Marseilles

Sunday April 10, 2011 Day 284

It was a beautiful day to go to Marseilles. The five of us took the train and were there in two hours. We started our exploration of Marseilles by getting on a hop-on, hop-off bus and riding it full circuit, which gave us a good view of the harbor and the coast of Marseilles. We lunched on a sidewalk café bordering the harbor. Mary Ellen and I had bouillabaisse, which was very disappointing, especially for the price. Some of the fish in the soup was so full of bones that we were fighting bones and spines with almost every bite. The soup base was pretty tasteless as well, leaving us determined not to try that fish soup again.

From the restaurant, Aaron and I took off for the Cantini art museum, where we saw some fascinating works by an artist named Pierre Arman, and a really futuristic one by Roberto Matta, and some interesting works by André Masson, André Derain, Albert Marquet, Max Ernst, a one-name painter called Balthus, among others. It was truly an excellent museum. The lighting was superb. Instead of shining an ordinary light on the paintings, the museum curators chose to shape the lighting in a rectangle so that it exactly framed each painting. It was a splendid technique which enhanced the paintings wonderfully.

On our way there, we passed lots of fashion shops, including a Louis Vuitton boutique with two windows, each containing only one display - a purse, seemingly dripping with gold.

Entry to the museum was free, which was astonishing. As we were about to leave the museum, a couple of the museum staff approached us and asked us where we were from - not in the manner of museum employees doing their job, but more in the manner of two people who had placed bets on where we were from. As we left, we paused to admire the mosaic tiles which form the walk approaching the museum, and a gentleman offered to take our photo in front of the museum.

While we were at the museum, Roger toured the maritime museum and Mary Ellen and Jane walked down to the beach along one edge of the port. The beach was made of sand, dirt and other materials generated by construction of the Marseilles subway. As we gathered outside the tourist office after our various activities, we found the street blocked to traffic by a couple hundred or more demonstrators marching in favor of liberty for Cote d’Ivoire.

We took the subway back to the gare, thus saving us having to walk back the incline to the station, and the final climb of 50 or so steps. Upon our arrival in Montpellier, we stopped on a street café to pick up a dinner of quiches, sandwiches, chocolate cake. We went home where I made iced tea and we ate dinner. It was games again to finish the night.