On Tour in Marseille

We jumped on a plane to Marseille to cheer on the All Blacks on the French leg of their Northern end of season tour - excited by the prospect of a potentially tight game as well as exploring this colourful French port city (and trying the local food). We had a fantastic hotel with a view right out onto the old port (this is the view from the hotel room window as the sun set over the city):

Saturday morning we were up early to explore the sights and smells of Marseille - including the fish market which sets itself up across the road from the hotel and where you can get your fish gutted and filleted in the open air from this man or someone like him:

Shortly afterwards we were on a boat and heading out to explore the Ile d'If - home of an impressive former prison which was the inspiration for Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Sadly I haven't read it yet so I can't offer any insights into how the reality compares to the novel! but it was fun clambering around the island as the sun rose high on another stunning day.

That evening we tried the local bouillabaisse before cheering the All Blacks to a fantastic win - one of the best live games I've seen in a few years. Unfortunately there wasn't room for too much debauchery in celebration as we were due to be up at the crack of dawn the next day to explore Avignon - a beautiful medieval city an hour's train ride from Marseille. The crowning sight in Avignon (apart from the old bridge which is apparently the subject of a very famous French song - again my knowledge was lacking!) was the Palais des Papes (Popes' Palace) - a beautiful medieval palace which was the home of the popes in the fourteenth century.

M