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{Throwback Thursday} Marseille, FRANCE

September 20, 2013 By Vanessa Vila Leave a Comment

**All images are (c) Vanessa Vila and may not be copied or used without express permission from the owner.**

Moving along through my personal “Blast from the past” trips… next up is the South of France! I went straight from Norway to Paris, then took the high speed TGV train to Toulon, where I spent nearly 4 weeks as an intern in the St. Anne military hospital. One of my day trips was Marseille, the 2nd largest city in France next to Paris. Unfortunately, when I do these TBT’s, it’s 7 years after the fact (*gulp* I might be getting old!) Doesn’t matter… these two trips were where the travel bug bit me GOOD 🙂 See for yourself:

Marseille France (1)

That’s the basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde in the lower right, as seen from the train station (time from Toulon only 43 min). Once I arrived, I decided not to take public transit to the basilica, and instead walk alllllll the way there. It was much further than it looked… Travel Tip #2: Take public transit on a hot day. Especially if you don’t know the distance you’re about to attempt. Maybe an hour or two later:

Marseille France (2)

Marseille France (3)

At least the views were pretty sweet:

Marseille France (4)

I however, was NOT looking sweet at all…. and why the $^&% did I buy those sunglasses?!

Marseille France (5)
Yikes… not my best selfie!

Another drawback to doing this years later… no idea what this building is. Other than pretty!

Marseille France (6)
Ceiling of Notre Dame de la Garde

Marseille France (7)

I worked up quite an appetite doing my hiking, so I got a lovely 3 course meal in the Old Town. Wikipedia says: The Old Port or Vieux-Port, is the main harbour and marina of the city. It is guarded by two massive forts (Fort St Nicolas and Fort Saint Jean) and is one of the main places to eat in the city. Dozens of cafés line the waterfront. The Quai des Belges at the end of the harbour is the site of the daily fish market. Much of the northern quayside area was rebuilt by the architect Fernand Pouillon after its destruction by the Nazis in 1943.

Fish & tomatos for my main course = delish! The Africans who kept bugging me to buy their crap while I ate… not cool. I ended up paying something like $12 for two figurines that I later gifted to my cousins. Had to pay them off just to leave me alone!

 

Marseille France (8)

I then took a bus tour of the city:

Marseille France (9)

 

 

Marseille France (10)
Nice glutes. A replica of David by Michelangelo, near the Prado beaches.

Marseille France (11)

 

Marseille France (12)
Marseille Cathedral, or Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille

After the bus tour, I was done with my day trip. I felt like I saw a good chunk of the city. I do remember that the garbage truck workers were on strike, so the whole city reeked, as their trash sat in steaming heaps in the streets, the temperatures baking the stench in. Other than that… great food, lovely views, history, and architecture! Oh, and on the way back, I had to secretly chuckle at the French Soldiers… for some reason I just couldn’t take them seriously with their big floppy berets.

Marseille France (13)
Train station… Au revoir, Marseille!

Til we meet again, Marseille. You were très magnifique!

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