Marseille and The Search For Reasonably Priced Bouillabaisse

Marseille. How does one describe Marseille? There are gorgeous parts of the city, but it's certainly rough around the edges. It is big, bold, surly...and beautiful. It is France's largest port and it's oldest city, founded by the Phoenicians in the 6th century, although people have inhabited the area for almost 30,000 years. It's considered the melting pot of France, filled with immigrants from everywhere. Alexandre Dumas called Marseille, "the meeting place of the entire world." We saw an amazing variety of people and restaurant cuisines. It's the home of bouillabaisse, and Julia Child (well, she lived here for a year anyways). The city is filled with fascinating sites-abbeys, churches, museums, beaches, a castle. In fact, it is proud to be the 2013 European Capital of Culture. Unfortunately, Marseille does have it's big city problems-drugs, Mafia, corruption, racial tensions, etc. During our one day there, we saw a motorcyclist get flattened, a bum fight, a whole lot of graffiti and many barred windows. But, the good definitely outweighed the bad, and we had a great time. 

We woke up, had breakfast, and were at the bus stop by 10 a.m., not an easy feat for our family. The bus cost about €5 per adult. The kids were free. Can I just take a minute here to say that buses in France are amazing? They are numerous, easy to use, and CLEAN. The bus ride to Marseille took about an hour. I realized it was the first time I had been in a vehicle in weeks. Strange! Also, the group of teenage boys behind us spoke Spanish and we understood it far better than French. Thank you Mrs. Weir and thank you San Diego! Anyways, the bus pulled in to the bus stop/train station/metro station, and after figuring out how the ticket dispenser works, we hopped on the metro. A few stops later and we were at the beautiful Vieux-Port:

We unfortunately missed the morning fish market. There was a lone fisherman on the dock selling fish to tourists, but that's about it. We walked around for awhile:

We walked up and down the port, checking out places to eat for lunch. As much as we wanted to try Marseille's specialty, bouillabaisse, we were not willing to pay $50+ for a small bowl of soup. What a tourist trap that bouillabaisse has become! Peasant fisherman stew, my foot. We eventually settled on a (slightly scamy) restaurant selling a reasonably priced bowl of Soupe de Poisson. This is the thick broth from the bouillabaisse. It was served with croutons and aioli (aioli is another local specialty). Verdict: delicious! It tasted like fish, but not in a gross way (seriously, fish soup just sounds gross, doesn't it?). The soup was fresh and spicy, and pipping hot. The view was nice too:

After lunch we hopped on a ferry boat out to Chateau D'If. We climbed the ladder to grab an open air seat up on top. This boat ride on the Mediterranean Sea was one of the high points of our trip to France so far. Everyone had so much fun. Here are a few shots of the ride:

The Chateau D'If (Castle of If) sits on it's own island in the Mediterranean Sea. It was built by King Francois I in 1529. It was the first royal fortress of Marseille, built to protect France's ports. It was later used as a prison, much like San Francisco's Alcatraz. The last prisoners at Chateau D'If were Germans during WWI. The castle was immortalized in 1844 when Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo was published. In the novel, hero Edmond Dantés was imprisoned in here at Chateau D'If. Today it's open to visitors and there are guided tours offered in French. 

Our ferry in the rough water:

There were signs all over the grounds warning visitors to stay away from the seagulls and their nests. Wow, they were not kidding. They were the meanest birds we've ever seen. The eggs are a pale green and the mom means business! There is one angry bird in the bottom corner of this picture:

There's nothing quite like seeing your little boys run around a castle. They spent the day pretending to be knights.

Here they are on top of the castle. Did I just say that? Wow, they lead charmed lives.

One interesting feature of the Chateau D'If is this graffiti inside...made by revolutionaries in 1848:

Our time at Chateau D'If was cut a bit short by two grumpy napless toddlers. We spent about an hour in the castle, which was enough for the little ones. We did not see any of the other buildings on the island. There is a building called The Governor's House and also a cottage with a garden exhibit. We had other plans in Marseille, so we booked it down to catch the next ferry. The ferry was running about once an hour and we were not willing to spend another hour on the island with our kids (sounds like a survival reality t.v. show!). We chose a seat inside the ferry this time to get out of the sun and wind and let the kids get a little rest. Unfortunately, there was a pile of puke a couple isles over and the stench was pretty awful. There's a memory for ya!

Once back in Marseille, we all needed a little pick me up. We stopped at an Italian eatery on the Port and got gelatto. Delish! The kids said it was their favorite part of the day. Seriously, guys? We came to France and your favorite part is ice cream? Ugh. Oh, well. It turns out, we were eating our gelatto on the same street and not far from where Julia Child had lived. If you haven't noticed, Madame Salade loves Julia. Here's a picture of her in her Marseille apartment being awesome, just for fun: 

After ice cream, we hopped on board this little tourist train: http://www.petit-train-marseille.com/ . It took us along the coast and up to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde:

This is the gorgeous church sitting high above Marseille in almost every picture you see of the city, including the pictures I just posted here. There has been a chapel or church on the site since the 13th century, when the French used the location as a Fort, but the church as it is today was completed in 1864. There is a mountain of stairs to get to it and once inside, the church is actually rather small. It is stunning though and worth the trip, for sure. One of Madame Salade's favorite parts of the church were these strings of small ships hanging from the ceiling:

View looking back towards the door:

Really, the trip up to Notre Dame de la Garde could be made for the views alone. They must be the best in town:

The kids got a kick out of spotting Chateau D'If. First island on the left. You know, the one with a castle on it:

Here's the view from the parking lot. Not bad, huh?

