marseille aka detroit

Before my friend Cicily and I took off on our grand adventure to Marseille, our program director and fellow students back in Grenoble were joking with us that Marseille is the French equivalent to Detroit. Apparently there are drugs galore and gang violence, my French friend even told me that most people in Grenoble are scared of Marseille!

So, with all this lovely encouragement, Cicily and I put on our big girl pants and boarded the train to Detroit...and what we found was a beautiful city with delicious seafood and killer views of the mountains and ocean! We stayed with the absolute cutest French couple named Sabine and Marceau in their apartment that overlooked the whole city. Okay actually I think his name is Paul-Louis, but I somehow thought his name was Marceau the whole time...moving on.

On Friday night we blindly stepped into French hipster central in this area recommended to us by Cicily's hip host mom. The restaurant was located in this huge warehouse with graffiti adorning the walls on the outside of the building and was so unassuming that we actually walked right past it the first time and had to be redirected by a sweet French woman and her little girl. Thanks Veronique and Stella! We ate one of the best Caesar salads we've ever tasted- the French know how to make em, I tell you! Then on Saturday we spent our time walking along the Vieux Port and visiting the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde which is waaay the heck up on this hill (Cicily and I were convinced that we were actually in San Francisco instead of Detroit). The Basilica was extraordinary. Very ornate and had a special Marseille touch to it with picture collages of the port on the walls inside the main sanctuary. 

On our last day we scurried over to Palais Longchamp, a real beaut, to participate in the opening weekend of a new exhibit in Le Musée des Beaux-Arts. Which basically translates to free. Gratuit has become one of our new favorite words over here. The Palais was built in 1839 to commemorate the construction of the Marseille Canal, but today is best known as the home of the Museum of Natural History and Museum of Beaux-Arts. 

After trying some navettes de Marseille (a cookie made in various flavors in the shape of little boats) and inching out as close to the Mediterranean Sea as possible to view some last museums and forts, we boarded the train back to Grenoble. I'm happy to say that Marseille has become on of my new favorite cities! There was so much to do and see, and if all else fails, there is always something going on down by the port...even in February! 

Until next time, Marseille!