Marseille

We enjoyed a great and beautiful day yesterday in Marseille. If you can believe it, this was our FIRST visit to this city of over 1 million people just 30km down the road from Aix. We were invited to the home of our friends, Didier and Francoise, who are natives of Marseille. They were the perfect tour guides to show us around. From their home in the center of the city, we walked up to the famous and well known landmark, Notre-Dame de-la-Garde. Here we had the most amazing 360 degree view of all of the city and surrounding area. It was just breath-taking! It was a very windy day but those winds gave us the most crystal clear skies and endless visibility as well.



Looking to the south...

to the west, with Vieux Port just below the middle of the photo...

to the south east...

looking just below Notre Dame to Didier and Francoise's neighborhood....

outside the cathedral....trying to stay warm!

We went inside the church and to our surprise this statue greeted us! He is Saint Eugene de Mazenod-that is the name of our street and we have always wondered who he was!! Little did we know we would come 'face to face' with the man here in Marseille!


















The inside of the cathedral was lovely. they were doing a lot of refurbishing but this photos gives you a glimpse of the beauty. All the work is mosaic tile!!
After our walk, we walked a bit more and then drove to Didier's tennis club, William Tennis, for lunch. It is situated in a part of Marseille where there a many large, beautiful homes. Once private homes, they are now foreign embassies and consulates. After lunch, we drove to the east along Marseille's shore line toward the Calanques. Very lovely, but rugged!

On the drive back, we stopped to see this sweet little harbor and village....

Now that we've had an introduction, we'll be back Marseille!!