Marseilles: Calonque-a-donk

     So I woke up and decided to hit up two of the well known wonders of Marseilles. I climbed up to the church overlooking the city, known as the Notre Dame de la Garde, which is on top of a massive hill. With the temperature rising quickly, I hurriedly slogged my way up to the top to enjoy the incredible views and what is actually a really cool church. I managed to catch the end of a mass there, and the music was a nice touch as I enjoyed the really brightly painted murals and boats hanging in mobiles from the ceiling. The nautical theming is a cool touch for this ancient port city, who's lifeline has been the sea since its founding.
     After I found my way back to the city, I opted to cool down along the coast at the local secret: Calonques. These beautiful pools along the rocky coast to the east of Marseilles are renowned for their astonishing clarity and shocking blue color. After catching a bus out of the city and hiking for about an hour, I saw for myself why they are so popular. The white cliffs were busy with young people enjoying the sun, taking dips in the coldest water I've ever felt, and cliff diving from the sheer outcrops. I met some fun fellow english speakers there, wwoofing (http://www.wwoofinternational.org/) and studying in France for the summer. We had a great time diving and chatting all afternoon, but hunger eventually got the best of us and we made the long trek back up.
     After showering off back at the hostel, I joined my Canadian and German/Turkish room mates for dinner at the harbor while we enjoyed another free jazz/pop concert hosted by the city. In the end I've decided that Marseilles might be grittier, and not as refined as Paris, but like any other place you visit there are real gems to be found (and they are even better when you aren't crowded by tourists).

The tower of the Notre Dame de la Garde

The beautiful nautical motif over the main alter

The ship mobiles

The crypt in the Notre Dame de la Garde

A view of the Calonque from the way down.

Cliff diving in the clearest and coldest water I've ever felt (honestly the ice bath in the Tough Mudder run might have been warmer)

Marseilles: The (Last) French Connection

      So, Marseilles is an ancient port city in the south of France that has lots of history and a poor record of economic vitality as of late. I go there in the afternoon, and found my hostel (Hotel Vertigo) right next to the train station. After settling in I went out for a walk through the city to orient myself, planning to check out an African music festival that I had heard about that evening. You see, apparently Marseille was picked as the center of European culture for the summer and therefore has received funds to renovate and build museums as well as put on free concerts. All a good deal for me.
       I got to the park where the festival was at, and I was more interested by the beautiful cathedral at the end of it. It featured a statue of Joan of Arc being burned at the stake. Quite intriguing. Inside it was yet another beautiful church, but devoid of tourists (as is much of Marseilles, unlike Paris and Avignon which is packed everywhere). After enjoying the solitude I took a walk down to the old harbor, winding my way through markets of fish and fruits on the way.
    The harbor is beautiful, and I managed to quickly book a ferry to the islands off the coast which are known for their natural beauty and a couple of abandoned forts from different eras. The main castle, Chateau If, was closed due to high winds, but the larger islands were incredible on their own. As I was exploring the trails along the island, I met a great El Salvadorian from Sweden who accompanied me to the WWII era gun emplacement on the tip of the island (kind of a waste of a fort if you ask me). I was glad to have some company as we explored the eerily quiet ruins of several buildings, bunkers, and gun emplacements that sprawled over a large area.
     After a few hours of exploration, we fought the winds and headed back to the little port town to catch the ferry back to the harbor. There we found a huge free jazz concert going on at the open air stage, so we listened a bit before grabbing a couple of beers and toasting to a successful day. After that we said our goodbyes and headed back to our respective hostels, one friend richer in life.

The church of Joan of Arc

In the church, silence.

Fishing in Marseilles harbor.

Marseilles harbor

Notre Dame de la Garde hovering above the city

On the ferry to the islands

One of the many forts guarding the harbor from ancient times.

Chateau d'If, apparently the castle from The Count of Monte Cristo... not sure if its the one its based off of or the one the movie was shot at...

On the islands!

Looking back across the island at the little port, from the walls of an old castle-like tower.

The little fishing village on the island.

Sighting in on the town from a WWII era pillbox at the fort.

 A room in an old bunker with a hollow floor on one side... It still has some mysteries to it.

A bunker for a really big gun!

The incredible sunset over the island.

The old WWII fort, its old windows looking out like hollow eyes with a sad story to tell.

The free blues concert.... Miss China and Moses (Apparently?)

Avignon: Lazy Summer Days

         Those of you who know some of my travel plans knew that I had planned to bike a few days through Provence before heading to Spain , well instead, I learned another valuable lesson of expectation vs. reality: Avignon is windy. Like, hurricane, almost blow you off the bridge terrified you might fly away windy. I am in good shape, but I am not Lance Armstrong. With those factors coupled with the price of bike rentals being sky high and a less than usual lavender bloom I decided to scrap that plan.
      Instead, I spent a couple more days moseying around the town of Avignon, eating salami and cheese on the banks of the Rhone looking out across the city and kind of just wandering around the town of Villanueve des Avignon across the river. I went there to grab some lunch and actually go tour the giant medieval castle on the hill, and ended up wandering through the village for quite some time looking for a place to eat my sandwich. I eventually stumbled upon a little old church courtyard, where you could hear a cello and piano practicing from inside the church. It was a really relaxing combination of sun, food, and music that was really relaxing.
     As I finished my meal, I was joined on the stone wall where I was sitting by another traveler, a French woman who's name I never learned. We talked for a bit as she told me about herself, it was a great conversation that had a lot of deep personal meaning for me. Then she left, and I never saw her again. And thats kinda just how traveling goes. So I went on to the castle, which was really cool, and I would have loved to take pictures, but my camera died as I was walking through Villanueve after taking one picture. So sad.
     By the end of my time in Avignon, I was tired of sleepy villages and ready for the town of Marseilles, which I have heard is akin to the Detroit of France (that might be a bit unfair, but it is certainly the most gritty city I have visited so far on this trip). My walk to the train station, was interrupted by a protest against Israeli colonization policies in Palestine. I watched as they started to march down Rue de Republique, chanting and waving flags... but I quickly took my leave when a man on a bullhorn started screaming something to do with America in what sounded like less than friendly tones. Time to disappear! (Off to Marseilles!)

