Avignon / Marseille, France
So, today we travelled to Marseille from Avignon and back again to Avignon.
No stress today, very relaxed. See, we didn't take the car we went by train. One hour and twenty minutes of relaxation. Clickety-clack, clickety-clack. Nice. The train dropped us at the St. Charles station, three blocks from the main street of town and about seven blocks from the waterfront and major attractions. No parking worries, or worries of banging up the car because the stories we heard of the quality of driving in Marseille had us nervous. And those stories came from some French women, so we knew they were true.
Marseille itself was very much worth the trip. It is France's oldest city and we saw ruins there that date back past 200 BC, one of the oldest preserved shipwrecks ever discovered. And there were Roman ruins there as well, plus old fortifications and masses of churches and cathedrals.
It is a huge and active seaport also, and we could see cruise ships at terminals in the distance. There is a large active fishing presence and since we were there at the quayside by 9:30am we saw the fishboats unloading and the fishmongers surrounded by buyers, most of whom we suspect were the local restauranteurs getting their supplies for the day. The fish was, I'm sure, very fresh. But it was smelly and they were cutting up some of the fish right there on the dock. That was pretty gross, and Jan and I managed to keep our breakfast where it belonged, but just.
Later, in the afternoon, after wandering about a lot, we got hungry for lunch. Guess what, most of the restaurants around the docks are seafood restaurants and we were a bit put off due to the sights and smells of earlier. But one restaurant wasn't seafood, and was very safe. Yes, McDonalds. We had an excellent lunch. Not exactly haute cuisine, but predictable and excellent with a very good espresso as well. And a sidebar to that, about one third of the cost of any other lunch board that we looked at. And an unbelievably professional staff who kept the very unruly locals in line.
Later, more wandering and we went into the 'Center Bourse'. The term 'Bourse' usually means 'Stock Exchange' in Europe, so I was intrigued. The French Stock Exchange is now located in Paris, but at one time it was in fact located in Marseille, just behind the 'Center Bourse' (hence the name connection) which is now a very large shopping mall. We went and looked around, excellent fashion clothing plus very up-scale furniture shops, and much more. Nothing we needed though, so we had a coke in the food court, then left.
Finally, back at the train station and on the way home to Avignon. On arrival we went out to an excellent restaurant that we had wanted to try in the "Pope's Palace Square" and it didn't disappoint. Finally, home to our hotel and these notes.
Tomorrow, we'll head for Aix-en-Provence via the backroads, a couple of hours away.
