We're Back in France! version 2

One of the aspects of Blogger, the bogging tool we use, is that it has many features, only some of which actually work. It turns out that embedded video is one of those non-functional features. Sorry for the confusion, but this version of the “We’re back in France!” blog should be complete (whereas the first one may not have been!)

Yes, after a brief three-day stopover in Marseille, we are back in Montpellier. 

And very glad to be here! It feels like home now. And, here on the opening days of February, the weather has been gorgeous. The sky is clear, and this afternoon has been just extraordinary. The light is sharp and clear… this is the fabled light of Provence—la luminosité—that has attracted so many artists to the south of France. Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso, Marc Chagall, among many. In spite of all the times we’ve visited the south of France, I’ve never experienced such clarity.

And we especially appreciate the illumination it gives to our view of the city from our new 7^th floor apartment. In addition to large windows around the rooms that provide good views of the city, we have a small balcony. Not much room, but it gives a feeling of being suspended out over the street!

View from the balcony. The pillow-y roof of the train station dominates, with the spire of the ever-present St. Anne's off to the left...

We expect to stay in this apartment for at least six months. We’re settling in! After all these years of moving every few months, we are both looking forward to putting down rootlets, of getting involved in our new community. From our previous visits we know people, other ex-pats and a few locals. Now we have a chance to get involved in local activities, do more travel in this region of the Languedoc, and develop more personal relationships. We've got a lot ahead of us!

Marseille, France’s second largest city 

View of the cruise port (the commercial port has been moved up the coast)

We will be having more to say about our new residence, and our return to Montpellier, but first we have some catching up to do!

Marseille has never been of particular interest to us. It’s just down the coast from Montpellier (170 km, 105 miles), France’s second-largest city, the largest port in France (and second or third in Europe), a cultural crossroads, right across the Mediterranean from France’s colonies in North Africa. And a long history of crime and corruption, with a well-deserved reputation for grit and dirt. In fact, I’d heard that crime and the underworld was so embedded in Marseille that during World War II, even though the Germans occupied the southern half of France, there were areas of Marseille that not even the Nazis dared enter. And in the end, there were some areas near the waterfront that they just dynamited.

But, the best route from Montpellier to Seville and back is through the airport at Marseille. So, we figured on spending a few days in the city.

We found Marseille to be an amazing city, a truly wonderful experience. It—the city—has come through some changes over the last few decades, as it’s slowly thrown off its reputation as a dirty, crowded crime center. It’s an ancient city—humanity started settling here 2600 years ago; there were the Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Romans (of course!). Its natural harbor on the Mediterranean has made it a major trading center since forever. (So, yeah, it’s a sailor’s town!)

Prior to arriving in a new place, we always like to do some “original” research so we’ll have an idea of what we’ll find there. For Marseille, we watched the movie The French Connection, the first little bit of which is set in the Marseille of 1971. (We’d already seen the Netflix series Marseille, with Gerald Depardieu. The plot is ordinary, but there are some exquisite aerial views of the modern city.)

We took the bus to the city from the airport, which is a goodly distance out. Our host kindly met us at the bus/train station, and we walked the 20 minutes or so to our new temporary home. He mentioned the Germans dynamiting the neighborhood, which was the one where we would be staying. And, more recently, in an attempt to create Marseille’s own version of the Champs-Élysées, parts of that now-rebuilt neighborhood were bulldozed to make way for the boulevard.

What a great introduction to where we would be staying! At least it was all downhill from the train station. Well, except for right at the end, where there were several long steep flights of stairs. We were glad to finally arrive!

But what struck me immediately upon our arrival was… this was a scene from The French Connection! In the opening scenes of the movie we follow a fellow as he gets up from his table at the La Samartine café; we watch him watch a couple of other characters, buy a baguette at a boulangerie, and enter his apartment building. He checks his mail; then sees a man on the stairs with a gun.

Opening shot from the movie The French Connection, 1971.

La Samaritaine today. They cleaned the building!!

