Marseille

Our next stop was Marseille. We left the car in Aix, and took the train in to avoid the city traffic. It's a much bigger city than I expected!

Our main reason for going to Marseille was to go hiking! There's an area called the Calanques on the coast that Sara had been hiking before and said was amazing.



She was right. It's gorgeous. And we took public transit to get there. It's amazing to be in a big city, and then to take the city bus and get off a few minutes walk from this. We hiked out to a cliff that overlooked the ocean, and sat down for lunch (our ubiquitous lunch of bread and cheese. With a few veggies thrown in, of course!)

Another long-arm shot. I said these were a bit of a trend.....No cotton candy at the Calanques though.


It was a great spot for lunch--and so quiet that we could hear the sea crashing against the rocks. Good idea Sara!


We went back into the city after lunch, and decided to take the bus to the Eglise Notre Dame. But that bus was on strike. Not all the buses--just that route. So we started walking......It's not a bad walk, just uphill. Really uphill. Whew!


But we got to the church anyways, although we didn't do the last steps on our knees as you are suppposed to. They have the stations of the cross on the last bit of the hill and up the steps to the church. I didn't really understand it, because the stations of the cross are actually in Jerusalem--at least according to the Bible.....and all the tourists I saw when I was in Jerusalem. I haven't been to many catholic churches though--is having the stations of the cross common?

The view of Marseille from the church was great. You could see the harbour in one direction, and the city in most others, with red roofs as far as the eye could see.


But it was getting late, and we had a train to catch, so with one last look around we made our way back to the city