France

Marseille: Fish and Ferris Wheels

Back home, whenever anyone would talk about the south of France, it always sounded to me like an exotic destination that only rich people could afford to visit. After all, isn’t that where the characters on Gossip Girl spent their summers? So because I’m dating someone who happens to be from the south of France, I was fortunate enough to accompany him home to a birthday celebration with his family this past weekend.

We took the last train from Paris on Friday night and arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning (it’s a roughly 3.5 hour train ride from city to city). After a good night’s sleep, we got up so he could take me on a tour of his city, Marseille.

The Ferris wheel and view of Notre Dame de la Garde from the Vieux Port in central Marseille

We went for lunch on a side street off the main port where the food was both cheaper and more authentic. It had been so long since I’d had good seafood, I forgot how much I love it! As it’s a specialty of the area, I decided upon the bouillabaisse for my main dish. It’s a type of fish stew made from the type of fish Marseillais fisherman couldn’t sell to the local restaurants, as well as various vegetables. Mine included sea robin, mussels, and potatoes, and was served with a rouille, a spicy garlic-based mayonnaise that you put on toasted crouton-like bread and drop into the soup to moisten it enough to eat.

Bouillabaisse in Marseille

Shout out to the guy who made this all possible 🙂

After lunch, we wandered back down the port to enjoy the breezy sunny day (and so I could take more pictures). We were lucky enough to have gorgeous weather the whole weekend- I only wish we could have stayed longer!

Living in Paris is the furthest I’ve ever lived from the ocean- at home, it’s just over a two hour drive away- and it was so good to be near salt water again, listening to the cry of the seagulls over the water lapping at the edges of the port, little waves created by the wake of the boats. Being so close to the sea is definitely my happy place, and I hope to return to Marseille sooner rather than later!