After Notre Dame de la Garde, we made the journey home. Tourist train, metro, bus, walk. We were back at home in Aix by 9 p.m. and very glad to be there. Marseille was a success. An exhausting success! I don't think we left the apartment for two days upon returning. 

If you're the bookish type, here is a fascinating National Geographic article on Marseille's multiculturism. You have to give an email to read  the whole thing, but it is free!  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/marseille/dickey-text

Le Ménage Magique (The Magic Carousel)

While exploring Aix one day, we discovered the most amazing carousel at the end of the Cours Mirabeau. It looks like something out of a Jules Verne novel or a steampunk dream. Watching this carousel as an adult feels like stepping in to a fantasy world, I can only imagine how magical it must be to ride it as a child. There's a ship that steams, a giant grasshopper, a dinosaur spitting flames, a hot air balloon, an airplane, a snail, a submarine, an octopus, a pterodactyl and more. The most popular ride on the carousel is the rocket. It shoots 5 meters up and out of the carousel top. Our son said it even has a working altimeter. Our kids rode the carousel 5 times over the course of a few days. They talked about it NONSTOP afterwards...what they rode, what it was like, what they would ride next time, etc. We were sad to see it packed up and put on a truck not long ago. We had been under the impression it was at home in Aix. After researching the carousel a bit, we discovered it had been traveling all over Europe and was recently in Aix as part of an Art Festival. It will be returning permanently to Nantes, France. It was designed by Jean-Luc Courcoult, the director of a French Theater company called Royal de Luxe, and directed by Francois Delaroziére. Much of the carousel, including the dinosaur and octopus, are hand-carved. Please treat yourself and check out their webpage:  http://www.lesmanegesdandrea.com/ . We are so happy the kids were able to ride this incredible work of art while it was here.

Le Pavillon de Vendôme

Our favorite place in town for a picnic is Le Pavillon de Vendôme. Surrounded by a stunning French style garden, the pavillion is an architectural gem. It was built in 1665 by Louis de Mercoeur, the Duc de Vendôme, as a hiding place for his love affair with Lucréce de Forbin Solliés. Through the years it was home to aristocrats, the 18th century artist Jean-Baptiste Van Loo, and was a Catholic boarding school for girls. It is now an art gallery with a permanent collection of 17th and 18th century paintings and furniture, as well as a contemporary art exhibition. The gardens are free to enter and totally worth the trip alone. The home costs €3.50 per person to tour. On one occasion at the pavillion, we coughed up the money and went inside. The home itself is beautiful. I couldn't really get behind the modern art exhibit (think pieces of black carpet glued to white pedestals taking up an entire room, another room completely empty except for a parachute on the floor), but Monsieur Bacon enjoyed it. We didn't stay too long, as the kids were getting tired and trying to climb on 17th century couches to lay down. We totally recommend the gardens. The home...eh. It was fun to go in once, but it is not a must-see.

The kids terrorizing pigeons:

There is a small children's park on the grounds. Language is hardly a barrier when it comes to play.

Atelier Cézanne and Terrain des Peintres

Aix-en-Provence is known as, "The City of Cézanne". Paul Cézanne was born in Aix in 1839. He was baptized and attended Mass in the Cathédrale Saint Sauveur d'Aix (see previous post). He became one of the most influential artists of the 19th century, famous for bridging the gap between Impressionism and Cubism. He once said, "With an apple, I will astonish Paris". That he did! Matisse and Picasso called Cézanne "the father of us all." He had a distinctive style of using small brush strokes (our tour guide told us he put one brush stroke on canvas every 20 minutes). His studio as he left it is now a museum, offering an English tour once a day in the Spring. Around 15 euros paid for our family of 5. We had a wonderful time. The studio had a ethereal feeling. It's lofty ceiling and windows, stone colored walls, and pale wood floors give the room an airy feeling and provide the most beautiful light. Several of Cézanne's belongings, many of them featured in his still lifes, are in the room laid out like he was just there painting and popped outside for a walk. Monsieur Bacon's favorite part of the room was a very tall slot cut into the wall to move paintings that were too large for the door. We were not allowed to take pictures of the studio, so check out the museum website to see some images:  http://www.atelier-cezanne.com/anglais/visites.htm .

Following in Cézanne's footsteps, we took a hike up to Terrain des Peintres (Painters Park) after our tour. It was about a 15-20 minute uphill walk from Cézanne's studio. This is a park Cézanne was known to paint at frequently. It's easy to see why Cézanne loved to paint here. The views are truly inspiring! Cézanne was quoted as saying, "The truth is in nature, and I shall prove it".

Mont Sainte-Victoire was the subject of many Cézanne paintings. Here it is as seen from Terrain des Peintres:

The park commemorates the famous painter with prints of several of his Monte Sainte-Victoire paintings:

And of course, the babies couldn't care less about the paintings and view. They are on the look out for bugs!  I think Cézanne would be pleased.