Play pétanque in France

“Instead, imagine a slightly flustered and dust covered woman who may just have lost her cool a little. Place her underneath an olive tree in the ancient harbour of Marseille, an area now within the perimeter of the city’s history museum. In the only corner without any historical remains underneath, they have marked out a pétanque area and helpful museum staff is at the ready with sets of boules and instructions (if necessary). All free of charge – and I can recommend both, the museum and pétanque.”

“Our audience was discreet, though, and didn’t laugh at our attempts. We did get better very quickly. That’s the beauty of pétanque. Even a novice has a chance, there’s always an element of luck and hey ho, first rule of pétanque: it’s not just about the boules, it’s about all the chat and banter as you play.”

“We spent a whole afternoon playing pétanque. After watching the game being played everywhere – and I mean: EVERYWHERE, they even have pétanque area right next to the Cathédrale La Major – it was time for us to give it a proper shot. The all important question: to throw or to roll the boules? Opinions are divided. The short version: I’m pretty bad at both, but I had a lot of fun.”