To Marseille by TGV (13 October 2024)

 

Notre Dame de la Garde

I decided that Bev and Graham should have an encounter with the Mediterranean Sea, not necessarily putting ones feet into the water but seeing it.  I did not want drive into the city and we agreed that taking the TGV would be the best way to do.  I found that we could go by train and it would take less that half an hour.  It meant an early start and a walk to the local train station with a bit of a wait at the TGV station. 

 

The TGV is so fast and smooth.  Such a good system for getting around quickly.

 

As we arrived in Marseilles the sun appeared.  The wonderful thing about the train station there is that it is very close the city centre.  It took us a while to orientate ourselves but we managed to find  a boulangerie, have a coffee and pastry and purchase some lunch to have later.

This the street we climbed

We found the tourism office, got a map and some good suggestions about what to do from the staff.  As we were making our way to the Basilica we heard some jazz style music being.  It was down by the waterfront and it was brassy, New Orleans style jazz band and they were fun.  A crowd had gathered and it was under a roof which we looked up was mirrored.  It was quite a sight.  

The band

 

The first event was to climb up to the Basilica Notre Dame de la Garde which is built on a limestone outcrop 149m above the city south of the Vieux Port.  It is a rather stunning sight.  We climbed up the hill to it and were rewarded with some wonderful views of the Mediterranean and Calanques, around to the city itself.



The Vieux Fort

The area where the Olympic yachting was held

 

It was rather warm getting to about 24 degrees we think which made it very pleasant although we drank a lot of water.   After soaking up the views and having our lunch we descended to the Vieux Port where we stopped for a gelato like many other people were doing.  The glacier we went to was flat out the whole time we were there.  I felt that the area had the same feel as Circular Quay in Sydney, minus the ferries. 

 Vieux Port - now a marina

 

I was there 19 years ago for about the same amount of time.  Bouillabaisse was created in Marseille using the fish and shellfish that had not sold the same day.  It is a soup and I had wanted to try the real thing.  I remember at the time feeling I had paid a large amount of money for a very disappointing soup. 

 

The Spanish women we had met previously told us that bouillabaisse now costs about 70€.  So it was not on the menu this time.  I looked at a few menus as we wandered past the plethora of restaurants but none of them featured bouillabaisse - perhaps the price meant tourists weren’t indulging. 

 

We returned to the Station and caught our return train. On the way we encountered a rowdy but peaceful Free Palestine march.  

The protest

  

 

We were so lucky yet again with the weather which made it a pleasant outing.  

 






Gare de Marseille St Charles

 

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