Wednesday, June 15, 2022

{EUROPE} Day Seven - Marseille, France

 We arrived in Marseille around 8:00 this morning. It is the oldest city in France and is currently the 3rd largest city in France behind Paris and Lyon...

The kids and I met up with our tour shortly after breakfast and headed into town, via bus, toward the Old Port...

We passed by City Hall...

before heading (way) up to Notre-Dame de la Garde...


To visit, one must climb many, many stairs. Though, we were told 197 steps to the top, we counted 222 steps (think of it as "training" for our visit to Pisa later this week). We might've missed an elevator somewhere near the top to help with those last few steps, but at that point, I'm not so sure it would've relieved us very much!

The church is situated at the tallest point in the city and offers incredible, panoramic views!

It is beautiful on the inside, as well. decorated with gorgeous mosaics...

On the way to our next stop, we passed by the Porte Royale, or the Arc de Triomphe of Marseille...

as well as the train station, featuring railings designed by Gustave Eiffel...

Next, we visited the impressive Palais Longchamp...


built to celebrate the construction of the Marseille Canal...

Along with the park, and its focal point fountain, the structure now houses a couple museums, as well...

From there, we headed back down to the Old Port area for some free time...

{If you look really closely, you can see that the "blob" above us is actually a reflection of us standing below the mirrored ceiling!}


Afterwards, we headed back to the ship to meet up with Grandma and grab lunch...


Au Revoir, Marseille!

On to Italy tomorrow...

a new country for the kids, and one step closer to meeting up with Hubby!

More {EUROPE} 2022 Fun

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this blog AK! I have been following along with glee. Looks like everyone has been having a GREAT time. I bet you will be so glad to meet up with Will so you can share all of this with him. Italy will be SO MUCH FUN for them. Sorry you missed Florence but I told your mom she needs to take you all to a villa near that city for two weeks so that you can fully appreciate that Tuscan lifestyle. Safe travels, Love U. Karl

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    1. Oh man, what a gift she's given us already! I agree though, Florence deserves at least a whole week. I'm not sure if Will has been there before, but I think he has been... He's a driver, probably more like y'all... He rents a car and goes when he's over here! That would be a dream to rent a villa there! I went for a day trip from a cruise, and got just a taste, but sooo much more to see there! And, YES, we can't wait to reunite with Will in Rome!!

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