Marseille ~ Room with a View

Our hotel room is on the third floor overlooking two busy streets. One runs up the hill to many steps (see pictures) which we are already dreading as the railway station sits on top and our suitcases need to get there. Already had to make the first repair to one of the suitcases ~ thank you to the inventor of duct tape.
Earlier today we met an Australian couple from Melbourne (he happens to be in insurance and financial planning – can you imagine what they talked about?) who were just completing 5 weeks in Europe. As we have language challenges, John asked them how their French was. Like us, they speak very little or as the bloke put it ` was s**thouse poor`. He was commiserating with John about his iPhone bill which he anticipates as being about $4,000 Australian as they thought they were using free Wi-Fi but he was actually on roam. He was doing his best to forget it until he gets home to deal with it.
As in Barcelona, Marseilles has a open top double decker bus which takes an hour and half to complete a circuit of the highlights and you can hop on and off at will to visit the various points of interest. The city shares a further thing with Barcelona as many of the inhabitants were/ are Catalonians.
The city is beautiful with a long history going back to 600 BC when the Greeks and, subsequently, the Romans occupied the area. It has a beautiful port on the Mediterranean and its glory days were in the 18th century with fortunes made based on oil and soap manufacturing. Like Rio, the city is topped with Catholic icon, Notre Dame de le Garde. This amazing cathedral had its start in about 1000 AD when a Catholic monk built at small chapel to the Virgin Mary. Its growth occurred because it became a pilgrimage with pilgrims climbing the steep incline with dried chick peas in their shoes. Much easier now with many tour buses visiting every day. While it is a Catholic church, persons of all dominations are encouraged to use it for silent contemplation.
In the bay, there are several islands; one of which is the Island d’If which was originally a fortification and later a prison which Alexander Dumas used as the setting for Man in the Iron Mask. When posting this blog, I will include a picture of this island, the port and John with his new sailing vessel which he claims to have bought with the sale of two comic books.
Closer to the port, there are two Forts: St Nicolas and Saint Jean (the Hospitallier) of Crusades `fame. Close to these forts, there is a second amazing cathedral called Cathedral de Major which was built crossing European and Byzantine styles but locals preferred their Cathedral on the mountain.
Returning to our room, we became witnesses to a protest march which happened within feet of our room. We are uncertain of the reason or the organizations involved but speculate that this has to do with the Euro Crisis and steps being taken by various governments to resolve it. With this being the second protest we have seen, John and I have a sense of history happening as we make our humble tour. The happiest fellow we met in the city is the tile setter working on the marvellous stairs in our hotel. Maybe I have just seen too many CNN snippets leading to a false conclusion and I really hope so.
The city is multi-national with many different peoples represented in the various shops and style of clothing. Of particular note are the French/Muslims who were repatriated 1962 when Algeria obtained its independence from France.
During the WW II, Marseilles was a route of exit for many artists and writers who eventually left for the USA. This part of France was not captured by the Germans until 1942 but, upon capture, there was great suffering with entire sections of the city being decimated. The city was liberated in 1944 and the first tank that rolled into the city is on proud display.
The large windows with shutters behind which filmy curtains flutter, the chocolate box houses with Juliette balconies and sidewalk cafes all look much subtler than the Spanish flamboyance but this is a beautiful city.
Driving is as crazy here much as in other old cities that we have experienced. Streets which at home would be one way streets or, more appropriately, back alleys are used as two way roads with people often backing up to let the larger vehicle, such as our bus, make hairpin turns. On many occasions, I closed my eyes certain that the driver would hit a wall, a car or a pedestrian but not a problem. He managed it all beautifully as other drivers in other cities have done. Amazing skill. Sitting on the top at the front of the bus, is more of a white knuckle than anything Disney has yet produced.
Aw, you thought that you made it through a blog without the mention of food. Not a chance! I really wanted to try the bouillabaisse for which Marseille is famous. At 38 Euros for a bowl, it is just not going to happen. At that price, I am damned either way: if I love it, I would not likely have another opportunity to taste it and, if not, what a waste. C`est la vie! They do have the best baguettes and ham and cheese – is there a pattern developing here? Not likely as tomorrow we are heading into Italy.