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Published: July 20th 2012
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Day #11 - Montpellier to Marseille, France - We finally reach the Mediterranean 😊
After a very long evening last night we slept in this morning and were ready to take on our day. The plan was to leave Montpellier as soon as possible but we saw a nice shopping district when looking for our car and we decided to stop in. (We did eventually find the car.) I bought some clothes at a major chain store here in France, kind of reminds me of Winners a bit, Syd also purchased some clothes. I was hoping to buy enough to avoid hobo laundry but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. We had lunch at a place called Flunch, not very good. It was kind of confusing, you pick up dishes at a variety of stations and then order food at other places, it was confusing and not very good 😊 but we have been laughing at Flunch all day. When in France, I do not recommend Flunch.
Marseille is a short 90 minute drive from Montpellier and is a port town on the Mediterranean Sea. Marseille is the second largest city in France and one of
the largest port cities in Europe. The city is a combination of filth and beauty wrapped up in a very interesting and cosmopolitan package. It smells a lot like Paris (which is not good if you have never experienced it) and looks a bit like Barcelona (except the gross areas, which there are lots). It is a combination of wealth and poverty with a hint of African flavour. It really is a very interesting and lively city. As is the case with most French cities, it was occupied by the Germans during world war II and was bombed during that period of time, however, I have not noticed the damage in this city that I have seen in others such as Lyon or Rouen.
We decided to take advantage of the sea so close by and we bought a ticket on a charter boat to go visit an island off the coast of Marseille. We visited the island of D'if to explore the Chateau D'if. My favourite book is The Count of Monte Cristo and if you are not familiar with the book the Chateau D'if is a major location at the beginning of the book. The Chateau was
a French fortress dating back to the 1500's and eventually it was turned into a prison. In the book the main character, Edmond Dantes, is held as a prisoner in this jail and escapes. I was very surprised to find out that the basis of this book, at least the prison portion of it, is based on actual events. The characters in the book really were prisoners at the jail, and there really was an escape of Edmond Dantes from this jail... or at least that is what they are suggesting at the jail. In short, it was very cool to see a location from a book I enjoy so much. The jail was great to explore and it was even better to get onto the water and enjoy the sea.
After the boat trip we spent some time wondering the old town area and viewing some of the neat streets that line the coast. This city is much too large to see in one day but I would certainly recommend people to come and visit. There seems to be a number of vibrant cultures and a lot of things to see and do. It is however a bit
of a rough looking city, which I think is typical of many port towns. Upon driving in today we saw many residential areas that were not very safe looking. Our hotel is in a nice area and has good access to the tourist areas. I recommend that others coming here do the same. Driving in this city is a bit of a task and we had to circle a block 3 times to try and get access to the turn that led to our hotel, it is just so busy and it is tough to get into the lane you need. I think I need to do what the locals do here and just force my way where I need to go and the just honk to make it look like others are to blame. 😊
We are very much going to enjoy the Mediterranean for the next few days and hope to visit some beaches and tan our white pasty Canadian bodies.
Our assessment of Marseille
Kyle 8/10 - Looks a bit rough, but once you get past the exterior it really seems like a beautiful city.
Syd 8.5/10 - Check out the
Chateau, lots of fun!!!!
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anonymous
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hi sidney&kyle it looks like you are having fun and a good trip love g.g.