Evidence of the riots decrying the murder of the seventeen-year-old delivery boy, Nahel Merzouk, who was shot by police, was all around us. Shop windows had been smashed and boarded up, we saw a couple of burnt-out buildings, graffiti was sprayed on available surfaces and there was a major clean-up going on. Much of the anger was being levelled at racist injustice by the police and inequality represented by multinational corporations- an ongoing saga. Despite this we didn’t feel unsafe.
It was our first night in Marseille and we had had a long day. We were looking for a place to eat. The choice was mind blowing but we soon realised it was still aperitif, and food wouldn’t be on until later-much later! We are in the South. We spotted a place, but it was booked out and the waiter encouraged us to check out Caterine, where he assured us, the food was amazing and only a short walk up the road. ‘Up’ being the key word- we missed that! Images of Marseille should have held clues for us. It is hilly! And Place Notre Dame du Mont should have signalled a warning. And we really should have Googled some reviews. It was not our style- mind you I enjoyed it but I’m a bit more adventurous when in comes to food.
Sometimes when you least expect it you find yourself in the middle of something marvellous. On reaching Place Notre Dame du Mont we found we were in the middle of a thriving ‘eat street’ and on the edge of an amazing street art area – Cours Julien. This was after we had eaten and by this stage, we were exhausted. Despite this I went and took a couple of pictures at one end of the street – not the impressive Escaliers du Cours Julien, because I didn’t know about them and besides, who knows what you might get with street art. Then again, had we actually gone that way we would have saved ourselves a significant walk and after all, it was all downhill!!
Deux!
Breakfast at Vieux Port was a treat and not because of what we had but because of who we met. Actually, I am thinking of taking on a job as an interrogator as people just want to tell me so much about themselves with little or no encouragement. Aldo was a sixty-eight-year-old retired truck driver who was born in Italy but lived most of his life in France. He had a pacemaker put in recently, he was to have his cataracts removed next week and he had diabetes. He spoke French, Italian, Spanish a little German but unfortunately very little English. Despite this he was quite determined to communicate with us, and we had a wonderful interlude fumbling through Google translate, gesticulating and generally making connections.
Our plan was to make our way slowly towards Mucem – the Museum of European Civilization and the Mediterranean- and be there around opening time. Firstly, we had to visit ‘The Shade’, Norman Fosters’ amazing L’Ombrière, a fabulous structure which I can imagine replicated in places like ‘The Wharf’ at home where it offers not only shelter from the blistering sun but a place for entertainment, markets, and gatherings
John was distracted by a three-hour boat trip to the Clanques- including En Vau, a favourite. He suggested we could do that and when we returned, we could have lunch at the port and head for the museum. Great Plan. The boat trip was relaxing and a perfect day for sailing as the sea was glassy and it was hot outside. The MUSEM, Museum of European Civilization, was overwhelming. The physical structure was enormous and probably because we were both tired, we found the exhibitions to be confusing and while there were some exceptional individual pieces, they were not curated very well at all.
Decision made- we had walked enough and the bus outside the museum would take us to the Notre Dame de la Garde, a symbol of the city and its highest point. A great vantage point!
The bus returned to Vieux Port and just as luck would have it we alighted at the wrong stop and discovered, a veritable cornucopia of food, and drink outlets set within a massive food and drink precinct. It was L’apéro (the aperitif)- a part of the traditions of the city of Marseille, a time to sit with friends and have a drink before dinner but for us, age and exhaustion kicked in and we headed back for a simple meal in the apartment.
Trois!
Our day started with a petit-dejeuner of coffee, orange juice and croissant for just €3.50 -bargain, and the coffee was good!! It pays to go down the little alleyways. We decided to wander the streets and get a sense of the place. John was on a mission to find the ‘best Lobster Roll in the World’. Well in 2018 Homer Lobster, won the Down East Lobster Roll World Championship. A French franchise won a US competition and John wanted to see why. His verdict- it was OK.
Seeing L’apéro (the aperitif) is considered a part of the traditions of the city of Marseille we decided to return to Les Grandes Halles du Vieux-Port and partake. We enjoyed a wonderful interlude with Kristen and Claire who were visiting the city for a few days- Kristen from Paris and her daughter who was about to graduate with Honours from Manchester University. Kristen is multilingual and at one stage she was visiting the Ladies when she was needed in a rescue of a young Italian woman who had no French but was very distressed and ill. She returned to our conversation after a few minutes later totally nonplussed. Teachers- they can be like that.
Directly opposite our apartment was À Moro, a delightful and very popular Italian restaurant where we eventually got a table for 9pm. Charlotte, our host, was delightful and the food was fabulous but we both agreed we are not designed to eat so late.