Camargue and Marseille

We had great fun in the Camargue! The Camargue is a coastal region in the south of Provence, covered in wetlands. When we first arrived we went to a bird park, called the Pont de Gau bird sanctuary. It holds all different types of birds, including flamingos. We walked around the whole zoo studying all the different birds they had. My favourite was the flamingo. I especially liked the flamingos that were fluoro pink with a black outline around the wings.

After the zoo we went to the nearby seaside town of St Maries de la Mer. We walked around the town and climbed to the roof of the church where we had a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside. After looking at all the little shops, we walked to the town's beach where we had a quick swim.

We drove along the road passing lots of different pony clubs, we stopped at one and went on a horse ride for an hour and a half! We learned to trot and also rode the horses into waist deep water, it was sooo much fun!!

We drove to the town of Salin de Giraud, a salt mining area, because this part of the Camargue is well known for its salt production. Salt is made by filling sea water into small bays, and letting the sun evaporate all the water, leaving you with a layer of salt. The salt is then scraped up and placed on large conveyor belts and sent for processing.

Later in the week we went to Marseille. Marseille is the oldest inhabited city in France. It has been inhabited for 2600 years! We walked around the old city and into an amazing church called Cathedral de la Major. It was very big and built out of marble.

We then caught a boat to the Chateau d'If, on a small island off the coast of Marseille. Until the 16th century it was a barren island, only visited by local fisherman. On a trip to Marseille in 1516, King Francois I decided to make it a fortress. It was turned into a prison in 1540, and remained a prison until World War I. Two of its legendary inmates were the Count of Monte Cristo and the Man in the Iron Mask.

On the weekend I went to my friends' house to have a sleepover! We swam in the pool lots, jumped on the trampoline and watched Avatar! I had great fun!!

Au Revoir :-)