DAY 5- 27th May 2005
Almost missed the train to Marseille getting pain au chocolats for breakfast today. Ran all the way to the platform and barely made it on.
On reaching Marseille, we found out at tourist office that the hostel we were intending to stay at was run by a seedy little man..so we desperately caleld around and luckily the HI hostel at Bois Luzy had vacancies.. the hostel was in an old chateau! How pretty, with a view to die for. Junkies smoking presumably pot outside train station. Stepping out of the station, we were greeted by a breathtaking view of the city, and the Basilique Notre Dame de la Grande standing vigil over it.
Took a bus up to hostel. People were the friendliest ever. Bus drivers looked out for stops for us, and fellow passengers would call out for out stop and give us directions. People along the way smiled and waved, asking if we were staying at the hostel. I saw real poppies for the first time, dotting the path to out hostel.
Set out to explore Marseille. The port was really beautiful with sailboats docked at it and seagulls soaring overhead staring intently at fresh fish spilling over carts. The many restaurants lining it were extremely tempting, especially with their speciality bouillabaisse soups. And we were totally dying of hunger at that point of time.
Headed up to Vieux Marseille. Quaint little shops and streets, one even selling super-ex handpainted nativity scenes and provencal figurines. The eglise du Sacre Coeur with its mixed Byzantine-Romanesque and Eclectic styles- reminded me a lot of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Amazingly beautiful Pieta inside.
Took a ferry down to one of the harbour islands that housed Chateau D'If- the home to the ficitonal Count of Monte-Cristo. Very very pretty. Like a child's sandcastle come to life, glistening in the sun, above the clear shimmery blue waters.
City went dead pretty early though, so we retired early with out bottle of Bordeaux and huge cheap thin-crusted pizza. And I maintain that i was not drunk. And I really had seen a path to the viewspot earlier in the morning. Dammit.