Even more Marseille

After several attempts at the Tourist information office to find out how to get to the Calanque (the three of us all got different answers), which is an area outside Marseille with limestone cliffs going down into the sea, we finally caught a bus to Luminy and arrived in one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. The hike down to the water took about an hour, but the view was completely worth it.

More Marseille

After hiking to the fishing village, we decided to hike some more (surprise, surprise)...all the way up to Notre-Dame de la Garde, situated at the highest natural point in Marseille (over 500 ft. up). After that, we again retired to our terrace for some wine, cheese, and saucisson.

Everyone told us that we had to have bouillabaisse in Marseille. We had thought we went to one of the good places, Mirimar in the old port, and our hopes were high when they brought out this monstrosity. But after the first course of broth from the dish, we knew we had either chosen the wrong restaurant, or we just all hated bouillabaisse. The broth was gritty, over-seasoned, and far too large a portion to be followed by second course. The second course was a plate with even more broth, smothering overcooked, chewy fish and shellfish. We got through about 5 bites each, trying to smile and claim it was great...but we then had to admit defeat.


The next day we took a bus into the mountains to Aubagne, which was where Marcel Pagnol was born. We had hoped that the town was actually where they filmed some of the movies about Marcel Pagnol's life (My Father's Glory & My Mother's Castle), but seems that it just inspired the locations in the films. However, the trip got us further into the mountains, which were absolutely beautiful. The following day, we hopped on another bus to spend the day in Aix en Provence. While there we saw a wonderful Cezanne and Picasso exhibition, ate some really good pizza, watched some old men play petanque, and walked around the lovely, quiet streets.

Photos from Marseille

The last week in May we took a really early train out of Kings Cross and headed south to Marseille. Six hours later, we arrived, greeted by our friend Jon (who flew in from Virginia). We rented a lovely flat a block away from the harbor. This is the view from our balcony. And this is the terrace where we'd wait out the hottest hours of the day, drinking wine and eating cheese. The food in Marseille was wonderful (except for the bouillabaisse, which I'll explain later). We ate twice at La Souk, a North African restaurant with fantastic couscous. We did a lot of walking, as is typical of our holidays, and one day walked to the small fishing village of Vallon des auffes. More to come...

Away again

This weekend we're headed to Porto, Portugal. The photos of Marseille will have to wait until we get back. Sorry for the delay, but it's worth it.