Have Master's Will Travel: Bon Débarras Marseille

Eyes wide awake, I lay in bed for about half an hour before I decided it was time to wake up--at 5:30. It's like my body is feeling the excitement of each new day because it wakes up with the sun and won't go bad to a deep slumber. That and I also like to take naps on trains, so I'm able to recuperate some sleep on those lazy rides. For this train ride I have been reading one of my eBooks, as I am now gratefully caught up on our adventures here. From our train we are able to see the Mediterranean Sea. That just blew my mind right there.

We arrived in Marseille around 9:00 on Saturday, and our first order of business was finding where we could leave our bags for the day. After leaving our bags at the train station, we headed out on foot to explore the great city of Marseille. Four hours later, we were on a train headed out of hue the city and wishing it goodbye! There were a lot of tourists there for a special music festival going on that weekend, and the city itself didn't have much to offer, in my humble opinion. There was a harbor with plenty of tourists coming and going from the six cruise ships we saw docked out in the Mediterranean Sea. We walked the five miles to the top of the city and realized we had had enough of the heat and the tourists, so we headed back to the train station in search of a way out to Nice. Still experiencing the effects of the ongoing union strike in France, we had to wait for about 40 minutes to catch the next train out to Nice. If I have to sum up my Marseille experience, I shall do it through pictures down below, as there was really not much else. Also, a bird pooped on my hand while waiting at the train station and eating a chocolate croissant.

Waiting at the train station, however, turned out to be what will be one of the highlights of my trip. There was a piano at the station for anyone to play, and boy did people take advantage of it. In the short time we sat outside McDonalds, three people came and played the piano. I was fortunate enough to listen to all kinds of music coming from the piano, from classical Bach, to Bocelli, to One Republic's "Counting Stars." I was so enthralled by the sound of the keys and the mesmerizing way the players' fingers danced around the black and white ridges and tiny valleys that I have no pictures to post about it--that's how amazing it was. It's easy to get caught up into capturing the moment just right and applying a filter which will make the now square image look even more just right that we forget at times to simply enjoy that moment. There at the Marseille train station, experiencing the beginnings of heat stroke, feeling fatigue from the previous days and lack of sleep, and having just wiped bird poop off my hand, I slowly made my towards the piano and drifted into a state of complete and utter tranquility and peace as the lovely melody filled my heart,and I basked in the warmth despite the depressing heat outside. As far as tourist activities go, Marseille was sort of a bust for Anne and I. As far as those little reminders to slow down and enjoy whatever comes your way, Marseille was a life saver.

Now, as I sit here on the train to Nice, the Mediterranean comes into full view again. It's almost like I'm being granted a do-over, another way to look at things, and this time it's different. The ocean is still just as blue, the sky is just as clear, there is no exasperating hustle and bustle of the crowds trying to get their best price on souvenirs, only the calm of the ocean water as it splashes quietly against yachts and boats awaiting to be taken out. Sometimes life is really great like that,and the do-overs are better than a few instances before, and you can't help but laugh and smile at the way life works out sometimes.

Au revoir Marseille!

This is a mirror pic from a mirrored ceiling in Marseille. Notice our smiles; notice we are in the shade; notice the lack of tourists around us. This makes for happy backpackers A&A.