Monday 27 October 2014

Trip to Marseille



It all seems like a distant memory, but at the end of September Mr RF and I took a short break in Marseille. As I was doing a Vlog of the trip there aren't many photos, but the city left a long lasting impression on both of us.

This was not our typical holiday, as in there was no research done, no planned out places to visit, all we had was our flights and hotel reservation. It worked out beautifully. Armed with a French phrase book and good old charades skills we set out to explore Marseille. I'm not sure if we were just lucky but everyone we had a reason to speak to was exceptionally friendly. Food incredibly delicious, and the sights breathtakingly beautiful.

We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel Dieu, which previously was a hospital and is one of the iconic buildings of La Panier district. It was a really great place to stay, we manged to get a late check-out at no extra cost, and even though we arrived almost 3 hours before the check-in they still gave us a room straight away. The hotel itself was absolutely beautiful and the restaurant well worth checking out.





As the hotel was situated right in the thick of things we mainly walked, but I here public transport in Marseille is inexpensive and well organised. Right across the road from Hotel Dieu there was a wonderful place The cup of Tea, with the biggest selection of teas I've come across and if you are early enough, you might be able to snag yourself a pain au chocolate. About a minute walk from here there is another place Cafe des Epices, open from lunchtime and serves the most delicious food. The menu is written in Chalk on a black board and is changed daily. You can choose a set menu of 2 or 3 courses, and I can honestly say that deserts are well worth having.

Down in Vieux Port there is a free ferry boat that can take you to the other side of the port, saving you a bit of energy (however it does run only between certain times). On this side of the port there is a wonderful restaurant La Passarelle. It is a sort of two parter, with a little cafe and a vegetable shop on one side, and the main garden restaurant across a narrow road.



The menu is changed every single day depending on what produce is available. They grow a lot of their own vegetables and source most of the other ingredients locally. The gentleman serving us went to great lengths to explain to us what everything was, and even though it seemed more of a place for the locals, we were made very welcome. Food was sublime, I wish I could go back there now.

And Here is the Vlog of the trip.


2 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a wonderful time, what a beautiful place! The hotel looks so nice too! x

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    1. I loved every minute, it is a really gorgeous place and honestly I've never been anywhere where the locals were so laid back and friendly. Hotel was perfection, I don't hesitate to recommend it xx

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