marseille, fr
/last big trip of the semester before I jet home to the US! finished packing Monday morning, and went down to Holly's room to hang with her and Ty for a little while before I took off to the train station. hol and I stood outside of our apartment hugging for about 10 minutes, getting all teary and saying our I love you's and see you soons. I had to run to the post office before I hopped on the tram, and the two of them were going out to buy a new computer charger (90€ later.. !!) and then I picked up the tram by the post office and it pulled up and there hol and Ty were so I got a few extra minutes with her which was needed because as soon as I started walking away the tears set in, hard and heavy. I hopped on my train to Nantes, shuttled to the airport, and off I go!
as I'm sure it's obvious, I'm riding solo on this excursion so there isn't too much to report on but there will be a ton of photos of the things I'm seeing. Tuesday I rolled out and made my way to the tourism office where I made a friend - he was super curious where I was from and he was really helpful for my day ahead.
I ended up walking about 9 miles around the main port and old town of Marseille. Marseille, similar to Nantes, has lines along the road that can guide you along which let me tell you is a travelers dream. the one I followed was pretty worn so I would veer off and eventually find it again. the nice part about water is that it's an incredible guide - facing it vs not and how to get around with the port on your right or left etc. there is fresh produce stands and markets all over the city, which I absolutely love. it smells great and the fruit is so colorful - something I haven't seen much of in angers considering it's been winter time.
as I ventured to the old town, I walked through tiny streets that were so gorgeous. they honestly reminded me a lot of Italy, and that's one thing j always loved about other countries was their colorful buildings and streets. Marseille has that, with the french language and culture - perfect mashup of everything that I love. I've developed a comfort zone in France, where when I leave I have a little anxiety about the language barrier and what to expect. when in France, I find great comfort in knowing I could probably communicate my way out of a situation or directions etc. I wish I would've seen more of France, but time just didn't permit the additional travel. guess I'll just have to come back.. bummer.
I stopped at a little cafe bar and had a glass of white wine from cassis (city close to Marseille) and people watched on a small back street. these two boys were on those electric rip stick looking things (I don't know the name but I feel really old and out of touch for saying that as the description) and maneuvered them on the cobble stones and uneven streets - needless to say I was incredibly impressed.
I popped into a souvenir shop as well - I decided a little late in the game I would collect postcards as my token from each place, instead of a keychain or something heavy because let's be honest my bag is heavy enough as it is. I picked out my postcards, and went to check out. the guy working the shop, a Frenchman, was wearing a hat that looked a lot like the new Cleveland Indians new logo (the plain c.. when it should
really be chief wahoo. shoutout to the tribe fans) and I asked him what team he was wearing, to confirm that I was in fact right. HE DIDNT KNOW WHO IT WAS. dude are you serious? he took it off and the label was MLB, so I told him it's definitely the Cleveland Indians. in Ohio. baseball team. like come on mate seriously? I am a huge sports fan, as you may well know, and I have to say this semester has really fired me up when I see every other person wearing a Yankees hat when they probably don't even know what he hell they're wearing. I was/am a Yankees fan, mostly for Derek Jeter my favorite baseball player of all time, but for some reason when I see the Yankee logo on a Europeans' hat I wanted to go under the bill and flick it off as I walk by and say - why don't you try actually watching baseball before you just up and buy a hat with a logo that looks cool? woof
I kept up the walk, saw a gorgeous church but half of it was under construction and the entire thing was fenced in. I'm not sure if there was an entrance, though I walked majority of the fence perimeter and saw nothing. I see little purpose for a big and beautiful church if not to worship in there - unless it's unsafe or something. I moseyed on down to the water where it was wide open with a few museums and monuments - downside to most of the big sites along my little personally guided tour - couldn't get into anything. museums, landmarks, churches you name it.the only thing I could go into was the notre dame de la garde church on the hill where you notice the gorgeous inside and the killer views on its terrace. definitely the highlight of the day seeing Marseille from an aerial view. downside? so windy I was almost blown off the terrace and tumbled down the hill. I cheated a little and took the bus up the hill, but i am thoroughly pleased with that decision. I walked down the hill and by the time I reached the port again my calves were shaking if I stopped walking LOL.
after my walk down the hill, I sat in a wide open space near the main avenue by the metro entrance watching a few teen boys and a dad kick a soccer ball back and forth, and by kick I mean like a football punt pretty far away. the ball almost hit like 10 people, and it did make contact with about 4. it was hysterical to watch unfold so I stuck around for a while in the sunshine and was thoroughly entertained. I went back to the hostel. grabbed a bag and then went back out to monoprix to grab a few things for dinner and I just ate in the hostel. balling on a budget has been the name of the game all semester, but it's especially evident now as funds are wicked low. I showered and was in bed watching a movie by 10, asleep by 1 (which is pretty good for eurojules.. ask the girls) and slept much more soundly than Monday night so thumbs up for that.
BIG NEWS FRIENDS: someone asked me for directions. let that sink in.. ME! the blondie, for directions. I couldn't freakin help the gal because I'm not a local in Marseille but I was so excited and she was confused why I looked excited, and then said I'm sorry I don't know where that is. usually people know right away "oh, you're American." but directions?? who would ask the american for directions in Marseille? I am fist pumping this win after five months France has accepted me as its own. #blessed
Wednesday I went to aix-en-Provence for the day, which was really lovely. Thursday I went to the bank in hopes of sorting out my french card not working, but of course that wasn't possible because the banking system here is heinous. they will only help you if that specific building is your branch and your agency. whereas, in the USA if I walked into any chase they would help me the same. in fact, they roll a red carpet out when you walk into a bank in the states but in France you're lucky if you get a second glance. attempt failed and feeling defeated, I made my way to the beach. successfully navigated another public transit (high five for the little wins) and the bus ride along the coast was just gorgeous. in the distance there was a yellow house, one I decided I'd gladly move into anytime soon. upon arrival I laid out my towel, put on some lotion and read for a bit. of course headphones were in, jamming away as well. I was entertained all day by little tots, dogs, and honestly adults just interacting. I stayed until about 515, made my way back to the port, stopped at monoprix for dinner, finally showered off all the sun & sand and realized I had burned to a total crisp. not at all surprising for me, especially as it's the first real sun I've seen all semester. Ibiza we had sunshine but it wasn't all that warm and the sun wasn't end-of-may strong just yet. so I am anxiously awaiting my arrival back into angers where I can buy aloe (because if I bought any today id have to throw it out because of security and their 100ml restrictions) so currently I'm radiating a crap ton of heat..
all in all, beautiful day on the beach to really finish up my time here in Marseille. I LOVED it, and will definitely be back so I can explore more in the city and additional beaches. France, you've officially stolen my heart and I am forever grateful.
cheers, jkro