Blogs from Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe - page 6

Well here we go again, quick overview of this blog post: Pictures and our day in Marseille. We went to Marseille in between Barcelona and Interlaken (where we are posting from now) for one night as kind of a stop over. It's right on the coast as well and had amazing views. Also, quick Fisser Fun Fact, we saw the prison where the Count of Monte Cristo was based off of for all you fans of that. We ate like kings for the night we were there eating bouillabase (sp?), its a dish that has soup where you put bread in to soak it and a whole lot of fish comes on the side and you put that in the soup and create a big mess if you are American and have never eaten it before. ... read more

The most beautiful weather day we’ve had so far was in Marseille. Not to be deterred by our metro adventures in Barcelona, we were off to the Marseille metro for a short 4 stop ride to Longchamps Palace built to commemorate the completion of the canal bringing water to Marseille. It was a religious holiday so many of the smaller boutiques were closed but the large department store, Galleries Lafayette was open for a little browsing ;-) Well, I may have bought a couple of things since this is the soap and perfume making capital of France. We took a tourist train (like the one in Conch Train in Key West) to Notre Dame Cathedral high on a hill overlooking the harbor. As are all the old European churches… beautiful is an understatement. This day was ... read more

8th June ‘09: Namibian barrels past, taking no prisoners. Here he is, wildly overtaking up a hill. It's his turn to lead us into the gig again - a pretty optimistic undertaking, actually, as Marseille's streets are fiendish to navigate. To assist us, Little Dick telephones with a dollop of instructions: ‘the road network is hopeless, and the map is deceptive.’ His advice is to turn off Namibian’s satnav, and add thirty kilometres to the journey, approaching Marseille from the east. It seems that satnav users - or “spaznav”, as I much prefer - come rather unstuck when taking the obvious route. They become wedged firmly in a tunnel suitable for cars only. Well, they’d probably pull up a little before, but it would still be highly embarrassing. Often the reversing in these situations requires ... read more

Never thought much about Marseille but boy was I wrong. This city has so much to offer and a lot of 'caché'. Did not adventure into the world of small 'bed & breakfasts' as we heard many horror stories, and therefore opted for a more well established hotel with reliable standards to be sure not to spoil the weekend. A stroll around the old harbour is a definate must, but keep your eyes open for pick pockets and some very big rats in the evenings. You can not visit Marseille and not try the traditional bouillabaisse (fish stew/soup) or a grilled fish. Like many other Mediterranean cities negotiation and bargaining is a MUST. As a tourist you can expect to be charged a little extra, so don't worry the locals have already taken into account a ... read more

On the morning of our last full day in France we were very excited to venture a mile offshore from Marseille and visit the infamous fortress (and later prison) Château d'If. The 16th century structure is most famous for being one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas' 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. Walking up to the ticket booth along the harbor, however, we learned that we were lucky enough to have chosen a day with apparently iffy weather out at sea and as a result would not be able to reach the island. Fail. Our next move was clear - eat something delicious, and what better way to start the day than with café crème and a fresh croissant smothered in ham and cheese? Since we were already at the port, we spent the next hour ... read more