Marseille in a Mistral

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I think, of all the places I visited in France during the summer of 2016, Marseilles deserves a do-over. Marseilles was windy, it was gritty, mysterious, and, ultimately, sad and sobering. Marseille was confusing. At times, in Marseille, I could barely walk straight because the wind was blowing so hard, but there was so much to see and do. At least I had a brief taste of it.

I like to think our entry into Marseille began when we crossed part of the Rhone on a ferry as we enter d from the west.

Most of these first photos were taken from the car as we drove into the city.







The ferry ride was a bit of a surprise for us, but it was quick and smooth.






















As we approached the city we began to see more industrial areas and ship yards along the coast.









It was the 13th of July.

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I don't remember the wind being all that fierce as we drove into town. Most likely it was just starting to build, but I hadn't realized anything was up.


































To me, it looked just like a giant movie set.

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I found the rocky coastline fascinating, and remember hoping we could go out into the harbor on a boat.

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After dropping off our rental car we walked back towards the old port area.










Lots of folks were sitting under umbrellas enjoying cooling drinks.







And at one point a brass band came by playing festive tunes.










Looking at my photos now, I can see the wind was fairly calm. This wouldn't last.

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The cathedral looked intriguing, but it also seemed to be closed for renovation.







These kids were swimming outside the MuCEM, Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, and we were heading there to sit on the terrace.










The concrete trim on the outside of the MuCEM actually works as a windscreen.

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We planned to go up there in the morning.







Lots of people were still out and about, especially since the next day was the Fête Nationale.

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Breakfast the next morning was accompanied by howling winds, and the news that the fireworks displays planned for Marseille and most of the coastal areas had been postponed.

Needing to seek even stronger winds, we took a bus up to Notre-Dame de la Garde, a church I was excited to visit. Just the views of the city and coastline alone would have been worth the trip.

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Of course, the interior of the church was quite beautiful, too. Here's a brief look.

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The MuCEM looked interesting so we thought we could take advantage of being inside, avoiding the howling wind for awhile.




But first we needed to see if we could get battered and thrown around just a little bit more.




I was really happy I wasn't on a boat.










Some people seemed to take it all in stride.







I have no pictures to show from the exhibits except for one of this boat, which I thought quite nice.




Once again, on coming out of the museum, we found the clouds had changed.







But the wind was still blowing hard.

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Our last evening was spent exploring the streets, riding the métro, catching a bus, and looking for a place to eat dinner.































I retired before hearing the horrific news out of Nice, and woke to worried messages from colleagues, friends, and my children. They knew I was somewhere in the south of France and couldn't understand why I wasn't answering their texts.

The train trip back to Paris was sad and bittersweet, but overall the trip to the south of France was a dream come true.

Kerouac has written an excellent Marseille thread, including photos from this trip, and it may be found HERE

[bjd]

Your lovely pictures of Marseille would make anyone wonder why the place gets such bad press and has such a reputation for being a dangerous place! Of course, you were downtown near the old port and the fancier areas, not in the northern neighbourhoods. But it sure does look like it has been cleaned up from what I remember many years ago, and the new museum looks great.

And you got a strong taste of the Mistral!

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One advantage of the Mistral was that even though the sun was beating down unmercifully, the wind made the temperature quite bearable as long as one had a head covering.

I doubt that any of us would have been able to take photos with such enthusiasm if we had been miserable.

You have an excellent picture of Château d'If in the last photo of reply #6.

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Aug 6, 2016 10:22:13 GMT kerouac2 said:

I doubt that any of us would have been able to take photos with such enthusiasm if we had been miserable.

You speak for yourself, Kerouac. There were times when I was pretty miserable, mainly due to the sound of the wind. It's something I'm particularly sensitive to and being up at the church was difficult for me. However, I wouldn't have missed it, even with the wind.

[bjd]

Well, htmb, now when you hear people dreaming of having a place in Provence, you can honestly say that you wouldn't.

[bixaorellana]

Outstanding photos! You captured that wonderful clear light there and the expansive feeling of the city so well. Out of a wealth of great pictures, my favorites are the profile of the monument in reply #2, the long shot of Notre-Dame de la Garde just below it, and especially that 2nd shot of the kids swimming in #4.

[questa]

Right from the beginning of this thread I see how the buildings here were so similar to those in Vietnam...did you notice it, Kerouac?
The first yellow building is like many small government offices out of the cities.
Reply #3 third pic is like the Hotel Continental in Saigon
8th pic is like the narrow fronted tall 'wedding cake' buildings in Hanoi where I stayed
12th pic -and more- the use of yellow paint on so many buildings.

Reply #7 1st pic Striped arches were on all the railway stations

Reply #9 The municipal opera has a smaller brother in Saigon
And that has got to be the Town Hall with the flags and fountain out front. Only needs a statue of 'Uncle Ho' near the fountain to be in Saigon.

The triangular building also has an echo in Vietnam but I can't remember just where.

I have not seen this effect in any of the other photos of France that you all have posted.

[lagatta]

I'm not surprised that France would build buildings in warmer climates in the styles of its own south.

Look at similarities between Dutch styles in the West Indies, South Africa and the former Dutch East Indies. Of course the British and the Dutch were adapting their own styles of the day to much warmer climates.

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Yes, Questa, I noticed that in Vietnam but in the reverse order of course -- Vietnamese buildings being copies of the French originals. The Hanoi opera is a small copy of the Opéra Garnier in Paris, and the Saigon city hall is a reduced copy of the Paris city hall. The train station of Da Lat is an exact copy of the Deauville train station. And of course the Saigon post office was built by Gustave Eiffel. And while the buildings themselves are often copies of buildings in northern France, the colours are the colours of southern France.

What surprised me was not things like the colonial architectural styles in Vietnam but the fact that it was so much less the case in Cambodia and Laos, which were under the same administration for so long.

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The fierce mistral winds have been fanning the flames of wildfires to the north and west of Marseille, including some of the area pictured at the beginning of this thread. News reports have detailed tense evacuation situations as residents evacuated their homes, and clouds of thick, black smoke have blanketed the area.


Wildfires ravage south of France

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It now appears that arson may have been involved although it is not confirmed yet. A man from Marseille is in custody. The fire is now considered to be under control.

A certain number of homes were destroyed as well as an entire high school, but actually the building count is lower than in many other countries since most buildings in the area are not built out of wood and often have terra cotta roofs.

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It's good to hear things are under control.