Is Jacques Pépin in Marseille?

Day 10 - Sunday, September 17, 2017 Marseille, France 

Today we are docked at one of the gateways to Provence.

We have spent several days, weeks in various villages, towns, cities in Provence during our previous travels and the area holds special memories for us. Our only visit to Marseille was a quick half hour spent at the train station to change trains when we were travelling from Italy to Cannes and then onward to the Lot Valley many years ago. 

We are on our last full day of the cruise (which has been a great experience) albeit a bit tiring. 

We ended up spending our night in Monaco in our stateroom, no energy to get dolled up and go out for dinner ... so some room service and an early night! I was exhausted and today feel refreshed / energetic and ready to tackle the day.

But we did hear from some of our new cruise friends that we missed a fantastic show in the harbour last night! 

We pulled into the docks with still some darkness in the sky ... 

Marseille founded by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C. is France’s second largest city and the largest port city in the Mediterranean.

It is a city of old and new with ancient remains, medieval structures all inter-mixed with new modern buildings.

Of course the area near the port is very industrialized. 

There was shuttle bus service today from the docks to the Vieux Port (the old harbour). 

We were lucky to catch one of the first buses and away we went.

Come along with us as we do a bit of exploring. 

The Hotel de Ville ...

Pictured below is Notre-Dame de la Garde, the beautiful cathedral sitting on the hilltop overlooking the old port.

She “the Cathedral” seems to follow you all around the harbour as you are strolling.

I read that it looks similar to the Sacre-Coeur in Paris and the Fourviere in Lyon. 

We’ve visited Sacre-Coeur in Paris but have not yet been to Lyon, must put that on our list! 

One of my photos of Sacre-Coeur April 2015 ... ah Paris! 

We strolled along the harbour /waterfront with many other people, tourists and locals. 

There was lots of activity for this early on a Sunday morning. 

The fishermen had set up shop with their catches of the day along with the puppeteer! 

Now we are on the other side of the marina ... looking across to where we had just walked. 

This side houses older buildings and it doesn’t appear that as much gentrification has occurred.

The soap museum and next door a soap factory where they make the famous Marseillian soaps. 

The Vieux Port has two forts ... Fort Saint-Nicolas and Fort Saint-Jean. 

Fort Saint -Jean was built in 1660 by Louis XIV and Fort Saint-Nicolas was constructed at the same time on the opposite side of the harbour.

The photo below is of Fort Saint Nicolas on the top taken from the lower part of the Fort ... where today there was an open house of displays from various regiments of the French military, 

The view from the lower Fort Saint Nicolas across the water to Fort Saint Jean ... which is now also a part of the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations.

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The views from the Lower Fort Saint-Nicholas were spectacular.  Here as we were wandering around we met up with some fellow cruisers from England and we continued our walking tour with them and soon it was time for a coffee/ beverage. Then back to to the boat for some quiet time on the pool deck.

Tonight we dined at Jacques, which feels/ looks similar to a Parisian Bistro and is decorated with “heirloom antiques, pickled wood furnishings and art from Jacques Pépin’s personal collection”. 

Jacques Pépin, the world renowned French Chef (was Julia Child’s dear friend) is the Executive Culinary Director of Oceania Cruises. 

“ Food, for me is inseparable from sharing. There is no great meal unless it is shared with family and friends “ ... Jacques Pépin 

I love this quote because it resonates with me ... all the work in your garden growing fresh herbs, market shopping for fresh produce & ingredients and then the time involved in the kitchen to plan, prepare, cook and bake is only as good as it is when you can share it over great conversation with family and friends. . 

We enjoyed a lovely evening of delicious food, wine and company ... tonight we shared a table with a lovely couple from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

Here’s just a few of the dishes ...

          Heirloom tomato salad appetizer ...

               Tiger prawns ...

The best dessert “Mille Feuille” highly recommended by our server ...

there were so many sweet, delectable choices! 

                                

         Wine and cheese anyone? 

   


We departed Marseille, France at 6:00PM. We will travel 190 nautical miles overnight arriving in Barcelona, Spain around 8:00AM tomorrow morning. We will disembark, taxi to the Hotel Curious and spend another day in the city. 

Come back to see the rest of our adventure ...our day in Barcelona, Spain then off to the Céret in the south France for a couple of weeks, then off to the Lot Valley for our last week. 

More of Monaco

Day 9 Monte Carlo, Monaco - Saturday, September 16, 2017 continued.

