Marseille, France

I don't have any relatives here and only been for work over 20 odd years ago with no lasting memories. The attraction for me to come here was to visit/tour the local petanque manufacturer which I will share this experience in another post.

I found this Mediterranean coastline city to be a melting pot and a wonderful energy. Spending only 2 nights here was just not enough. It took me at least one day to get my bearings but I did not push myself to do all the things I was considering. I knew that I wanted to try Bouillabaisse which is a fish stew originating in Marseille and take a boat to the If Castle-Frioul Islands.

Prior to arriving I made arrangements online for a inexpensive hotel knowing that I would not spend much time in the room. I stayed at New Hotel Select near the train station. I did not have high expectations of the room however I was very disappointed in the customer service mostly because of the inaccurate information given by the front desk staff, no towels in the room when I checked in and my key card did not work many times. The one plus is there was Internet access that could be used in the lobby. They did have breakfast for a 9 Euro (about $12 bucks) charge. Now keep in mind this is a French breakfast which typically consist of bread, jam, fruit, and coffee. Just for a cup of coffee they charged 2,50 Euro which is ridiculous. What I did was go next door for a cup to go for only 1,50 and hit up the local bakery. The first evening I basically navigated the area and went to the Tourist information office for a map/points of interest. They were extremely helpful letting me about the transit, the island info, and other useful things. Later that night I found a Thai restaurant that was quite reasonable. I did not stay out too late. I had the following day laid out and after a good night sleep started my adventures. The first stop was to be at the La Boule Bleue and after taking the metro and transferring to a bus that got me in the area I stopped in for an early lunch at a Creperie having two delicious crepes. I spent several hours in this area and at the petanque place before heading back to the City Centre. I walked around some looking for a park that was dedicated to children. At one time I could tell this was a nice park with a statue of the donor and a small waterfall but was a bit run down now. I made my way to the port taking a boat to the Islands. After an interesting visit there I did some shopping before stopping for my first ever bouillabaisse. As I walked along the restaurant lined port checking out the prices which was displayed in front of each I decided on one. Boy oh boy, it was absolutely a treat! I chilled there enjoying a litre of Rose while people watching. The exhaustion of the day caught up to me and I made my way back to my hotel. Again a few days is not enough. On my next trip to France I will definitely explore this City some more.