July 13, 2004
As per plan, I'm now in Nice. I decided it would be fun to stay in France for Bastille Day, as I've heard so much about the atmosphere of happy nationalism. Unfortunately, my plans to meet up with people in Florence have taken a hit, because one of those people (I.F., are you reading this?) is moving on to Rome just before I get there. I'll still meet up with A.P. and catch I.F. later.
My second day in Marseilles was a success, if success is measured in terms of sunburn and sore feet. But I did go up to look at the Basilique du Notre Dame du Gard, which is also striped like the cathedral from yesterday, but also really ornate on the inside, and perched atop a hill commanding a great view of the city and the harbor. It's also got a few dozen wooded carvings of various ships and a couple airplanes -- presumably the ones they want the Lord to keep an eye on.
Much of the rest of the day was spent at my favorite discovery in Marseille -- though to say "discovery" gives me too much credit, as I was informed of this by a friendly Swiss illustrator I met at the hostel (we talked politics, philosophy, and comic books long into both evenings I was there). The discovery was that, not only is the hostel three blocks from the seaside, it is also three blocks from the world-famous Marseille skate-park. Everyone who's played the Tony Hawk video game probably already knows about it, but I didn't. The park is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I can't vouch for that, but the graffiti was pretty good. There were younger kids skating in the morning while I was waiting for laundry. By the evening when I returned, they had been joined by some older skaters (some of whom had some pretty mad skillz), as well as a portable sounds system with freestyling DJ. There were also some rollerbladers and a couple BMX bikers hanging out. Just over a hill was the beach, and windsailors dotted the water. It was a really cool place, and I'm surprised Marseille doesn't have more of a reputation as a tourist destination.
I think it's off to the hostel for me now. It's a far way from the city center, and I want to do it by foot at least once so I can know whether it's a good idea to stay out for the celebrations tomorrow night -- I'm sure things will go on far later than the public transit system. I have now found, to my chagrin, two continental public transit networks in major cities, that make me long for the late operating hours of the MBTA. There's no place like home, I guess.