Marseille

Our only stop in France was Marseille. I didn't ever really think of France as a place I would like very much - you always hear how snooty the French are and that they hate Americans, but everyone was so nice and helpful, especially considering my French vocabulary is limited to about 10 words -  but I loved it! It was definitely one of my favorite places that we saw on this trip. I think it ties for second with Rome.

We first went to Aix-en-provence, about an hour away from Marseille. It is a beautiful village with tons of markets (clothes, flowers, food, soap). We had a lovely tour guide, Anne-marie (how french, right?). She spoke great English and was very knowledgeable. We walked around the town to see the different markets, restaurants, and the cathedral there. 

fountain in the center of the main roundabout

clothing market

soap!

flower market

our tour guide pointing out the memorial for the americans liberating this area of france during WWII. USA, USA, U...S...A!!!

Aix cathedral. parts of it are really old dating back to the 6th century.

can't be France without a merry-go-round. que creepy music...

and we had beignets! these ones were chocolate filled but none of them had powdered sugar on them.

these trees are everywhere. they have some sort of sickness and are dying.

the countryside on our drive back to Marseille.

We drove back to Marseille to go to Notre-Dame de la Garde. We saw a ton of cathedrals but this one was my favorite. It is beautiful! I loved the white and blue outside and the colorful inside. Centuries ago sailors would send paintings and model ships in honor of Mary for protecting them on sea voyages. Nowadays people just pay money and get their name on a stone outside, but it was really cool to see everything that had been donated. Another crazy thing is you can see bullet holes from the liberation in WWII (the Germans had occupied it). Also, it sits on the highest point of Marseille and provides a beautiful view of both the city and harbor.

if you look close you can see hanging model ships

donations

view of the city

view of the hahbuh

creepy child statue

Driving to downtown Marseille we were able to catch a glimpse of Chateau d'If, made famous as the setting for the prison in The Count of Monte Cristo. 

Right when we got off the bus on the main street in Marseille we ran into the missionaries, so we talked to them for a few minutes. After that we just walked up and down the street until it was time to head back to the boat.

scott ordering some seasoned nuts