 We enter the building with our host and see the same narrow, rundown hallway, the same old, funky wooden mailboxes mounted high on the wall just inside the door, the same few stairs that turn left at the end of a short, dingy corridor. I look around, worried, and check quickly to make sure there is no man with a gun on the stairs. There isn’t; we’re ok. But man, that entryway got my attention every time we returned to our apartment!

Here, let’s compare. First, a brief clip from The French Connection, the 1971 film directed by William Friedkin. Then, photos of our apartment building.

Clip from The French Connection

Entering our apartment... nobody on the stairs...

View from the stairs.

Le Panier

The neighborhood where we stayed is called Le Panier, the basket (why that??). Bloggers and the guide books rave about it. It’s a cute area, funky and artsy, plenty of interesting shops and bistros (most of which seem to be closed in February!). A big draw in Le Panier is the street art, specifically graffiti. Many of the area’s walls are decorated by colorful and fanciful spray-can art.

Graffiti art in Le Panier

Day and Night (domes of Cathédrale La Major in the background)

 

Our landmark when returning home--our apartment was just down the street from this handsome guy!

And not ALL the art in Le Panier is graffiti art!

             The City

The old port (Le Vieux Port) now full of modern yachts. Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde dominates the city.

Those damn locks! Very popular all over Europe: declare your love by inscribing your names on a padlock and locking it somewhere in public, ultimately creating a real nuisance. The City of Marseille has taken a proactive stand by providing an official place for such locks. Marseille is for lovers!(?)

As a major port, Marseille has long been a crossroads where people of many cultures meet and mix. This cross fertilization has created an exciting, open dynamic in the city that is most obvious in the many colorful markets. This indoor spice market was fascinating!

And right outside, fantastic olives amid the bustle of the streets.

The wrought-iron balcony railings and louvered shutters that let in air but keep out the powerful summer sun are hallmarks of Marseille architecture.

The fantastic Palais Longchamp. built the mid-1800s to celebrate the construction of the Canal de Marseille, bringing fresh water to the city. A very trippy place!

View from the top. Note the Basilica in the distance!

Seen from the train station.

Across Le Vieux Port at night.

             The Basilica

Built on a high rock outcropping, the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde dominates the skyline. We brashly thought we’d hike up there, but Paula identified the bus (#60) going up there, so we figured we’d maybe walk back and take the bus up. Best 3€ we’ve ever spent! It’s really steep. (And in the end, we rode back down, too.)

Seen from the parking lot (where the bus left us)

The view from the basilica is, of course, quite amazing, providing an overview of the city, the harbor, and the islands immediately offshore. But the view from inside is even more amazing. The entire interior is done in fantastically detailed mosaics, now recently restored (2001-08). The tiny tiles are of Venetian glass, not stone, and appear to glow on their own (in fact, the dome seems to be translucent and illuminated from without). And one interesting detail: the many ship mobiles, strings of model sailing ships hung from the ceiling, confirm that this is, indeed, a long-established port city.

And, those red and white marble arches are strongly--and strangely--reminiscent of the great mosque of Cordoba. (See our blog about that here, with more photos here.)

The 11 meter (27ft) gold plated statue of Madonna and Child tops a 53.5 meter (175f) bell tower

The interior of the Basilica is amazing! The large dome glows.

Close up above the altar.

A menorah in beautiful mosaic

Hanging boat mobiles throughout the interior honor the seafaring culture

So that was our introduction to the city of Marseille. There is much that we missed, and some things we’ve left out here, like the magnificent Cathédrale La Major. (It’s a mystery to me why Marseille gets to have two such incredible cathedrals, since they are both so amazing.) Or the highly-rated MuCEM – Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. We stepped inside, but didn’t have time to explore. Then there’s the ancient forts guarding the entrance to the old port; Le Maison Empereur, world’s most intriguing hardware store; and the several international markets.

We’ll just have to go back!

Cathedrale La Major, the other great cathedral in Marseille, having its facade cleaned.