Nott What You'd Expected...

Not much to (Mar)seille

Sometimes laziness itsn't a terrible thing... Emily and I have accepted our role in the traveling group as -not necessarily lazy followers- but maybe 'not as hyperactive' experiencers of culture.... we take life as it comes, and when it brings bad weather or creepy guys with food disease, we take a chill pill and relax a while...

Marseille is an interesting town in it's detatched sense of purpose... parts of the town are well developed tourist traps- beautiful beachfront homes and hotels, cafes and resturants that serve expensive cocktails and 16 Euro fajitas- wheras other places (namely, the place that Brandon managed to find despite attacks from strange homeless pickpockets) are ghetto, nasty, and worth avoiding....

After we arrived at the hostel, Ems and I hit up the grocery store, walked the length of the beach, and relaxed for the night with a bottle of wine, our cameras for awesome sunset views, and good talks-

The next morning was rainy, and added to our isolationist attitude. I ran in the morning (no applause necessary), and we did manage to get into the city for much needed blogging, but otherwise napping and Grey's Anatomy took precidence over bad weather and rocky beaches...

Determined to shake free of our lazy reputation, Sunday became a day of reckoning. We were intent on exploring the downtown area, the beautiful Centre Ville- the giant golden Virgin Mary that shone like a beacon of chaiste freedom for all to see, and other great French arcitechture-
We wandered through poop-filled streets (an all-to common theme in Marseille, literally the shittiest town ever- all different makes and models, shapes, colors- all dependant on the size or make of the dog who produced it, but always shitty and always present)- the wind was a'gusting and the sun a-shining, and the tourists were out in full force as well.

We followed the sight of the Yellow Abstainer and the droves of palm-weilding
Catholics that were streaming from the top of the hill. Once there, we felt like crap.... How could we have avoided/ignored/not bothered to explore this city, when this was one of the most amazing views- picturesque, unimpeded, breathtaking- that we had ever seen?

More wandering, more church seeing, more cafe-weaving, more metro rides free of schitzo homeless people, more napping, and for once a night on the town (well, ish) that included overpriced Mexican food and awkward interactions with our waiter, who had a tough time explaining to me that I was trying to order from the kid's menu.... se la vie

By sheer coincidence, we arrived at the train station the next day to find Brandon, sniffling and blowing his nose, all while dispelling the rumor that Marseille had any redeemable factors whatsoever.... He had arrived to unfriendly circumstances the previous day, and having been sick and spent the night in a very shady accomodation, shared the opinion that Emily and I had held of the city before our amazing day out on Sunday.

Excited to leave for Nice, we boarded a train only to have the worker take our very expensive Eurrail passes from us, threaten to rip them up, and yell at us for our lack of French speaking abilities. With the pass, it's important to fill in the date of travel before the worker arrives, otherwise they are authorized to take the ticket, charge full fare, and a fine of 100 euro..... we forgot, and playing the dumb american card, managed to escape with a harsh reprimand and three mysterious punches on our Eurrail ticket....

Nice thus far has been amazing.... It's always Nice in Nice- and our apartment (shared by Hil, Aaron, Brandon, and I while Mary and Emily head off to Sienna) is a great place- kitchenette, balcony, full bath and laundery, one block from the beach, rented by a guy from Ohio who lives with his French wife-

Last night included a trip to the supermarket, pasta, wine, gelato, long walks on the beach, and a recounting of everyone's best stories from the first week of the trip-

Today we hit the famous market, strolled a while, and made lunch in the flat- possible trips to Monaco to follow? Pictures later----3 more days to Sorrento, followed by Florence, Rome, and a place to be determined later.....

posted by Kevin @ 1:28 PM