Marseille

Picutre 1: View from the top of the castle

Picture 2: Trapped in Edmond Dantes cell!

Picture 3: The beautiful water

Picture 4: The Calanques

Picture 5: Having a sandwich on Ile d'If

Picture 6: Chateau d'If

Picture 7: By the port after sunset

Picture 8: Jordan and Julie climbing the fence

Picture 9: Palais Longchamp

This weekend was really fun because Jordan, Julie (our new friend) and I went to Marseille! It took us a really long time to get there and the trains are like the ones from the Harry Potter movies with compartments where 8 people sit. So, when we got on the first train we sat with one other person and it was fine. Then, at the next stop 5 teenagers decided to come sit with us and the guy who was in there before us. I just knew they were trouble from the beginning because they had huge MacDo (McDonalds) sacks and were trying to fit an extra person in the seats.

We ignored then for a little while till the guy next to me asked if I wanted some french fries, which by the way weren't the normal kind but more like potatoe skins haha! I said no thanks and then they started to ask Julie where she was from and she told them Korea then one of the guys asked the other how to say millionaire in english, which is exactly the same so it was really funny. They decided Julie was a millionare since she had her Louis Vuitton purse and after they asked where I was from. They guessed Ireland then Germany then Norway then Italy then Denmark then England and 3 others until they said they really didn't know and finally the small guy in the corner said ....les Etats-Unis and I said oui and they all said Non!! So apparently I don't have any sort of American accent which is nice haha. Then the one in the corner told me I was pretty in French and asked for my name, I told him it was Melissa and then I got to here all the way to Lyon, Melissa... Je t'aime, marrier-moi(marry me) je vais prendre un tour de Lyon pour tu et tes amis(I will take you and your friends on a tour of Lyon). It was funny but I was glad to get off the train.

On the second train from Lyon to Marseille it was so packed people had to sit in the hall. Jordan and I ended up seperated by one seat with a 2o year old blonde french guy sitting between us. He didn't really say anything but I was pretty sure he was listening to our conversation about Jordans boyfriend and then when I said "Ya well boys are always wrong and girls are always right," he started laughing really hard and I realized he spoke English and understood everything we were saying haha! He became our friend and told us about all the fun things to do in Marseille and how we should take a bus to Aix-en-Provence for the night time. He was nice and when he asked where we were from I had him guess and again I got Ireland first and then Germany and then Norway and when I finally told him that I was from America and Texas he was in disbelief and said, "No, I've been to Texas, they don't talk like you they are so hard to understand!" Then he attempted the Texas accent which is really funny when mixed with a French one!

Anyways, after we actually got to Marseille, I found a map and navigated us to our hotel where I checked in and dropped off all of our stuff. Then we proceeded to walk to what we thought was the Vieux Port and ended up being first a business area, with no water and only buildings, then a huge ghetto leading up to the biggest church I've ever seen. There was no way out that we could see so we ended up walking up the steps the the church, which were covered in broken beer bottles, cigarettes and random shoes... no idea why lol it was the strangest thing I'd ever seen! The area was closed off but there was no other way out so we all climbed the fence over and escaped to the port through the church lol it was quite an experience. The port was beautiful and we walked along it seeing the biggest yachts ever and a pirates ship and then a whole bunch of regular sailing boats that were in some sort of race the weekend sponsored by Audi. It was a very chic area and pretty cool to walk around and see all of the night life.

The next morning we woke up early to go to Chateau d'If, the castle where Edmond Dantes is held captive in "The Count of Monte Cristo." It was really cool and the island was so beautiful overlooking the water which was the bluest I've ever seen. I packed all the supplies for sandwichs in my purse and we bought a baguette on the way to the port so that we could have a picnic on the island. It was the best picnic I've ever had! A. because of the scenery. and B. because I bought a citron presse(lemonade) and the lady made it from scratch with like 7 lemons and it was the most delicious thing ever! It was definitely a fun experience being there and taking the boat is always an adventure. After that we got on the metro and went to Palais Longchamp which was so beautiful and turned out to be an artist showcase. Some of them were really good and I ended up buying a piece I really liked from one of the artists there.

When we got back the Vieux Port we decided to eat some ice cream since it was really hot and then took a boat tour of the colanques, which are really high cliffs right next to the ocean and are really scenic. It wasn't the most impressive thing I've ever seen, but being on the boat was really fun and nice for the few hours we were out there.

Since I rented an apartment to save on money, we went and made pasta in the room for dinner and watched some french TV, which is actually mostly American TV dubbed over with the French translation haha! Then we went and caught a bus to Aix-en-Provence. It sort of reminded me of Bordeaux there and we didn't really know what to do or where to go, so we decided to follow a group of people our age who looked like Marc and his friends. They ended up leading us through all of the back roads to a really cool fancy bar. When I looked at the menu, non of the wines were under 30 euro and the most expensive champagne bottle was 750 euros so I realized we were definitely in a nice place! haha I ordered a strawberry mojhito, which was only 9 euro and Julie had a margarita, which wasn't really a margarita at all, more like a cocktail. It was funny to me and Jordan. They brought out snacks with our drinks and we people watched till late and had to go back to catch the bus.

Sunday morning we woke up, checked out, and took another bus to the "beach." It's not really the beach because theres no sand, but it was still nice and then we walked around the street markets where I bought soap because apparently Marseille is extremely famous for its soap, who knew! Then we took the train back to Vichy which was not eventful like the first trip haha!

Now I'm back to my studies which is much less exciting, but I leave for Nice and Monaco on Friday so I will be excited for that now!