After school on Friday, we took the train first to Lyon and then to Marseilles. We arrived at 10 p.m. and were greeted by a man getting arrested. Bienvenue, huh?
We were staying with a family that Hannah's known for years, and they greeted us warmly at the station. The parents, Olivier and Christiane, have four kids, and their niece, Natalia, was staying with them, too. Friday was the summer solstice and to celebrate, France hosted la fete de la musique. This year, Marseilles was the capital of the festival. As we walked down the street from the station, we found that 100,000 people had showed up to listen to Zaz, Christophe Mae, and other French pop singers.
At the harbor, we were right in the middle of the concert. It was a perfect night for a concert, and there were even some songs in English.
Next we took our stuff to the house and found quite the snack of Miel Pops and Nutella on crackers. The family is incredibly dynamic because Olivier is American, Christiane is Brizilian, and they're living in France. So their family speaks all three languages. Needless to say, we didn't speak much French last weekend.
On Saturday, we started bright an early with a breakfast of croissants and a complicated conversation about the history of the Middle East. Then Chris showed us the marche au plein air, where you can buy clothes, shoes, watches, jewelry, fruits, fish, and vegetables. It spanned a good 5 or 6 blocks.
Next came the great hike up the hill to see la Notre Dame de la Garde. Chris was in great shape and literally ran part of the way. I was completely exhausted by the time I reached the top. But the view was completely worth it. I kept saying while we were in Lyon, "This is my favorite part of the trip so far." And I continued to change my mind when the next breathe-taking view appeared.
We returned to the house for lasagna and a quick break before we ventured out again. We paid for boat tickets to ride to one of the islands in the Frioul Archipelago. The ride was great just in itself because it was so windy that it was almost like a roller coaster ride. We also passed by Chateau d'If, other wise known as the Count of Monte Cristo Castle.
When the Germans took over Marseilles during the World War II, they moved all of the Jews to concentration camps onto the islands off the coast, and Frioul still has a bombed-out concentration camp.
There is so much sun, sky, and wind in Marseilles! Apparently, Southern France is very well known for being windy, to the point that the wind is named "Le Mistral." Boy, did we get acquainted with him. We explored the cliffs and beaches of the island, and I took a bunch of pictures of the gorgeous view.
That evening, we drove to Aix-en-Provence to walk around the center of town. We ate pizza from a street vendor and followed it with ice cream. It was a cute little town, and the slow pace was relaxing after Marseilles humdrum. We all crashed that evening after all of the exercise and sunshine.
On Sunday, we slept in a little before buying sandwiches and driving out to the Mountains near Cassis. We worked our way steadily up a gravel path in the woods until suddenly-
This appeared.
The view really snuck up on me. It didn't occur to me to ask where we were going or that climbing up usually produces a view. All of a sudden, it was just there! We ate our sandwiches and marveled at how strong the wind was.
Finally, we descended the mountain and made a stop by the beach. I'd been wanting to swim in the Mediterranean the entire time we were in Marseilles. However, I was in for quite the shock. The waves were so strong that I could only stay in for 15 minutes. They sucked me out and threw me back until I was exhausted. Finally, a string of three gigantic waves spun me under and spit me up on the sand - gasping and with a bikini full of tiny rocks. I did it though. The wind at the beach was as strong as ever and blew sand at us until we just couldn't stay on the beach any longer.
We returned to the house and watched American TV in English with French dubbed over top. Every time someone spoke, I would try to cheat by hearing the English before the French started, and every time I would have to switch my brain back to French when the dubbing started. This resulted in a headache as I tried to think in two languages simultaneously. Olivier baked an amazing chocolate cake, and we relaxed on our last night in beautiful Marseilles.
On Monday, we said goodbye to the harbor and Canebiere, the oldest street in France.
It was an energetic trip, but I really got my fill of Marseilles. I loved getting to know such an nontraditional family, as well. When one of the kids would get in trouble, Chris would lecture him in Portuguese while Olivier lectured him in French. Then Chris would translate the argument into English for us. It was a weekend of many languages. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit Marseilles and the Jouven family.
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