Marseille

We decided to go to Marseille for the day, as we had heard there were excellent museums there.   The thought of wandering around the town, and down to the port did not interest us, as we had done that some years ago.   

The last visit to Marseille was in June, when we collected David, Catherine, Barry and Diana, who were stuck in Gare Saint Charles (railway station), and could not get to Toulon, where we were waiting to pick them up.   It was a Saturday evening, information services were all closed, and no one was interested in telling them how to get to Toulon.   An easy trip normally but there was something wrong with the train service between Marseille and Toulon.    It was all very confusing, and extremely stressful for our lot stuck in Marseille.

Well the train service between Toulon and Marseille is still interrupted, by the laying of new concrete sleepers under the lines.   It is now possible to get a train from Marseille to Toulon, but not from Toulon to Marseille, as you have to get a train to Aubagne and then a bus to Marseille.   But the buses were waiting for us at Aubagne so it was very easy.   A little cramped for tall people though.   

Our arrival in Marseille, a cloudless day, and quite warm, even early in the morning.

Inside the railway station, and very busy.  Nothing unusual there.

The outside of the Gare Saint Charles has had a big cleanup, and long overdue I think.

This is where we parked in June, at 11 pm.   Very scary at night, but quite innocuous during the day.

And this is where we exited from the railway station last June.   Of course now we realise we should have turned right at the end of this road, and not gone straight ahead, where we then spent some time driving around the narrow streets of Marseille, late on a Saturday evening, trying to find the way back to Toulon.  

A view down the steps of the railway station towards the Port of Marseille.

But we we headed north, towards the Palais De Longchamp.   One of the narrow streets that we drove on, in June, which now looks benign in the sunshine.

A narrow building squeezed in among the other houses.   A hotel, I think.

The architecture of Marseille, iron lacework and shutters.   Very romantic, except that everything needs a good clean and paint.    How can they let their buildings become some dilapidated!  

And while I am showing the dirtier side of Marseille I will continue with photos that are not attractive.   Marseille and graffitti seem to go hand in hand.  Bad news.

And Marseille does not keep the streets very clean and tidy.   The Germans and Dutch must shudder when they see the streets.  And the smell is very unpleasant, a mixture of doggy poo and urine greets one around every corner.

 

But onto the more pleasanter aspects of Marseille.   The trams are top notch, and very clean, with huge windows.  A credit to the city.

We had lunch in this little restaurant, Walter had a chicken salad and I had a Salade Nicoise, which was pretty ordinary  but the setting was pleasant, with a great outlook.

The Palais de Longchamp, very white, and very ornate.  The usual, over the top architecture from the Napolean era.    The Musee Des Beaux-Arts is on the left hand side of the building.   There was an excellent exhibition there, Le Grand Atelier Du Midi (The Great Studio of the South) - from van Gogh to Bonnard.    Paintings were exhibited from a great number of famous painters, who went to the south of France because of the beautiful landscapes and bright light.  As the intensity of light changes everything, painters who thought they knew about colour and tones, came here to experiment and develop their painting styles.   It was a very exciting time, from about mid 1800s to about 1920.

We certainly enjoyed the exhibition, and I came away feeling a bit more in tune with the area, and the effect that the intensity of light here has on the environment.   It is certainly great for photography too.

After the exhibition we sat in the park and enjoyed an ice cream.   Very pleasant.

Another interesting building.   Art deco maybe.

More beautiful buildings with iron work and shutters, and peeling paint too, although unseen in the photograph.

A close up of some windows, with their shutters, and ornate surrounds.   Very remarkable.

Back to the railway station, and as we sit on the train, a TGV (very fast train) pulled out of the station, destination unknown, but exciting nevertheless.

But forget the dirt, smell, graffitti, scruffy buildings and rough and tough looking people, the warmth of the people we met was remarkable, from the people in the information office, the porters at the railway station, shop assistants, waiters, shop assistants and staff at the museum.    So maybe appearances are not so important.