Nature first, city later

After our day in Montpellier, it was time again for some countryside. We drove to the foot of Pic Saint-Loup, only about 20km away. You can see this very prominent rock massif from quite a distance when you drive towards it.

Or so you think. After climbing up there, what we had seen, lay before my humans eyes. She had climbed the right mountain, but the one that catches the eye was a different one. So there was only one reasonable thing to do. Get down from this one and up the other one.

This is what we saw

And this is where she climbed up first

By the time she got back, she was thirsty and famished. Having planned on a maximum three hour outing, she had only taken an apple, a muesli bar and a liter of water. But making it a spontaneous double whammy had taken up a bit more time.

In the afternoon we found a nice spot on private land to stay for the night, just 5km outside of Avignon. The weather had been great all day and we got there in time for us to chill in the sun for an hour, before it said good night - around 5!

It had been raining on and off during the night and no one was overly keen to get out of bed in the morning to face the situation. So we just stayed in for a little longer than usual, had some coffee, checked the mail, etc.

Around 11 o'clock my human decided it was time to give it a go and so her and Carmelo left for Avignon. On the 45 minute walk she opened and closed the umbrella around 13 times. Slightly annoyed, they got to the city. Which, by then, could only loose, really.

But to be fair, if the first thing you see approaching a city across a large bridge is another bridge which is only half there, and then you learn that you may pay 5 Euros to see this half bridge - well, I'm not pointing fingers (because I can't), but maybe you had it coming.

Avignon is known for it's exceptionally well preserved town walls and for the Palais de Papes. In the 14th Century, the city was the seat of the papacy. Papal control persisted until 1791, when, during the French Revolution, the city became part of France.

Other than that, there are many museums and for the art bum, it probably is haven. Tells you enough to know that my human got back after only a few hours. While it was still raining. In a house or apartment it's not a big deal, wet clothes, wet shoes, etc. You just hang the stuff up and let it dry, right? Well, it's a slightly different matter, if you live inside ME! Because I don't like wet stuff all over my insides! It's not healthy!

And so, to warm us all up a bit, we headed for Aix-en-Provence, a small city some 25km outside of France's second biggest city, Marseille.

As I mentioned before, the South of France has a bad reputation amongst campers. Too many break ins and smashed windows. So, as we did in Montpellier, we stayed a bit outside and my human used the public transport to get to the city.

We stayed at a campground here, mainly because we had to do some house keeping, but also for the hot showers. For it being November, the price of 20 Euros a night is a bit steep, considering the place has seen it's best days around 1987, but at least we knew that I was safe while my human would be gone.

And go she did. The next morning, with the sun shining, they took the bus to Marseille, just a 30 minute ride. At check in we had been told that it would be a public holiday tomorrow, and as soon as they got close to the center of the city, this fact was obvious. The festivities were in full swing around the Arc de Triumph, yes, another one.

Several different units of soldiers were placed around the square in front of the arc. There was some parading around while the band played, some medals were awarded, some speeches. But if you don't understand a single word, speeches are really only so interesting. Even if you do, that's often the case, isn't it?

So on they went, down to the old harbor. Now this was more to my humans liking.
At the mouth of the huge basin, to one side you have Fort Ganteaume and the Notre Dam Cathedral, set on a 150m high hill overlooking the city. On the other side you have the Mucem, a state of the art museum exploring the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, and the Fort Saint-Jean.

They headed up the hill first, to get a view of the whole city. Quite a hike to get up the steep streets, but boy is it worth it! You get a fantastic 360 degree view and it is up here that you realize - yes, it's a big city!

The church with it's huge statue of Mary on top is a nice sight, too. Besides Mary, it is also dedicated to the sea-going men (no women in those days, I guess) with many paintings of boats and even small scale replicas of ships hanging from the ceiling like mobiles. 

After soaking up the views, and the sun, they headed back down the hill to have lunch sitting in a square right next to the harbor. From here they headed over to the other side of the basin, via a small fish market, which was just packing up but is happening here daily.

If the weather would have been like it was in Avignon, they would have probably checked out the museum, but because it was T-Shirt time, they only walked around it along the quay wall towards the harbor for commercial and cruise ships. 

The Mucem

OK, there was a short overcast spell

You can walk along the keys for a couple of kilometers, unfortunately, but logically, held back from the action by a high fence. Coming back down the street, they walked through a very interesting shopping center. It's occupying a very long building, some 400m, and is full of small, individual enterprises, restaurants and cafés. The design and decoration inside is rather stunning.

Stepping out, you stand in front of the rather huge Cathedral de la Mayor, Marseilles main worshipping place. It's a very intricate and impressive piece of architecture. Several painters and drawers were sitting alongside it, giving it their best shot. 

Adjacent to the Cathedral you find the neighborhood of Le Panier. This is where the first Greeks who came here settled down 600BC. Today it's a super trendy, artsy and green affair with small sloping alleys and lots of graffiti.

Across the large artery feeding traffic towards the harbor, you find yourself in little Istanbul. There are souk like markets, street vendors with everything under the sun for sale, including their in-laws, spice shops and bakeries perfuming the air with their rosewater scent. 

This is the less manicured face of the city. Also the face where you ask yourself if it wouldn't be better to know where to walk at night and where not. Nevertheless a very interesting, musical and lively face.  

After some eight hours of wandering the streets of Marseille, my human was quite happy to get of her feet, let the bus drive her home - we won't mention the 30 minute walk from the station to the campground - and have a nice shower before sinking into the mattress happily.