After our walk along the quay taking in all the sights and sounds of the Monaco Classic Week, we wandered around some of the other areas in and around the port. 

Soon we were in need of a little refreshment so a Café stop was in order. 

A cold glass of wine with complimentary tapas, perfect! 

Next a stroll down the pedestrian street “rue Princesse Caroline” which was lined with cafes, restaurants and shops but today was also an outdoor art gallery. 

The Artists in Movement Association was having a collective outdoor / open air exhibit ... displaying the works of thirteen artists/ sculpters. 

The exhibit is called “Big Brother et moi, et moi, et moi” and on display from September 14th, 2017 to October 27th, 2017. 

The theme based on the character in the English author, George Orwell’s futuristic book “Nineteen Eighty-Four” 1984 which was published in 1949.

Is Big Brother watching? 

Below are just a few photos of some of the sculptures on display with the title of the piece and the artist’s name.

  “4 degrés” ... Caterina Aicardi 

“Internet, je t’aime moi non plus” ... Héléna Krajewicz

“Little Brother” ... Galka

“Eppure si muove” ... DeDomenico / translation of title “yet it moves”. 

There is a photo of the plaque describing the work of art and what it represents to the artist.

If you look closely at the sculpture you can see the ball consists of many words. 

Some window shopping in the high end shops on Rue Grimaldi and checking out some beautiful architectural details on the buildings.

Did we visit the Casino, yes but not the one you’re thinking ... no gambling today. 

Of course, there were signs of the Monaco Grand Prix throughout our stroll, the famous tunnel, the Automobile Club with a rolling window display of the drivers and cars ... all to Monsieur Honey’s liking. 

Below a bronze statue in memory of the Argentine Formula One race car driver, Juan Manuel Fangio with a Mercedes-Benz W196 Silver Arrow. 

Juan won the World Driver’s Champonship five times. He dominated the first decade of F1 racing. 

To sum up our day in Monaco ... we were pleasantly surprised with the art and culture we haphazardly discovered ...

the Monaco Classic Week and the “Big Brother et moi, et moi, et moi” art exhibit.

Then back to the ship ...

 

“High Tea” at sea in the Horizons Lounge on Deck 15 with music provided the Quadrivium String Quartet.

We hope you enjoyed tagging along on our day in Monaco! 

Tonight we depart Monaco at 10:00PM travelling 143 nautical miles overnight, arriving in Marseille, France at 8:00AM. 

Our View of the Monaco Classic Week

Okay we’re travelling back in time (a real test of my memory). I can’t believe it’s already a month today that we were docked in Monte Carlo, Monaco. 

It’s Day 9 of our 10-day Mediterranean Cruise Saturday, September 16, 2017.

We have visited Monaco in the past during one of our many trips to France a few years back. Therefore no big tourist sightseeing plans for today! 

A welcome relief. Even though we’ve been travelling “freestyle” on the cruise as far as shore excursions are concerned ... it’s been a busy time at each port of call.

We started the day with breakfast at the Terrace Café. Stunning views of the Marina/ Harbour from our table.  

No shuttle buses, taxis were required today to go ashore ... an easy walk off the ship along the quay and away we went to stroll the streets and harbour/marina area. 

There was quite a bit of activity happening in the water and at the Yacht Club of Monaco quayside and we soon discovered it was the Monaco Classic Week - La Belle Classe. 

The YCM (the Yacht Club of Monaco) was founded by Prince Rainer III in May 1953.

It was the 13th biennial Classic Week ... first one being held in 1994.

It was a grand event. This year with a roaring 20’s theme. The attendees dressed to the nines in flapper dresses, etc. 

The sea vessels included small recreational boats, luxury classic sailing yachts, tall ships, dinghies and motorboats. 

The regatta of various boats was amazing. Each boat’s participants were dressed impeccably in coordinating outifits. 

Later in the afternoon there also was a touching tribute to the Italian motorboat engineer / designer Carlo Riva (who passed away April 10/17) ... 

Many turquoise blue balloons (a colour associated with the Riva brand) were released from all the Riva boats in Port Hercule.

If you look closely you can see the floating balloons.

The Riva is a mahogany hulled motorboat. These gems were a favourite of the 50’s /60’s jetset with many famous actors owning one ... Brigette Bardot, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to name a few.

We had a busy day in Monte Carlo ... this is only part of our self-guided tour. 

Stayed tuned more to follow ... will be writing another post and sharing more photos about the rest of our day.