Advertisement
Published: September 22nd 2010
Edit Blog Post
My Private Beach
Back to the Mediterranean... Oh how I love it! Ok, so I know it has been a while since I have blogged (already?!? Not a good start) and so much has happened since the last so I will split it up a bit. This blog, as the title suggests, is about my trip to Marseille…
I had a few days off before my classes actually started so decided to run away to the south of France to catch a bit of the Mediterranean summer. And what a good idea it turned out to be!!! I caught the TGV which is the super fast long distance train system in France. Marseille is about 800km from Paris and it only took 3 hours! Plus it was rather cheap, only 80euros return. I just adore travelling by train as well… You know that saying “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” Well planes just don’t fit into that.. Trains on the other hand, enhance the journey. You can see the landscape (and weather) changing as you cross the countryside and I was transported to another place. I could see the history of France happening before my eyes and I felt like I was a part of it. I could imagine being part
of a rural community of peasants hearing whispers about some kind of social movement and the excitement rushing through the countryside. The fields on the way to Marseille were transformed with great bands of hopeful French marching towards the capital. I could here the inspirational speeches from Robespierre and almost shouted out “Fraternity, Equality, Liberty!!” but remembered I was on a train so kept quiet in my own imagination…
Arriving in Marseille I went to my hostel on the buses and poked faces at the local kids. Hehe. Then I got to the hostel, put my things down and the owner asked if I wanted to go to a beach? Of course! He said he’ll give me a lift on the back of the scooter so I jumped on and we rode on the typical Mediterranean tiny, winding, mountain road to this little village. He told me to climb over the rocks to the first beach where there would be people and to the next one which would be empty. He was about to leave when I remembered I had better find out how I could get back to town. I asked if there was a bus and he
laughed at me and told me “no… you can catch a ride!” Then sped off… well… I’m going to have to hitch hike back… don’t have a map, or even know the name of my hostel, will be fun! Just had to embrace the idea and go to the beach. Which was absolutely incredible!!!! Don’t have to describe it… check out my pics. I didn’t realise but I have missed the Mediterranean so much. It’s hypnotic, the most amazing clear turquoise water. It has got a very special place in my heart. Stayed for almost 3 hours then it was time to “catch a ride”. It ended up being very easy, I just went up to a group of people asked if they were going back to town… so not so crazy after all. Went out for dinner Marseille style: amazing fresh seafood caught that morning with local wine. Oh, I was in love. And staying at hostels is great. You meet so many people and everyone is there to enjoy life and experience different things… never get bored of it.
Next day was a guided hike and kayak in Les Calanques. The guide was this crazy French nature
dude who knew everything about the area and didn’t speak a word of English. His girlfriend was along as well as the official translator/photographer. There were only 4 of us in the tour so it was very intimate and you got so much info. The hike was about 3 hours, followed by lunch of local specialities. In the afternoon we kayaked out to the open sea (slightly scary at first), had kayak races (which I must say Dario, my Swiss kayak partner and I, definitely won. Jumped off a cliff into the clear Mediterranean Sea then went back to the town, shared some Pastis, which is the local spirit and looked at the photos. The day was just perfect. Hung out at the hostel that night absolutely exhausted but very happy and we all drank a bit too much wine. Lol.
Then it was my day to explore Marseille. I went straight to the Notre Dame De La Gard, church on a big hill, great view and actually one of the prettiest churches inside I’ve seen… Walked back down the hill, wandered around a bit and stumbled on ANCIENT GREEK RUINS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TOWN!!!! And they
Port of Marseille
View from Fort Nicolas... were open to the public. You could actually walk through the market place and see the foundations of the buildings and everything. T’was amazing. And got even better when I went into the museum. They had soooo much in there. Unfortunately because it’s not a very well funded museum it was all just shoved in cabinets but some of the things were amazing. Something that particularly caught my eye was the many figures of Athena. She was one of the most honoured gods in ancient Massalia and I really wanted to know more so went into the library and read all about the connection between the town and Athena.
Explored the rest of Marseille for the afternoon which was really interesting. There’s such a fusion on cultures. Greek, Roman, French, African, very vibrant and raw. I climbed up to the fort of Nicolas and looked over the whole port and had to pinch myself to remember it was real…
I was a bit sad to leave Marseille as I felt that there was so much more to see but was happy as well to come back to Paris. I’m starting to feel at home here which is really cool. Classes started 2 days later and that requires an entirely separate blog which I promise will come sooner than this one. Lots of love. Jube. xx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.055s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0306s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Paola
non-member comment
Geek
Ok I love this blog but Jube... you're on a summer holiday, at the Mediterranean and you go to the library to read up on stuff you saw in the musuem... I say this with as much love as you know that I have for you... Geek! I love it though and I am jealous... very jealous Take care xxx