Heading South—part one

Earlier this month, in keeping with our travel plans and hoping to find warmer, sunnier weather, we took off for the Mediterranean. Marseille was our first stop. Sometimes referred to as la cité phocéenne, having been settled by Greeks from the city of Phonecea around 600 BC, it is France’s oldest city. It is also one of the country’s most populous and diverse cities and gets my vote as “most improved,” in terms of its actual appearance, tourist services, and race relations.

Our hotel le Saint Ferréol was pleasant and conveniently situated. Since we got in around 11:30 in the morning, we immediately thought about going to have lunch. The friendly clerk at the hotel told us to avoid les pièges à touristes (literally “the tourist traps”) located along the Vieux Port and to opt instead for any one of the places on the nearby rue Sainte. Many restaurants are still closed this early in the year, but we finally found a little family-owned North African place. Although the owner seemed surprised to see us walk in at 11:55 and the wait was rather long for his wife’s couscous, we found this a true comfort food on a chilly day.

Now fortified and energized we headed for tourist bureau on the boulevard de la Canebière. (The street’s name, by the way, has nothing to do with beer, but with hemp rope that used to be made in a factory near there). The three young women working at the tourist office were memorable for their enthusiasm; they gave us enough ideas for at least three days even though we only had an afternoon to spend sightseeing. My husband remarked later that the woman in Bédoin’s maison du tourisme could learn a thing or two from them! In the end we decided just to walk around and enjoy the day, exploring the lively square Cours d’Estienne d’Orves, parts of le Panier (Marseille’s old city), and small shops along the rue piétonne (or “pedestrian area”)—which interestingly enough had cars driving on it—and the big department store Galeries Lafayette.
Finally we settled into a café facing the Vieux Port for people watching and to rest awhile.

Since it’s “all about food” with us, on our stroll through the city we’d kept our eyes open for where to have supper that night. Bouillabaisse is, of course, the spécialité marseillaise par excellence, but the prices at fifty euros plus seemed excessive to us. Back at the hotel we were advised not to choose any of the twenty-euro offerings unless we didn’t mind frozen fish. We had noticed a small restaurant which had at least one of our favorite “seals of approval”—a current sticker in the window from either Le Guide du Routard or Petit Futé guidebooks. The clerk at the hotel assured us that Chez Madie, Les Galinettes was une valeur sûre (“a sure bet”) and so our minds were made up.

We thought we knew a thing or two about dinner timetables at French restaurants but seeing the chef and his équipe (“team”) still eating at seven thirty was our clue to keep walking around and come back later. Finally at about five till eight, we went in. The wait was worth it. The meal started with an amuse-bouche, an anchoïade—an anchovy- and garlic-based spread that hit just the right balance; we were so delighted with it, in fact, that the waiter brought us another small bowl! For appetizers, Ray had carpaccio de saumon (a smoked salmon dish) and I chose un tartare de saumon. We both had fish as well for the main dish and, although I’m still not sure what the galinette I had actually is, it was perfectly cooked and the sauce was most delicious and delicate. Yum! A very good day and a good start to our Mediterranean get-away!