Marseille Getaway

In mid March we were invited to take a weekend away in Marseille with 10 other friends from Amsterdam. It was to celebrate the 30th birthday's of Chris Oman and Courtney Keating. The weather in Marseille was much nicer than it has been in Amsterdam recently, so we wanted to get outside right away.  

Our first activity included a march up the steep hill of La Garde, the cities highest hill at 530 ft above the harbor.  From everywhere you go in Marseille, you can see this hill where the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde sits with it's 30 foot golden statue of the Virgin Mary rising up into the skies perched on the bell tower as her pedestal.  We learned that locals (not just catholics) see her as the guardian of their city and call her "la bonne mere" or the good mother. Illuminated by night, this great church dominates the Marseille bay like a beacon.  To know this church is to know the true spirit of Marseille.

In the Roman times, the site served as a look-out point and a fort was erected there to protect the city of Marseille from King Charles the 5th of Spain.  Later the church was built, and sailors used to climb the hill to pray for a safe voyage or give thanks for their unharmed return.  

We had the pleasure of enjoying a 360° panoramic view of the sea, harbor and terracotta roofs below. Soaking up the sun for some time and taken back by the beauty of this setting we wondered around outside for a while before crossing the drawbridge at the main entrance (which doesn't disguise it's history as a former fortress). 

Stepping inside the church was even more impressive... mind blowing!

Decorated in a nautical theme, this is one of the most beautiful places we've ever been. The domed basilica has ornate colored marble, murals and paintings depicting the safe passage of sailing vessels.  In line with the city's multi-cultural heritage, it feels that there is an oriental, almost Islamic feel to the upper sanctuary with it's acres of gold leaf work and floor to ceiling mosaics depicting olive wines, palm trees and exotic birds.  
Above the alter, a ship with it's sails in Marseille's blue and white colors make it clear that the city's maritime roots are omnipresent.  Anchor motifs are everywhere and models of boats hang from the ceiling while the outer corridors have glass cases housing old war medals.  This place was incredible!

Eventually we ventured down into the city streets to explore what Marseille had to offer. We saw art sculptures, bought soap and tried our hand at cooking the local cuisine.

The cooking class started out good from the beginning, with the jovial Georgiana as our instructor.  Her kitchen, L'Atelier de Georgiana was outfitted with more Le Creuset cookware than a department store.  Then she let us hook up our iphone to her music player and things just got crazy from there. We learned to cook lamb shoulder, cut a 7 point French potato and perfectly sugar glaze local vegetables.  Eventually, as most gatherings go with us, it turned into a dance party.

30 year olds!

The rest of the weekend was spent exploring.  However, on Sunday, March 17th (St. Patty's Day) the weather wasn't so great.  So after seeing Cathédrale La Major, a church designed by the same architect as Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, we put matters into the hands of the local Irish pub... it's never hard to find a good Irish Pub.

The sun came out the next day, but by then it was time for us to go home.  We had to say goodbye to our house on the hill with the pool we never really got to swim in... just another reason to come back to Marseille.