Advertisement
Published: September 18th 2008
Edit Blog Post
View of Marseille
From the ridiculously tall Cathedral I have internet access! I'm actually in Barcelona, but yesterday I wanted at least one entry from Marseille.
The hotel was really more like a hostel, but at least I had a private room and it was cheap. However, the claimed "wireless internet" was non-existant and I couldn't communicate with the outside world for three days there. Sorry everyone who couldn't get their jackercrackie blog fix!
I'd like to start with a list of some notable differences between Marseille and Paris:
• Dogs are MUCH bigger in Marseille, and consequently, there is much more poop. I'm pretty sure Paris hires a throng of street cleaners, who clear trash and poop away from sidewalks. Marseille has no such force.
• In Paris, there was an abundance of free, public toilets (like very clean port-a-potties) on any major street. These came in handy a few times. In Marseille, I didn't see any public toilets; in their place were condom dispensers. These were rampant. In one Irish pub, I stopped to use their bathroom, and not only did they have a condom dispenser, they had a toothbrush kit dispenser. It was a tiny toothbrush, with a tiny toothpaste nestled into a plastic tube. For
Vieux Port
Marseille at night only 1 Euro, I had to get one. The best souvenir so far.
• People in Marseille are quite a bit ruder. In Paris, people spew out "pardon"s and "excusez-moi"s on the street if they just slightly get in your way. Here, people will knock elbows into you without a glance.
• There are about the same amount of stairs.
Last night, searching for
bouillabaise, I ran into some Marines from Jacksonville. After telling them how crazy I think Marines are (which they clearly took as a compliment) they insisted I check out the big cathedral on the hill. After Paris, I was all cathedral-ed out, but I ended up going anyway the next day.
I did find a nice restaurant, not too expensive (fish stew gets pricey!), and got their
formule, with a shrimp and avocado salad, a four-fish bouillabaise, and chocolate profiterolles. Bouillabaise was invented in Marseille, and is served with Marseille's other brain child,
aioli. Derived from the french word for "garlic", the tasty mayo was much yellower than I thought it would be, and served in a ramekin with toasted baguette slices, and grated Emmental cheese. What I got from the waiter was that the
Bouillabaise
I liked how red the muscle was three are supposed to combine to form croutons for the fish soup (which was also yellower than I expected, isn't it supposed to be tomato based?). The bouillabaise was mediocre, but the aioli was superb!! I wanted to eat it with a spoon. The French sure know their stuff. The best part was that the potent garlic flavor didn't linger past that night, the way some garlic dishes do. Accompanied by a Provincial white wine (Les Maitres de St Tropez something?) it was a great start to Marseille.
The next day began by taking the Marine's advice (I know, I know) and visiting that Cathedral, Notre Dame Des Monts. This particular church seemed to be into the sadistic aspect of Catholicism (a la Mel Gibson). After climbing about 300 stairs just to reach the Basilica (see? Just like Paris!), they had signs everywhere about Christ falling, bleeding and suffering. Maybe this was to counter-balance the incredible view of the city and the azure Mediterranean Sea. You feel so euphoric looking upon it, they needed something to bring you back down to earth. THe gale-force winds might have contributed to the ethereality of the place; if I'd had an umbrella I
Aioli
Very yellow, I think European eggs have yellower yolks would have been a dead-on Mary Poppins double. The wind was freezing! There were so many sweet old ladies whose dignity was robbed that day as their skirts were blown about their waists. They had a good sense of humor about it though.
I read all about Marseille in my book on France, all three pages. The gist is that this is France's hippie town by the sea. In a New York Journal article, one neighborhood was showcased as the up-and-coming scenester hangout, though a few years ago it was ruled by gangs and drug dealers...like North Park in San Diego, or Echo Park in LA, or the Mission in SF. There are a few trendy Middle Eastern restaurants, a bar/music venue, and a clothing boutique with shirts and hats hand-designed byt the owner. After searching all over the neighborhood, I found all of these things to be closed. I was pretty despondant, but making the most of it, I discovered an awesome graphic novel store (all in French), an artsy public fountain, and a soap shop saturated in the scents of Provence. So it wasn't a total loss. And if you read this blog, you can have one of
the presents I bought from this store!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.168s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 43; dbt: 0.1061s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb