Marseille: Windblown DIY Exploration

Monday, 19 September 2016
Marseille-Provence Cruise Port — Marseille, France
Temps: 78F (26C) / 63F (17C)

Lovely day in Marseille … if a bit windy.  It’s 4:45p … we returned to the ship 15 minutes ago, and when I checked the NavChannel, the wind speed was showing as 27 knots … that’s over 30 mph (50 kph).  I imagine some of the gusts exceeded 35 knots (40+ mph/65 kph) at times.  On the upside, we had beautiful blue skies, plenty of sunshine, and the wind went a long ways towards mitigating the heat from the sun shining bright.

We didn’t have any specific plans for Marseille so we just let the day play out naturally.  At the Pier 163 terminal where we disembarked, a woman was handing out maps and answering questions.  She told us we were 6 miles (10 km) from the city center and Vieux-Port [old port].  Our transportation options were the ship’s shuttle at $20pp R/T … or taxi for €20 one way … or a 20-minute walk, following a green line to the port gate, to catch bus 35 for €1.90pp (~ $2.15) one way; good for transfers within one hour of validation.  We chose the last option and started our day with a brisk walk.

By choosing to walk to the bus stop, we get to photograph Silhouette docked at the Marseille-Provence Port.  Within the magnified area, you can barely make out our near-aft cabin.

There was quite a crowd at the bus stop and no queue to speak of.  We’re used to that in Europe, so we plunged right in and managed to get on the first bus leaving for the city.  Handing over the requisite Euros, we bought our tickets from the driver … and even found some seats towards the back of the bus.  I didn’t time the ride, but it wasn’t all that long … maybe 15-20 minutes, with a drop off in La Joliette, a neighborhood in Marseille’s 2nd arrondissement.  From here it was maybe a 30-minute walk to Vieux-Port, but hard to say since we meandered and made several stops en route.

Once we oriented ourselves at the bus stop, we headed towards Cathédrale de la Major [Marseille Cathedral], which was visible from where we began our walk.  Built on the site where previous cathedrals have sat since the 5th century, the current church dates back to 1852-1896.  Often referred to as the Nouvelle Major, it is in the Byzantine-Roman style, and incorporates part of a smaller cathedral built earlier.

The Marseille Cathedral … before we walk around to the front.

From the cathedral, we took a meandering walk along the waterfront to Fort Saint-Jean, which guards the entrance to Vieux-Port.  We didn’t go into the fort… nor did we go into the museums nearby.  Despite the wind, it was simply too nice to be indoors.  So we just enjoyed the views and the sunshine, and did a bit of people-watching along the way.

Reflections in the glass wall of the  Museum of European & Mediterranean Civilizations.

Left: Fort Saint-Jean and the lighthouse as seen from Notre-Dame de la Garde.
Right: Mural in the Panier Quarter of the city.

We continued along the harbor to the ferry landing to check out the schedule to go out to Ile d’If [Island of If].  This rock outcropping is perhaps best known as being the location of Château d’If … where Edward Dantés was imprisoned in the Alexander Dumas’ novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.  We never made it to the landing.  Watching the difficulties a sailboat trying to leave the harbor was experiencing in the heavy winds, we decided d’If would have wait until another time.

The Frioul Archipelago is offshore from Marseille.  The small island in the foreground is …

… Ile d’If … home of Château d’If where Dantes was imprisoned in The Count of Monte Cristo.

Our timing worked for something else we had on our list, however — bus 60, which goes to Notre-Dame de la Garde [Our Lady of the Guard], arrived just as we were walking up to the stop.  By this time, we had exceeded the one-hour time limit for the free transfer, so we bought two more tickets from the driver.  The basilica, which was consecrated in 1864, sits atop an incredibly steep hill overlooking the harbor, so paying another €1.90pp was well worth it … to our feet, our knees, and our lungs … especially after seeing the grade we would have had to traverse to get up and down under our own steam.

Left: We need to get from sea level up to the top of the hill to visit the basilica.
Right: Another perspective of Notre-Dame de la Garde (postcard scan).

Best angle I can get on the basilica from where we get off the bus.

The view from the esplanade around the basilica is expansive and quite breathtaking.  Today it was clear as well … thanks to the stiff winds that buffeted us as we wandered the grounds.  I already shared some of the specific sights visible from this vantage point, but here are a few more images of the general scenery.

Panorama of Marseille with the Cross of Jesus on the right.

Enjoying the scenery towards Vieux-Port and getting windblown on the basilica’s esplanade.

Fort Saint-Nicholas (left) and Fort Saint-Jean guard the entrance to Vieux-Port.

Cathédrale de la Major and the commercial port in La Joliette.

Once we had our fill of the scenery, we headed up the grand staircase to explore the church.  Everyone seemed to be going first to the crypt carved out of the rock on which the church was built.  So, we went up to the Neo-Byzantine style upper church instead.  Richly decorated with mosaics, it ranks high as one of the most beautiful churches we’ve seen during our travels.  Despite the multitude of believers and sightseers crowding the interior, we really enjoyed our time here.

Left: I ask Mui for help raising the camera above the crowds to take this shot.
Right: The Silver Virgin was commissioned in 1837 from sculptor Chanuel.

A closer look at the mosaic detail of the third cupola over the nave.

Looking up at the richly-decorated main cupola over the transept.

The large cupola in the middle of the transept is decorated with a mosaic representing four angels rising towards the sky.  Their arms support a crown of roses, which they offer to the Virgin Mary, represented by her monogram placed at the center of the composition.

Some of the many ex-votos hanging in the basilica.

Even skipping the museum attached to the basilica, we once again exceeded the transfer time limit to take the bus back to the old port.  No matter … another pair of tickets from the driver did the trick.

It was 1:00p by the time we found ourselves back at the harbor.  We were both feeling in need of some sustenance.  So, we slowly made our way around the Quai des Belges, stopping to take photos and perusing menus along the way.  Eventually we settled on one of the many cafés lining the waterfront.  I ordered and enjoyed the tagliatelle melanzana [noodles with eggplant].  Mui ordered the entrecôte … which was more medium rare than medium, but he cleaned his plate, so I can only assume he enjoyed his meal too.  We wrapped up with profiteroles — filled with ice cream, doused with a hot chocolate sauce, and topped with a mound of crème fraîche … yummy!

Scenes from Vieux-Port … the mirrored structure on the right is the “miroir l’ombriére” …
it provides shade and gives people something fun to enjoy while they wait for ferries and such.

Al fresco dining and yummy food … can’t beat it.

It was 3:00p when we left the café … well satisfied with our leisurely meal, but starting to run short on time.  So, we slowly meandered back to the stop where bus 35 had dropped us off this morning.  None of the locals we asked knew exactly where we should wait for the bus to arrive … the confusion complicated by them speaking French and us not.  In the end, we figured it out for ourselves when we saw passengers from another ship boarding a bus headed in the right direction.  Twenty minutes later we were at the port gate.  Our feet could have done without the 20-minute walk back to Silhouette … but at least the wind kept us cool, so the walk wasn’t too onerous.

Louis Botinelly’s “The Bear Trainer” with the Fort Saint-Jean Lighthouse to the left.

The early 13th century Church of Saint-Laurent was originally the parish church
of sailors and fishermen.  Romanesque in style, it has an octagonal bell tower.

And that’s how our day in Marseille turned out.  We missed a few places that we would liked to have seen, but there’s always next time.  In the meantime, we’ve left Marseille behind …  heading out into the choppy Mediterranean.  And I have a dinner to get ready for.  Tonight we dine as guests of the Onboard Marketing Manager.  More on that later …

Later … at Sea Towards Villefranche

We had a lovely evening — without our host, Santhosh Joseph!  As it turns out, he had received a message from the Celebrity home office that a conference call required his presence.  He made a short appearance, and after he excused himself, his co-host — Chief Housekeeper Georgios Angelou (from Greece) — made sure we didn’t miss Santhosh’s company.  George was charming and personable, and had many entertaining stories to tell of his life at sea since 1995.

Our evening started at 6:15p with bubbly at Cellar Masters.  It was here that Rossy, the Captain’s Club Hostess, introduced us to our tablemates — George & Nora from the UK and Margaret & Darwin from Chattanooga, TN.  When our hosts arrived, Rossy escorted us to our table at the Tuscan Grille — a specialty pay-restaurant described as “an Italian steakhouse with a nouveau twist.”

Our hosts and tablemates.  Santhosh Joseph (far left) has to excuse himself shortly after we sit down to dinner; Georgios Angelou (to my right) does an admirable job of hosting us on his own.

Our waitress brought us a selection of starters to share — a cheese and deli meat platter, calamari, meatballs, and crab cake.  Individual bowls of EVOO with snipped-at-the-table basil for dipping fresh bread from the ship’s bakery rounded out the first part of our meal.  The main meal consisted of a salad, main course, and dessert, which we each ordered from the menu.  Wine — compliments of our hosts — accompanied the meal.  The company was great; the conversation was great.  The food … well that was just OK.  Our evening wrapped up with Rossy presenting each of the women at the table with a red rose and a copy of the group photo that was taken before we were seated.  We returned to the cabin to find a lovely arrangement of flowers from our host — a very nice touch.

Tomorrow is a tender port.  George has assured us that the seas and winds will be calming down overnight.  The protected bay in which Silhouette will be anchoring should offer conditions suitable for tendering operations.  We’re looking forward to exploring another city in France.

Next Stop: Villefranche-sur-Mer, France … 133 nautical miles from Marseille.

[To see more images from our day, click here for my online gallery.]

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