DAY 22: Merci Marseille

Preface: I've been getting A LOT of slack from avid fans not getting their daily blog at the buttcrack of dawn as if it's the Wall Street Journal. I understand your coffee just doesn't taste the same without me, and the burning sensation you get when it exits through your nasal cavity might sting a LITTLE more than when you are "in" France... patience is a virtue people.  I lack in that department, so pick up the slack... There are times when I don't have access to the ol' world wide web, or I simply want to ENJOY my morning in my current location... I'll try harder to get The Life of the Poor and Lonely to you faster... OH THE PRESSURE!

Watched "Whip It" on the 4 hour train ride to Marseille... great flick, nice work Drew Barrimore. Loved seeing the white ground turn to green and the grey sky turn to blue and the brown buildings turn orange... and my dark circles hidden by polarized shades...I found a family to stay with from couchsurfers.com, so Simon picked me up at the station. He tapped me on the shoulder and I thought it was an old boyfriend of mine, Marcus... uncanny- it is his French twin I swear... He had to pick up two of his children in Provence, so we went to check out the old city and have coffee with a friend of his that lived in the States for awhile. Big Cezanne museum there (scenery is a painter's dream come true)... easy to find because there are gold medallions with a "C" trailing through the streets... it's like the rich man's version of breadcrumbs. Simon owns a perfumery company, is divorced and remarried to Marion (6th generation business of custom made planters and pots), who is also divorced and has 3 kidlets. The two chillin we picked up from school are Adelaide (looks like an "American Girl doll)- 8 and Joseph (missing his two front teef)- 7.  Marion's children are Colline (wants to attend school in New York next year)- 15, Victor (eats, sleeps and is grumpy, but always says "Hello!")- 13 and Cesar (a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e... I could squeeze him into Skittles)- 7... a very beautiful family who has been more than hospitable and sweet... I lucked out. Did you get all that!?!?! A typical Tuesday evening includes a stop at Paul's bakery for a treat, then back home to a big dinner with all the fam- I picked up some flowers for Marion next door and we drove off into the sunset. Literally...

Their house is in Aubagne, 10 minutes east of Marseille- it was built in the 1800's and they just took 3 months to remodel the whole thing. It's 4 stories, with 6 bedrooms and wonderful old doors and windows. It reminds me of a big villa from "Under the Tuscan Sun"... sitting on top of a hill, with a picturesque view of the mountains... totally dreamy. When we arrived, I unpacked Luigi to do some laundry and listened to Simon play the piano and Marion sing whilst cooking crepes (big deal right now for crepes... some celebration???). They invited a friend that owns a cosmetics company for dinner, as he lived in NYC for 10 years and speaks good English (looks like Tea-Bag from Prison Break, in his younger years). We were drinking wine and eating olives and peanuts when Simon's mother pulled into the driveway because her car was making funny noises (I'm convinced she just wanted free food)... and then another friend came over to borrow a jack hammer wrench (didn't want to go home to the "girlfriend" and 2 kids)... it was a circus! The nanny made lasagna for us, followed by salad (lettuce with EVOO and balsamic), and THEN we ate bread and cheese, AND THEN we ate crepes for dessert (with Nutella and lemon and sugar, mmm), AND THEN WE ATE  macaroons and chocolate... you can imagine why I passed on the macaroons and chocolate... we started eating at 8pm and finished at 11:30...

Marseille is the oldest and second largest city in France... very old buildings with little character, many of which haven't been restored- growing sun-bleached and graffiti stained annually. It's easy to look past the trashiness with rocky mountains jutting up through the aquamarine water, peppered with sailboats and wind surfers. Sunrises and sunsets are out of this world in the violet, cloudless sky... I can't believe where I am right now...

My only full day in Marseille tomorrow... can't wait to wake up to sunshine and ocean breeze... Ciao!