Garry and May's Adventures: Marseilles - the second biggest French city

Night view of Fort St Nicholas from the old port.

First night in our hotel in Marseilles, the Mercure Grand Beaveau in the Vieux Port (old port). Frederick Chopin (famous pianist) apparently stayed in the same hotel in the 1800s.

Thursday (3 May) - Weather wasn't too great so we decided to jump on a hop on/off double-decker bus. A lot of empty seats on the upper level. We were practically the only ones sitting upstairs and had French people in neighbouring cars laughing and shouting at us in French. They were pointing to the grey clouds and we figured they were telling us that it was going to pour any minute.

Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde - this Romanesque-Byzantine church is the symbol of Marseille. Perched on the city's highest hill and topped by a great, gold statue of the Virgin Mary (which weighs approximately 9.700kg), it can be seen from anywhere in the city.

Inside the church

Built in the 1850s, the vaulted crypt is carved out of rock while the sanctuary is decorated with mosaics and marble.

View of the city of Marseille from the top of the Notre-Dame.

Army tanker used in World War II.

Palais Longchamp - a park with a water fountain decorated in palatial empire style.

Back view of the fountain

First French dinner with our travelling companions - Val, Aunty Grace (Max's mum), Sara and Max. We had a lot of fun travelling with them in the French Riviera on the Cote d'Azur, especially Aunty Grace, she was great fun cracking us up with her jokes and gossip! Mr car sickness seemed to lessen everytime Aunty Grace sneaked us some news of the happenings in Perth (eg. who and who got married/engaged, who recently gave birth, etc...all the really important info!)

We tried the Bouiballaise, a local Provence dish popular in the southern region of France. It's some kind of fish stew. I didn't like it, very fishy! Spot the fishies on the table. Waiter preparing the stew in front of us.