Marseille

21 - 27 June

From Alzon, Arlette drove me to Marseille, over Marseille (the motorway we were on has viaduct across the centre) and through to the other side of Marseille, to a beautiful suburb, full of greenery, and not far from the beach. Not that we made it that far – there was too much else to see. Arlette’s apartment is on the 8^th floor, with a magnificent view in every direction. Because the trees in this area are fairly high, most of the buildings are hidden from view, even three-storey ones and the shopping centre. The forest is absolutely ideal for walking Jasper and we spent many very pleasant hours on various tracks with this wonderful, gentle animal.

This was my first visit to Marseille and there was everything to see, starting with Notre-Dame de la Garde, visible from everywhere and illuminated at night. It’s just been renovated, with lots of gold-leaf overhead, so that the interior is as stunning as the views from outside. Impossible to catch on a camera and even the postcards didn’t do it, so you’ll just have to believe me.

Actually, we probably started with the stunningly colourful markets, where we both queued for half an hour – Arlette for veges and me for chicken. The patience of the French in these situations is quite beyond my comprehension. I’m sure I would never queue for so long in NZ. Every time I queue in a Post Office it seems to take about half an hour, too – but I’m off track here. One of the first things we did was to go to an exhibition (or museum?) of Provençal dress. This was interesting in itself and all the more so because it was occupation which distinguished the dress, rather than location, as in Brittany. Thus, the fishermen and their women dressed in one way, the people of the land (I really mean paysans here) differently, sellers of snails, washerwomen…differently again.

In the old port area, which seems very tourist-orientated, while at the same time being functional for the inhabitants, we took a ferry across from one side to the other. That as fun! It just goes in a straight line, more or less. From there we were able to take Le Petit Train (the little train) on a jaunt which we left at the top of the hill so that we could see the Centre de la Vieille Charité. This is a 17^th-18^th century centre for the homeless, vast in concept and execution, with three stories around a large courtyard and a church in the centre. The church has an elliptical dome, so if you think the photos are at an odd angle, it’s not that. Arlette bought me a recipe book here, of simple Provençal recipes, so wait for it when I get home! We made our way down on foot, past places that had once had windmills, past some really old buildings, past outlets for the marvellous Marseilles soap which is now also available in tubes and other modern formats and past many wonderful viewpoints.

Another very interesting place is the Museum of Marseilles History and the Garden of Ruins (Jardin des Vestiges). The latter used to be a park but people destroyed bits of it so it is now part of the Museum. You can walk around this old Roman port and visualise the activity.
These photos are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/101628277989220379025/Vestiges.
When you get to the photos, the big patch of lawn is where the water was and the road you can see (in big paving stones) is a Roman one. The history museum takes you from Neolithic to the Middle Ages. There is even a wreck of a Greek ship from the 6th Century BC, which is being preserved as I write, although I am not sure by what method. You can sort of see it, in the semi-darkness, but it doesn’t seem to be the same process as is being used for the one in Wellington. The museum itself is housed at ground level in a modern shopping centre, which may seem a little out of place but in fact works very well.

Basilique St-Victor goes back to the 5^th century, or at least the earliest parts of it (the crypt(s) do. It is quite an amazing feeling to be in a place where people worshipped so long ago. It has been highly fortified over the centuries. Just along the road we bought some special boat-shaped biscuits, flavoured with orange-blossoms. Called navettes to commemorate the legendary arrival of some saints in Provence. Great views from this area.

It was really great to meet Laurent and Thérèse, who came to dinner just before I left. Laurent is Arlette’s grandson, about the same age as Julian, and has wanted to come to New Zealand for some time. He has a sheaf of papers to show for his research. I was able to point him n a few direstions but he has really done his homework. Both are very physically active people and had spent the weekend windsurfing, so should enjoy Wellington. Their idea is to come for maybe a year and both work and travel. So, NZers, expect to meet this lovely couple within the next couple of years.

Photos at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/101628277989220379025/Marseilles