Archive Vieux Port | Dima’s Corner

Apr 24 2009

12 Days in Europe - Marseille (day two)

Today I wentured out on my own to explore this fine city. Some people recommended taking a hop-on/hop-off bus or trolley tour, but instead I decided to grab an all-day transportation pass and a transportation map at the information booth inside the Vieux Port metro station. I jumped on the bus and did my own hop-on/hop-off tour of the southern shore from where I could see the Chateau d’If (made famous by Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo). Unfortunately, both days the wind was pretty high and the boat tours that normally take people to the island were not running.

After enjoying the seaside views I decided to track up to the Notre Dame de la Garde. It was pretty cool walking around the winding streets of the old town. Finally, I made it up there and the view of the city and everything around it was just amazing, well worth the hike. By then it was lunch time already and I caught a bus back to the Vieux Port area for a taste of Bouillabaisse, a traditional fish soup of local fishermen. It was not that great, but I am sure the restaurant choice was the main culprit here.

While having lunch, I got a call from Joe, a guy from California who was studying in Marseille. I talked to him on couchsurfing and he was willing to meet up and hang out so I jumped on the metro and then caught a bus to Lumigny in the heart of Calanques. We hiked all the way down to the sea (and it really was a hike for the most part) and enjoyed the salty breeze at a rocky beach before going back.

Afterwards, I retraced my steps to get back to my hostel, changed, and packed up to be ready to leave early next morning. In the evening I met up with Joe, Nat and Claire (from the night before) and another half a dozen of English-speaking couchsurfers at Bar du Marche. It was their semi-regular meet up and I just happened to be in town for that. We had a good time while downing Pastis (the drink of Provance) and getting to know each other.

The rest of my 12 Days in Europe posts:

no comments | posted in Calanques, Couchsurfing, France, Marseille, Vieux Port

Apr 23 2009

12 Days in Europe - Marseille (day one)

Jonathan graciously dropped me off at Charles de Gaulle in the morning and I was on my way. Contrary to some of the reviews I have read on the net, I did not find CDG to be a confusing airport to get around. The only complaint I had is that they did not have any departure/arrival monitors anywhere in the gate area and since I had checked in the day before, I had to track someone down to ask where exactly my flight was leaving from. I was still very tired after spending almost entire 36 hours awake, eight of them tracking around Paris with my backpack, so as soon as we took off, I passed out.

I woke up just as we were descending off the coast of Marseille and the view was amazing. I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures of Calanques, Vieux port, and everything else. The airport was nice and spacious and the lady at the info desk was pretty helpfull getting me a bunch of brochures and telling me where to catch the bus to town. The bus cost 8 euros and took me to the central train station. My hostel was supposedly right next to it, but it still took me a good half hour to find it because of the confusing street layout… The Vertigo hostel itself was not bad with a couple (paid) computers and a nice kitchenette including a couple small fridges, dishes, pots, etc. Once I got into my six person room, I met my first roommate - an elderly woman from Oregon. She gave me some pointers on what to do and what to see and so off I went.

The weather was beautiful with a rare cloud overhead. I walked down to the visitor information place next to the Vieux port and grabbed some maps. I spent the rest of the time walking around the port, the fortress, and the old neighborhood before returning to the hostel. By that time everyone else was back. My other roommates were a guy from Colorado, an Italian guy that did not speak much English, another girl from US, and Lucy from Prague. Me and Lucy hit it off right away and decided to go to a grocery store to grab some stuff for dinner and breakfast next morning. Afterwards we met up with Nat and Claire from couchsurfing who took us to a bar on the north side of the Vieux port. We were sitting upstairs sipping beer while the breeze was blowing throw the window with the port and the Notre Dame de la Garde lit up in front of us. It was simply an amazing moment. Afterwards Nat and Claire dropped us off at the hostel and we had another round of Heineken before hitting the sack.