Marseilles 8/21-8/23

sleepy foons

Marseille was my favorite leg of the trip. After a short flight and train ride, we arrived downtown and walked up to the home of our airbnb host, Morgane. She is currently training to be an ayurvedic masseuse.

Her flat has plants crammed into every possible space, including in the bathroom. She has photos of Tunisia all over the place and a shrine in the living room. Hindi decorations adorn her walls and the toilet walls are full of postcards and photos. Also this chair is extremely comfortable and creates a swaddling effect.

That evening, Morgane was gracious enough to guide us to Notre Dame, a cathedral on top of hill, overlooking all of Marseille. We were able to get our bearings and converse with Morgane over wine and bread with a homemade olive tapanade spread.

The next day, I slept in and then went to Plage du Prophète with Alexx. We swam and read all afternoon and spoke with a guy from Marseilles and a guy from Algeria. The Algerian didn't speak English so we were forced to practice our French. Practicing was fun until homeboy didn't get the hint that we were uninterested. Once back at home, we rested and read some more. Alexx was working on her pre-departure readings for study abroad and I was up to the last Harry Potter book by then. 

For our last day, we hiked for about an hour to Calanque du Sugiton, a beautiful collection of cliffs, trees, and grotto-like spaces.

 It reminded me of some of the beaches I'd visited on the Amalfi Coast of Southern Italy. The rocks were perfect for climbing and jumping off of and the water was varying degrees of cool temperatures. Once again we read, talked and swam all day, both of us in our preferred elements. 

We decided we couldn't leave Marseille without glimpsing the downtown area so we took a short stroll around the city. In short we were unimpressed and thankful that we spent our daylight hours swimming.

This beach getaway was a welcome intermission of our exploration of European cities. I was also pleased with the rare inclusion of African characters on their sculptures.