La Marseillaise

We spent the last week along in the Mediterranean in the old port town of Marseille. Marseille is the oldest city in France, second largest in terms of population, and a city which I felt is all too often overlooked by tourists. The city's location has allowed it to be a melting pot of cultures: north african, islamic, and Italian primarily. It didn't actually allow centralized French rule until the late 17th century, but still holds the honor of having the French national anthem named in honor of the volunteer soldiers that assisted in the revolution of 1789.

Our View:


We stayed in a residence located on the Corniche President J.F. Kennedy (imagine that! The French naming a street after a U.S. President). The Corniche covers 5km of coastal property and was built in the 1880s as a means of providing work for the large numbers of unemployed. Unlike boardwalks so popular in most beach towns, the Corniche is built above sea level and overhangs the actual coast line. As you walk along it, there is nothing between you and the water. The homes in this area sit high on the hillside (about four filghts of stairs up). We woke in the morning to the suns rays illuminating the limestone island archipelago that sits just off the coast.

Vieux Port:
In the center of town, this port has 3500 berths, a daily fish market (where we saw a shark being divided up for multiple purchases), and leads you into Le Panier, the oldest quarter in Europe (or so they say).



Le Panier:
Any guide book will refer to this as a "charming and picturesque" neighborhood, and while I loved every moment I spent there, I don't think those are the correct words. Unlike most European historic areas, this one is still alive. The streets are not a museum to the medieval times. The only building of nearly 2,000 to have outlived the bombs of WWII houses an average hair salon on the ground floor. Historic landmarks are indicated with enamel placards on the facades of homes, the windows above displaying the days laundry stretched between wondow panes. The narrow cobblestone streets, lead you like along a maze like path, in and out of the homes stacked one on top of the other. A recnt urban renewal project is leading artisans back into the area (if you are from DC think U Street). You can find ceramics, soaps (a Marseilles specialty), and tiles, all in studios where you can watch the artists actually making the product. Naturally, as per the description above and any knowledge you have of my navigational skills you may have already determined that Ruby and I were lost at some point. that would be a correct assumption. Ultimately, an old beggar peed himself while yelling at me and chasing us up the street.




Family Photos:
We loved Marseille, the Mediterranean, the sun, and getting out of Paris for a few days (here you felt you could step outside in jeans and a pony and not feel like you need to head back inside until you get yourself properly attired). Ruby played on the beach for the first time, we visited the Chateau d'If (the prison that inspired stories such as Man in the Iron Mask and the Count of Monte Cristo), and enjoyed evening walks along the coast discovering hidden inlets and fishing ports.