Marseille, Marseille, my Marseille, Marseille

Tuesday, September 18th- Thursday, September 20th, 2012

On our way into Marseille we took MANY trains including regional trains in Italy full of people on their way to sell wares to beach goers. On the last train into Marseille we met two pretty nice ladies who were funny and sweet but what I got out of the conversation is that people have guns (one of the ladies making the machine gun noise for lack of better translation) and to be very careful. Good thing we are from LA and know about that sort of stuff. The train station was elevated for a lovely view but that just meant that we (I) had to carry the bikes all the way down the stairs.

View of Notre Dame from train station

We ran into two Japanese tourists whos bikes we had noticed in Italy. We decided to navigate Marseille with them to see if their hostel had any openings for us. It did not, but luckily we found a pretty cheap and nice hotel just down the street. We ended up meeting the coolest hotel staff ever- two guys by the name of Paul (from the French Caribbean and a Real Madrid fan)  and Ange (as in Angel) who let us heat up our own food so we could make delicious burritoes. We had beans, instant rice, cheese, green onions, tomatoes all in tortillas- pretty good home away from home burritoes. They even hooked it up with some free drinks.

International peace signs for photos

We went to our room to retire and took a well deserved long shower in a slightly awkward shaped bath tub (the ceiling was pretty low and made us wonder about other guests who were taller than us). It was safe to say that we left our dirty laundry bag outside for the night to air out and prevent us from gagging on the stench. High five bike tour smells!
We had only arranged to stay one night at the hotel and then to look into camping options somewhere along the coast. We used the shower once more for good measure and packed up our stuff. The hotel let us keep our bags behind the front desk for a small fee so we could explore the city a bit.
Notre Dame was just a short entirely uphill hike from the hotel (not that far but gnar). We had incredible views of the city along the way up that reminded us of San Francisco, complete with the city centered around a bay of water and tall buildings along the angled streets. It also gave us a view of the hillsides dotted with riki tiki houses all around the outskirts of the city.

On our way up to Notre Dame

View of bay from Notre Dame

When finally at the top, I found Notre Dame to be pretty architecturally sound- I tried to push it over and it wouldn't budge! It is an incredible structure and the statue at the top is huge. It was very windy at the top and I had to make sure Hanako didn't get blown away. While inside the Cathedral I lit a candle for my Grandma and took in the sense of awe and reverence for the space. The grandeur of the space made it clear why people both revered and feared the church.  

Paul, Me, Hanako, and Ange

When we got back to the hotel we decided that a beach camping adventure would be a little too much and decided to look into a hostel situation across the city. We said our goodbyes to Paul and Ange (who were a little hung over from their evening after their shift) and set out across the city.

Our trek across the city was a little more daunting that we had expected because we came down the hill slightly, only to go back up a huge one on a street called Mount Olive (you think we would have figured that one out). But when we arrived, the view and the hostel space were worth it. The hostel was housed in an old villa-like building with a yard next to it. When we spoke to the clerk we found that camping was a cheaper option and we decided to do so since we so missed our tent experience.

View of sunset from hostel camp area

Continued view with a tiny Notre Dame

There was a kitchen for us to use and a mess hall where we could eat and use wifi. Several people were watching a tell-all show about the entire series Desperate Housewifes (which apparently French people love). It was interesting watching French people watch people in America, or at least Americans on screen. We met a Swiss gentleman who had in his heyday done cycling tours, but with a messed up knee, now proceeded about the country on a moped. We communicated with him in Spanish as he had spent time in Spanish speaking countries including parts of South and Central America.
We got plenty of sleep and had ample time to get ready to catch our next train the next day. We made sure to pick up some fresh baguettes for our train ride into Barcelona.