Un Bonne Journée

We arrived in France early on Saturday morning.  It was overcast, and a bit cooler than the past few days (but still warmer than Prague), so we grabbed our jackets and umbrellas and headed out to catch our shuttle bus to the Vieux Port (Old Port).

Deposited on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea, we looked around to get our bearings and where we would like to head first.    Looking up, we saw our reflections.  

To our right were fisherman, just off of their boats, selling the days catch.  Some still moving.

Behind us, the Ferris Wheel.  (Looking very much like the famed travelling Paris one...)

But our first destination was right in front of us.  Well, it was in front of us, but I can't really say it was right there.  We had a ways to walk.  Both forward, and up.

We headed out on foot in the general direction of the Notre Dame de la Garde.  Along the way, we stopped for a picture in front of the Palais du Justice (closed), and continued on.  

We stumbled upon this set of stairs.  They seemed to be going in the direction we wanted to be headed so we walked up...and up...and up.

It brought us to this set of stairs, and a great view of our target, so we kept heading up...and up...and up.

Closer...

And finally we were there.

And the views were stunning.

The island in the middle of the picture is If.  Housing the former prison and Chateau D'If, which was made famous by the movie The Count of Monte Cristo.  We briefly thought of visiting, but then decided that the small boat ride, on choppy waters, would not be conducive for two sea sickness prone adults.

As the thunder started to rumble and the lightning streaked the sky, we ducked inside the church so that perhaps we could get back down before it really let loose.

The Notre-Dame de la Guard is a Neo-Byzantine church built on the highest natural point in Marseilles and the citizens see it as the protector of the city.  The fisherman also see it as the protector of their livelihood.  They come to the basilica to pray for protection of their boats while at sea, and for good catches.

We said a prayer...

And lit a candle.

Back out on the streets, we began to wind our way back down to the port, hoping to beat the rain.  And we did, just barely.

Random Sheep.

Once the rain started to fall, it really started to fall.  It was coming down in sheets and even had hail mixed in.  We ducked into the nearest creperie to dry out our sloshing boots.  Which turned out to be a great little lunch spot.  We had crepes, a glass of wine and warmed up a bit.  All in a really quaint, old restaurant.

Raindrops on the lens even.

Tummies full, we still had to get back to the port and our ship.  The rain had let up a bit, but it was still coming down.  It didn't dampen the girls enthusiasm.  They refused umbrella's and splashed and played as we walked...

And then they spotted the Carousel.  Who could refuse them a ride...

And then we needed to dry out again.  Thankfully, there was a bakery right next door.  Another check mark on our list of things to do - eat macaroons in France.

And then we were spent.  We had climbed as many steps as we could.  And we had dodged and weaved around too many raindrops.  We bought our final souvenirs (Savon de Provence and our traditional magnet) and boarded the last shuttle bus back to the ship.

Once aboard, we decided to call it a day.  E and J had a family dinner in the dining room while we took advantage of our free room service, ordered a movie from the t.v. and settled in on our couch for a low key evening in the room.   And we got to share it all with a guest...