Marseille, France

Salut From Marseille, France!

Welcome to the oldest city, and second largest in France. Founded around 600 BC by Greek settlers, it was once the most important trading centers in the region, and the main port of the French Republic. Today, it is known for its diverse culture and cuisine, and the coastline.

Watching the World Cup in Marseille, France

Boy, did this work out in our favor. What are the chances that we are in France, not only for Bastille Day, but for the 2018 World Cup. France vs. Croatia. It was a four hour train ride from Paris to Marseille. Thankfully the trains have wifi! We watched what we could on the way there. When we arrived, we wanted to quickly get to our AirBnB and find a place to finish watching the game! We arranged for an Uber to pick us up from the train station and take us there.

Usually we would walk to save the extra money, but today we were in a rush. Arriving at our AirBnb a few moments later, we had a little issue getting a hold of our host, but that was because he was watching the game somewhere! After many apologies and dropping our heavy loads..or backpacks ya weirdos, we rushed out to find somewhere to eat and watch the last half of the game.

Pizza, Beer, and Soccer

We found a restaurant/bar along the water with indoor/outdoor seating and plenty of tv’s. We were rushed in by what I am assuming is the owner, and sat outside with a clear view of the game. Everyone was sitting facing the tv, beers at every table.  We ordered a pizza and a salad. Balance right? The lady running this place told us we must sit and drink and enjoy the game. So that we did.

You could feel the excitement and the anxiousness of the people around us. Jumping up and saying angry words in french, then minutes later turning around and cheersing the whole place. What a game this was. I’ve only watched soccer a handful of times, and can say that I was never that enthralled with the game. But this was different. I’m sure it would be the same feeling if someone came to the US from a different country and watched the Superbowl. I am very happy to report that France won! We instantly became best friends with everyone. Hugs and drinks all around! 

France Wins!

As soon as the game was over, we got up to leave but were told to sit back down and stay a while. More beers were brought to our table, that I am pretty sure we didn’t even order, and that was that! I knew in France it is considered rude to dine and dash, if you will, but we had been there for hours! We chugged our beers and insisted we needed to leave. There was nothing rude about this, and we did not feel like we were being forced to stay. It was more like a grandparent who tries to get you to sit at the table a little bit longer by giving you more food. It was sweet, and we felt welcomed.

Celebrations in Marseille, France

Walking back towards our place, we realized the whole town had turned into a party. People were driving down the street, hanging out of the windows or sitting on top of the cars, cheering and waving flags.  Almost every place in town was closed with everyone out celebrating. The party continued all night long. Horns blared down the street and music and cheering could be heard well into the next morning. The next day everyone was still riding that high. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. Was this how people were here? Or was it the win? I may never know.

Get to know Marseille

Now let me talk about Marseille. The place. The train station sits above the town, so you get some pretty spectacular views. It’s beautiful. The Notre Dame de la Garde, known locally as Bonne Mere, sits high on a hill in the distance. We had plans to visit this beautiful basilica, but had to cancel due to unexpected weather. 

Marseille has the largest port in France, and gets 300 days of sunshine per year! Because it is a port city, its most famous dish is bouilabaisse, a seafood stew, and one of the first things I learned to make in culinary school.

Plage du Prado Nord

Our homestay for this trip was an apartment with a balcony right across the street from this big beautiful beach. Super cute studio, and the host was awesome.  The beach, Plage du Prado Nord, is big and sandy, hardly any waves, and out in the middle of the water is a little island, Ile d’If, with the Chateau d’If perched right on top. It brought tears to Seth’s eyes. The Count of Monte Cristo is one of his all time favorite books. You can visit the chateau, but we did not have the time nor the money for that trip. This time. Definitely next time. 

While perusing the beach, we got stuck in the middle of an awesome thunder and lightning storm. My mom has passed on the “love for big storms” trait. Thanks mom! We decided to get a quick workout in before the storm hit, and I ended up catching this cool shot.

Local Cafes

We ran for cover to the first place we saw, which just so happens to be our favorite cafe here. We stopped here at least 3 times during our short stay. I had one of my top 3 espresso drinks here. I had the best mocha of my life. It was definitely their hot chocolate that was so special. I never did try it without caffeine though. They had picture perfect pastries in their display, and that is exactly what drew us in on the first day here.

Marseille, France is known for being diverse. It has a unique culture and is proud of its differences. Rich and poor neighborhoods coexist. It is a little melting pot of French amazingness. At the time of our visit, we had read about crime rates being a bit higher here. We only witnessed one little drug deal in the train station on our way out. Other than that, we felt comfortable here. And I cannot wait to come back.

Up next.. Annemasse, France!