Marseille

First let me start by apologising to any French friends. Marseille is a dump! If you are ever unlucky enough to end up in Marseille walk along the front road of the old port, get a taxi (ideally while blind folded) to the Basilica du Notre Dame and then leave Marseille. Marseille I understand has a lot of poverty and it shows. We walked along the main road, which was closed off and had book and record stalls down the middle of it, perfectly acceptable but at every junction there were rows of 5 or 6 police vans and riot trucks just to add a little bit of discomfort to the wary traveller. Next was the square “Cours Julien” described in the guide book as dominated by water garden, fountains and palm trees with some of the hippest cafes in Marseille. The fountains did exist. The graffiti was quite good in places, but difficult to look at as you had to have you eyes down to pick your way through the broken bottles and dog poo. The smell in the square was interesting but the strongest drug we were looking for was beer so we moved on. We walk the Corniche road with beaches, according to the guide book, that could come from “Baywatch”. I confess I have never watched “Baywatch” but I suspect the beaches are not quite the same standard. The walk is lovely so long as you have ear plugs in to cut out the noise of the traffic and blinkers on so you can only look out to sea. The over riding smell was urine. Nearly every bench has men or teenage boys grouped around them, drinking and smoking, all making the whole place feel very intimidating. Perched on a hilltop overlooking this deprived city is the church to our lady it is possible that this is the most beautiful church I have seen, a real glittering gem in an otherwise despot of a city.