Marseille and Avignon

Marseille, and another chance to use our French! Having arrived at Marseille Airport we had a longish walk to catch the bus which was to take us into Marseille Old Town centre. But we negotiated the bus and the metro quite well and found ourselves with about a 10 minute walk to the Hotel Etap. The first evening we spent in orientation and walked around the Vieux Port, in the process looking for places to eat. We had heard about ‘bouillabaisse’ (from a tour guide in Bath) and so Clive tried: never again! Fish soup – OK but one in which it looks (and tastes) as though all the fish entrails are added was a bit rich. At least he ate outside the square. But the bread, the salad and the dessert that went with it were filling. The first full day like so many others started off really well: cold and fine so we decided to do a boat trip to Les Calanques. We bought our tickets for that afternoon filled in the morning with a visit to La Cathedrale la Major and walked back through Le Panier, the old section of the Vieux Port. We finally, in the early afternoon arrived back at the boat, boarded and waited – but alas, no trip: the seas were too big and it was a bit too dangerous – there was even a bit of swell coming right up into the Vieux Port marina. So, in the afternoon we walked to the Palais Longchamp a building high above the old town (Le Panier) with its semi circular colonnade representing the abundance of fertility connected with an 85 km canal which brought water to the town of Marseille. While the fountains were rather tame, the facade of the construction hid a quiet park through which we walked just because! We moseyed our way down a number of narrow streets amongst the French doing what they usually do in suburban Marseille to the Notre Dame du Mont and from there back to the hotel. It was a full day. The following morning again was fine and cold and again we decided to take a trip to Les Calanques: this time it was more successful! The three hour return trip down the coast was kind of special: it was the first time really that we had spent any time on the sea and it was nice to be in the salt air environment. The cliffs and the harbours that are Les Calanques rise straight up out of the sea and provide shelter for a number of small coastal communities and a 20km walking track –for those of us who are more energetic. The sea in the area is crystal clear and in places because of the limestone coming from the cliffs, a light aquamarine blue, the colour of snow-melt water. While the seas were up and the boat rolled and swayed a bit there was a lot of spray and a lot of people were soaked through – plenty of free on-board entertainment. But the three hours was well worth the money spent.
Two other highlights of Marseille were spent in the Saint-Victor Abbey whose archaeological remains date back to the end of the 5th Century and which houses the relics of martyrs from the 4th and 5th centuries. The crypt was well worth the visit to see the remains of a quarry which in the Second century became a Hellenistic Necropolis. Saint-Victor Abbey between the 11th and 18th century became the base for Christianity in the Mediterranean area. The other high point was La Notre Dame de la Garde built on the highest city hill (154m). History indicates there has long been a fortress on the site overlooking the entrance to the Vieux Port, but it wasn’t until 1853 that the foundation stone was laid. The Basilica was consecrated in 1864 and continues as a place of worship from its dominating high point in Marseille.

One of the things we had intended to do from Marseille was make a trip to Avignon: one day was probably enough but it was just so pleasantly summery after some of the days before. We caught a local train to Avignon and wallowed in the warmth. A visit to the Palaias des Papes was enlightening in that it reinforced just how mixed were the political and spiritual roles of the Popes especially of those whose Papacy was carried out in Avignon for 68 years in the 1300s in order to avoid political turmoil in Rome. There isa wealth of history that accompanies this building. The other key feature for us was the Bridge: Sur le Pont d’Avignon l’on y danse l’on y danse. Like the Palais there is a lot of history attached to the 13th Century Bridge (only part of which remains today, although we didn’t know that!) constructed at the instigation of Saint-Benezet (and who the Bridge is in reality named after). Of the 22 arches which once spanned the Rhone, today only four remain – but included in the remaining section are two chapels where sailors from crews working the Rhone could come and worship (as well as pay their taxes!).

So that was Marseille and Avignon – the Mediterranean Coast has provided a generally pleasant environment one that one day would be nice to return to.
From Marseille it was TGV to Paris – the Fast Train, Tout Grande Vitesse – in only three hours! Great stuff.