Camping in Casis and meandering through Marseille
There’s no campsite in Marseille so the friendly, helpful man in tourist info suggested we head to Casis, a small, well-to-do town a bus-ride along the coast from the big smoke.
It rained a lot in Casis and the ground was a bit on the hard side, so I gave in and bought a thermarest. For those who don’t camp much, this is a small, inflatable, roll-upable mattress. Pete bought one in Dublin before we left and I thought he was being a bit soft really, but I got one in Marseille and had a great sleep last night.
We spent a glorious sunny day in Marseille today. We knew when we started this trip that we wouldn’t have the money or the energy to see everything we’d like to. So, today we didn’t even try. We wandered mainly around the oldest part of the city, the north shore of the old port. We had gorgeous views of the church of Notre Dame de la Garde, on the hill overlooking the city, but didn’t actually go up to it.
Marseille was buzzing today with people out enjoying the sunshine, watching people, drinking espresso, eating icecream, buskers out and about, kids playng football. I hope the sunshine lasts a while longer…
The Count of Monte Cristo lived here
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favourite books so it was great to spend some time in and around Marseille – the town that Edmund Dantes called home before everything changed for him.
Marseille looks to me to be one of those places where there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on – especially if you were able to get beneath the surface (which as a tourist with very little French I’ve got no chance of doing). There’s a great mix of different cultures and old and new. The people seem a bit stony faced at first but then you start to see the odd welcoming smile.
Obviously Marseille has changed a lot since the time of Edmund Dantes but there’s still a lot of the old city left to wander around. Loads of windy narrow residential streets as well as grand buildings and a hectic port. The place is full of interesting people of all different cultures and walks of life. Our guide book described Marseille as “hectically vibrant” and I reckon that seems about right…
P.S. We’ve gone and added some audio clips to some of the previous entries. Enjoy…
I can’t believe you’ve done so much so quickly. The audio clips add a certain je ne sais quoi to the project, very flavoursome indeed. This giving feedback lark isn’t that awful scary at all, bon voyage!
Bonjour Pete and Susan
miss you both so much.
its really exciting what you are doing,i love the photos and especially your blog.Feels like you are not so far away. lots of love anja 🙂
P.S mum and mike and EVE send their love:)
G’Day guys,
Awesome website. I love the sound clips – very original! The one of the flower market as unreal.
I will keep following your travels as you put up new postings.
See you in Brissie for a drink.
… and shame on me for suggesting to Jamie and Caito (I even had a moan to Clara) that you might have started your travels without so much as a global email. Good to hear you’re on the road. Happy Travels!
Hi Peter & Susan,
it’s great that we will be able to follow your journey by following this great website. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us! If you pass through Germany, come by and drop us a visit in Erlangen. From May 8th to May 19th there’s Germany’s oldest “volksfest” with lots of Bavarian beer, food and music.
Heiko & Martina
It was awesome to spend some time together in Paris! Enjoy the rest of your adventure in France! Bonne route!
P.S. Your website “est trop class!” 🙂
Wow guys, that is amazing. You are probably staying on the same campsite me and Jon were on a few weeks ago!
I hope you get time to go into the Calanques, (the bays along the coast between Marseille and Cassis). I think that you can get boats out of the harbour. They are very beautiful.
We found a good little reastaruant called the Place at the eastern end of the harbour.
have fun xx
Hey folks! Lovely to read/see/hear what you’re up to. You’re clearly having a totally ace time – barstuards 😉 The pictures, text and sounds are awesome 🙂 Look foward to the next one…
Great to read your showcase blog. So that’s how it’s done…
Hope you’re enjoying quiet exile in a campsite on Elba, plotting your moves across Europe and dreaming up palindromes. Jo x