Marseille in the morning

Day two of our Marseille stay began with another early morning walk. This time we strolled around Vieux Port (old port) with all of the boats moored in the smooth harbor, looped past the Porte d'Aix (a decorative arch) and through Noailles with its daily outdoor market. Once again, Jeff's internal compass wound us on a near-perfect loop around town.


It was another beautiful morning with the sun casting dramatic warmth and shadows through the labyrinthine city streets. I took plenty of pictures. I wanted to get more pictures with either me or Jeff in them, but I felt shy being THAT touristy and ended up just quickly snapping pictures on the sly mostly instead, mentally apologizing to all of the people doing their morning shopping at the darling street market or walking to work down the charming narrow streets, or jogging along the glittering harbor. Sorry, folks, but your everyday life fascinates me! We walked almost 4 miles, stopped at a patisserie along the way, and rested at our apartment afterwards.

We were feeling a bit tired after the previous day's intensity (35,000 steps/15 miles of walking and running), so Jeff dropped his French-only plan and we shamelessly spoke English to each other for the rest of the trip. In fact, the only time we spoke French to each other beyond the occasional merci was on that first walk on the first morning. Hah! I teased Jeff about it a little since he's usually so intent on French-French-French when we travel. It was nice to relax from my self-imposed obligation to drill French language into my brain, and just have FUN exploring with my husband. Plus I think Jeff was glad to be out of teacher mode for a few days.

 Notre Dame de la Garde somehow managed to get her reflection in the water right along with all of the boats.

The Mucem (acronym for Museum of Mediterranean and European Civilization) with the wheel behind. We didn't go in either one, but the shadows, light, and reflections caught my eye. 

Cathedrale La Major: basically this cathedral was built for SIZE about 120 years ago. It wasn't open, but that didn't stop it from being massive and imposing. I find that I am quite uninterested in seeing the insides of cathedrals that are less than 700 years old, haha. The outsides of the young'ens are usually way more flashy than the insides. I really like the outsides though!

 Nice random painting on the side of that building.

 Yellow sun, blue sky.

 The island of If is out there.

Zoomed in on If, with the Chateau D'If taking up most of the space. Nothing like a legendary prison! We originally planned on taking the ferry out to see the Chateau D'If to pay our homage to the Count of Monte Cristo and the Man in the Iron Mask, but time and energy ran short and we didn't make it that far. Instead I zoomed way in and took a picture from shore.

 Laundry day: it affects us all. 

Porte d'Aix (Aix is pronounced "ex," a fact which confused me for the entire week). 

I was amused that this arch was just sitting there on the edge of a plaza while commuters walked around or under it. Paris protects its arch (Arc de Triumph) and charges admission. To each his own.

 Selfies do not really work in dramatic morning light/shadows, but we tried.

I wonder if locals can tell the time of day based on how far the light slides down the buildings. 

 The Marche at Noailles: we smelled it before we saw it. FISH!

 The main produce market was hopping.

I liked the pastel colored buildings. 

 Quiet sleepy city streets.

Heading home: the door to our apartment was nondescript and slightly graffiti-d, but it was fun living like a local rather than returning to a hotel every day. We were in an excellent location on a quiet side street right in the heart of downtown Marseille. 

There's nothing like a nice four mile stroll to start the day!