Anna is a cool Italian woman my age that I met on the train from Nepoli to Rome. She works as a community radio announcer in Madrid and is fluent in four languages. She is a huge fan of Marseille, having lived there previously and recommended a list of things I should do in Marseille. I promised I'd report back on my progress.Dear Anna
Thanks so much for the brilliant suggestions for stuff to do in Marseille, I had a fabulous time poking around and completely regret that I only had one day there.
The Chateau D’If was jus one of the most awesome and fulfilling things I’ve done so far on my trip. The Count of Monte Cristo (translated into Chinese) was one of the
first ‘serious’ novels I attempted at Primary school, so taking the boat out and checking out the place has been a dream of mine for about twenty years. The boat ride itself was amazing, the brilliant views of the harbour as we pulled out of the thousands of fishing boats and yachts, the crisp ocean and rugged terrains of the mainland was magnificent and I’d recommend it for anyone even if they are not a Monte Cristo fan. Yep it did look spooky towering in that ocean even in bright day light, and I had not realized how close it was to Marseille. Mademoiselle Mercedes must have been gutted to find out that her loverboy Edmund had only been a stonethrow away from her all those years that she’d thought he’d employed a drastic method to get away from marrying her. And they must have also cleaned the place up and opened more ‘windows’ in the fort, because the place did not resemble for one moment the dark, wet, claustrophobic rat infested warren in Duma’s book, even though I’m sure he was very colourful or even exaggerative with his words. Its interesting in Europe that many former sites of trauma are often sterilized and monumented to distance visitors from being too close to the actual confrontations. These places are reinterpreted into spaces for leisure and entertainment, 
rather than a more vivid documentary of past events. As tourists we are there to be reminded of the traumas, but in actual fact sheltered by the passing of time and the removal of certain objects reminding us of human presence, as though it is important to know that the past is the past and we are ready to move on. True, practical, but also escapist. As if the struggles of yesteryear has been totally won, and every woman and man is free today and every where. The context of the space has changed from a place of suffering to a place of amusement. The experience becomes surreal, and at the end of the day, entertainment rather than like watching animals in a zoo rather than sympathise with the way in which they are incarcerated.
Thanks so much for the brilliant suggestions for stuff to do in Marseille, I had a fabulous time poking around and completely regret that I only had one day there.
The Chateau D’If was jus one of the most awesome and fulfilling things I’ve done so far on my trip. The Count of Monte Cristo (translated into Chinese) was one of the
first ‘serious’ novels I attempted at Primary school, so taking the boat out and checking out the place has been a dream of mine for about twenty years. The boat ride itself was amazing, the brilliant views of the harbour as we pulled out of the thousands of fishing boats and yachts, the crisp ocean and rugged terrains of the mainland was magnificent and I’d recommend it for anyone even if they are not a Monte Cristo fan. Yep it did look spooky towering in that ocean even in bright day light, and I had not realized how close it was to Marseille. Mademoiselle Mercedes must have been gutted to find out that her loverboy Edmund had only been a stonethrow away from her all those years that she’d thought he’d employed a drastic method to get away from marrying her. And they must have also cleaned the place up and opened more ‘windows’ in the fort, because the place did not resemble for one moment the dark, wet, claustrophobic rat infested warren in Duma’s book, even though I’m sure he was very colourful or even exaggerative with his words. Its interesting in Europe that many former sites of trauma are often sterilized and monumented to distance visitors from being too close to the actual confrontations. These places are reinterpreted into spaces for leisure and entertainment, 
rather than a more vivid documentary of past events. As tourists we are there to be reminded of the traumas, but in actual fact sheltered by the passing of time and the removal of certain objects reminding us of human presence, as though it is important to know that the past is the past and we are ready to move on. True, practical, but also escapist. As if the struggles of yesteryear has been totally won, and every woman and man is free today and every where. The context of the space has changed from a place of suffering to a place of amusement. The experience becomes surreal, and at the end of the day, entertainment rather than like watching animals in a zoo rather than sympathise with the way in which they are incarcerated.
The weather in port today was gorgeous, not stinking hot and coupled with a gentle flowing air, just like a light duvet in an early morning siesta. Marseille resembled Copenhagen in a way, the grand buildings on either side and the yachts packed on the edges of the wharf. The cute old fishing boats were still there at the centre pier doing the rounds for morning fish market when I arrived. Since we were discussing politics the other day, you might also be interested in the overfishing problem in the Mediterranean. I think by far the hardest social issue here is balancing local and traditional livelihoods with the ever increasing global demand for more (sea)food and the globalizations of environmental exploitation. How will the environment ever cope with this continuous onslaught for more and more and more?
Many people have told me that Marseille is very crusty and dangerous (‘full of Africans’ was one descriptions) , but quite the contrary I thought it was very attractive and clean, especially compared to Napoli. The only thing near ‘crust’ I bumped into were the faeces coloured abandoned 60s era small factories on the rim of the Panier (old town). I thought the rest of the centre and the port looked very scrubbed up.
I loved the Cour Ju area, it was just fascinating looking at the eclectic collection of food and bits and bobs you can get from different ethic shops and stalls. The sites and sounds reminded me very much of Morocco’s huge souqs. Because of the bold way that immigrants of all kinds have lived their lives here in Marseille for thousands of years, I find the streets just that tad more colourful and exciting.I don’t understand why people automatically brand anywhere with African or Middle Eastern immigrants ‘rough’. (I mean, just look inside some middle class suburbs anywhere in the world and people would be amused to see the violence that are not spoken about). Its not only a huge generalization but it ignores the cultural blending so beneficial to any society’s further development. The things that are keeping many immigrants poor is prejudice, alienation, discrimination in things like education and employment that continues a cyclical pattern of unemployment, and drug and alcohol abuse as a direct result from the hardship they face. Its not just France or Italy, its everywhere. Its time people put away those ridiculous walls between themselves and others that they aren’t familiar with or get on with, rather than just the fear of ‘the other’.
Now the crazy Pastis Ricardo drink you said I simply must try… I made the mistake of getting into it too early in the afternoon, it definitely is a night drink. You were trying to murder me weren’t you? The waiter handed it to me and urged me to blend it down with water, and even after that it felt like meths evaporating on my tongue. The flavour was very very spicy, if not exhilarating. Aniseed is definitely one of those acquired tastes I just don’t see myself acquiring… So for the first time in my life I’ve actually left a fresh serving of alcohol unfinished. The Frenchies must have thought I was a total wimp!! Later I found out that Pastis is actually a later version of absinth. Great.
Marseille just oozed culture and history, its amazing to know that it was in fact the first ever settled French village back in 600 AD, and the maritime and military history its had over the years just made it so much more fascinating as a place to visit. It is to me the first French enigma I knew as an outsider. I really wished I had more time hanging out in Marseille, especially when you mentioned how wonderful the night life is like here particularly in the summer. Oh well, there’s so much I still want to do both in France and Italy so looks like I’ll have to pencil it in for the next trip (touch wood).
I hope you are having lots of fun in Madrid and hopefully we’ll catch up in person very very soon.
xx WaWa
--> If someone had a shop like this in NZ they'd be dragged out and shot. Well, only if we actually had guns...
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