One last visit to the Pope's palace to listen to some amazing music, amplified in the courtyard by the stone walls.

I took a short bike ride on Bagatelle Ile... the largest river island in Europe, with its beautiful farmlands.

Ahhh protests. At least the trains weren't on strike like I thought.

Avignon Day 2: Le Pont & Villanueve

            For my second day in Avignon, I went to the Pont, and found it to be exactly what I had thought. It was an interesting tale of its origins, apparently ordained by God to a shepherd, but it was still just a very famous broken bridge.  After a quick lunch in town, I grabbed a sandwich and some fruit for the evening, then rented a bike and rode across the river to the little town of Villanueve des Avignon. This little town was devoid of tourists (a very welcome change after the throngs that filled Avignon during the day), and I made my way to the most interesting landmark visible, and old castle on the hill. This castle, Fort St. Andre, was built by the French king to guard against the growing papal power in Avignon. It was closed, but its walls offered an excellent place to eat a quiet dinner and share some cookies with some old italian ladies who were wandering the grounds as well. After dinner, I walked along the base of the fort before heading back across the river to return my bike and try to update my blog on the incredibly slow wifi.

Sur les Pont de Avignon, on y dansa on dansa....

Avignon the city from the end of the bridge.

The Pont and the St. Benezet and Nicholas chapels on it from the parapets of the town walls

The beautiful old streets of the much quieter town of Villanueve des Avignon, an extremely charming village where you really feel back in the middle ages.

Beautiful little town.
#nofilter

The fort St. Andre, buit as a defense against the power of the Pope to the south.

The view I had of Avignon as I ate dinner on the lower walls of Fort St. Andre

Avignon Day 1: From Paris to the Pope's Palace

         I managed to catch my train at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, all the while mentally kicking myself for scheduling my departure at 7:45am. That, my friends, was a terrible idea. On top of that I was feeling a bit ill (probably caught what Dona had as well), so despite my best efforts to stay awake and enjoy the views of the French countryside unrolling before me, I passed out for most of the ride. C'est la vie. I woke up in Avignon, and thanks to the lessons learned from my rocky start in Paris, I had mapped out my route to my hostel beforehand and I had no trouble getting to it. It was halfway acoss the river from Avignon, on the Ile-de-Begatelle and my window faced the ancient walls of the city across the Rhone. I spent about 5 minutes contemplating what I should do with the day, before I popped an ibuprofen and took a nap for a few hours.
        I woke to meet one of my roommates, a Spaniard named Jose who was an architect in London and is currently headed back to Spain to start his own company. We made plans to meet up later for a beer, and I took off to see some of the sights of Avignon. I managed to find my way through the winding streets to the Pope's Palace, which was built when a series of Popes made Avignon their home during some church troubles. It is a massive fortress, built to protect the northwestern border of the Papal Empire and the Popes themselves. I took a tour, which in addition to giving me quite a history lesson, also included a modern art exhibit being held in the castle. There were some weird pieces in that exhibit. After making my way through the maze of the fortress, I decided to try my luck at finding my way to the Pont de Avignon. This famous bridge was the first major bridge to cross the Rhone river, and eventually all but four spans collapsed. After I had payed the extra fee to see it, I realized I had just shelled out ten bucks to see a bridge that was famous because it failed at its one job. Being a bridge. I felt a bit like a sucker, but went in search anyways.
      Making my way through the city, I wound up on the acropolis where I fought against the violent winds, only to realize that the entrance to the bridge from this direction was closed. I turned around and raced through the streets, making it to the entrance with only 15minutes before the bridge was to close for the day. The kind lady at the entrance gave me a ticket to let me come back the next day, so I strolled back into the city to meet up with Jose instead.  We had a couple beers while he pointed out some interesting things he's seen in the city, and discussed the Spanish Euro crises. The city started to close down pretty early, around 9pm, so we headed back to our hostel for the night.

The abbey cloister of the Popes castle.

For my uncle Michael: Yes, the Pope had a pizza oven in his palace. No, it was not bigger or better than yours. Congratulations, you outdid the most powerful man in the world in his time. Thats pretty impressive haha.

The main dining hall of the Popes castle

The old chapel of the Popes palace, now a very strange modern art exhibition hall apparently... not sure how the Popes woulda felt about this.

Very very strange art. 

A real life creation of the Princess and the Pea at the Pope's palace

A snarling gargoyle on the tower of the Popes palace.

Avignon from the tower of the Pope's palace... Looking across the Rhone at the town of Villanueve des Avignon

The Pont des Avignon... so elusive.

Notre Dame of Avignon

The clock tower of Avignon

Sighting in through an arrow slit in the parapets.