others illustrated how the first dry dock in the world was constructed in Toulon in the 18th century & also there were 2 models of a frigate & a man of war 5-6m in length, used to train naval officers in all facets of the ships' operation. These were by far the best I have ever seen to explain such processes.
Finally we saw models of various French submarines & the nuclear powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle & marvelled at the comprehensive nature of the museum.
On our return we had a few nibbles & waited on the quay to return to the ship. A very pleasant day marred, only slightly, by some light rain in the afternoon, the first we had had on any of our shore visits.
Dined with Cindy & Mike & said goodbye, as they were leaving the ship early the next morning & returning to the US.
Tied up in Toulon harbour on a pier well away from the town & after breakfast, took a shuttle ferry across the harbour to the town site. The harbour is huge with many areas occupied by the French Navy as it their Mediterranean base & with quite a few of their warships dotted around. We met Cindy & Mike on the ferry & wandered off into the centre of the old town which is quite quaint with narrow streets & an excellent fruit & vegetable market. After a break in one of the squares we returned to a lovely cathedral where we had seen a funeral service before & explored it. It was quite dark inside & relatively austere inside but with one very ornate chapel.
From there we walked down to the Navy port entrance past some military surplus stores with the most formidable & terrifying knives, knuckledusters & guns. We went into the Naval Maritime Museum which was truly a gem & a revelation, as the entry fee included an English audio guide which traced the history of the city & its importance as a naval base.
Several of the exhibits showed how the 17th century ships were built in exquisite detail & also how the huge masts were positioned on these ships. Another model showed the careening process used to repair their undersides in which the ship is tilted by pulling the masts down. Others illustrated how the first dry dock in the world was constructed in Toulon in the 18th century & also there were 2 models of a frigate & a man of war 5-6m in length, used to train naval officers in all facets of the ships' operation. These were by far the best I have ever seen to explain such processes.
Finally we saw models of various French submarines & the nuclear powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle & marvelled at the comprehensive nature of the museum.
On our return we had a few nibbles & waited on the quay to return to the ship. A very pleasant day marred, only slightly, by some light rain in the afternoon, the first we had had on any of our shore visits.
Dined with Cindy & Mike & said goodbye, as they were leaving the ship early the next morning & returning to the US.
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