Lunchtime in Marseille

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After spending some time in Aix-en-Provence and the Camargue, Ryan and I headed back to Nice. It was the last day we had the car, so at the last minute, we decided to visit Marseille. It was just a 30 minute drive from Aix-en-Provence, and as we headed into town we the saw the Chateau d’If in the distance! The Chateau d’If was built in the sixteenth century. Its most famous prisoner, the Count of Monte Cristo, never existed.

We parked near the cruise ship terminal since we doubted we could find parking closer to the Vieux Port (although we later found out we were wrong). It was a hot, cloudless walk through the streets full of dog poo and smelling of urine, until we spotted this gorgeous stone church.

From there we walked along the water, wondering at how empty the streets seemed, thinking it was just a regular lazy Sunday. Then we saw the market tents along the old port corniche. We moseyed along the water, looking at the famous Marseille soap, lavender, nougat, pretty woven cotton cloths, and hats.

The port was packed with little sailboats and both Ryan and I thought how great it would be to be ridiculously rich. We passed by the end of the fish market, ogling at the ugly monkfish and blue mackerel with clear, shiny eyes.

By now it was lunchtime and we were hungry, so we stopped at the Bistro de Soleil on the corniche because they had bouillabaisse on the menu for €21. We got a seat on the patio and each ordered the soup. The bouillabaisse came out in big great bowls of rich fish broth and very generous fish chunks – we counted four different kinds. The soup came with a plate of toasted baguette slices, pots of rouille, and a garlic clove. Ryan passed on it, but I liberally rubbed that garlic clove on my toasts (and had garlic breath for the rest of the afternoon). The meal, which we ate alongside a small side salad, was great. Both Ryan and I found that French food, at least in the south, is not overly salty.

After our filling lunch, we walked back to our  car in the Juliette mall parking lot. While using the mall bathrooms, we saw a Uniqlo (and had to take a look, obviously). All the entrances to the mall had a security guard who would look through our bags, but they were friendly and polite and just got on with their job. The drive from Marseille to Nice was just 1.5 hours, although we took the toll route and skipped the 3-hour scenic drive that got us to Aix-en-Provence.