From Sète to Marseille

Saturday April 2 was a very cool day.  High of only 9C and extremely windy though there was sun by the time we got to Marseille. We both layered up.

We started the day with a brunch of octopus pie that Karen had bought in the Sète market.

Karen with the heated octopus pie (Tielle Sètoise)

Daniel with the salad and wine

Pre-train ride brunch in Sète

Daniel drove us to the train station to catch the 12:36 p.m. train to Marseille.  Unfortunately, the train was 45 minutes late and we had to wait in a very cold waiting area.  However, the train had good WIFI and the ride was pleasant, though we ended up getting in at 4:00 p.m. instead of 2:37 p.m.  We took a taxi to our Airbnb which is on the same street as the Opera House.  Marseille is the oldest city in France, with a population of about 875,000.  The city was founded by the Greeks in 600 BC.

Marseille Opera House

Our Airbnb is above a restaurant on a pedestrian street with a number of other restaurants. It is only a block from the Old Port.  
Large dining room table and living room

Wood beamed ceiling- kitchen area

Bedroom with a large closet

Two piece bathroom--this is the shower area

Looking the other way


Inside the entrance with a very large door 

Green door is the outside entrance.  We are on the first floor (second floor in Canada).

We wandered in the neighbourhood a bit, stopping at a design store that was just closing at 6:00 p.m. 

Interesting design store

Right side of design store

A mix of mostly Marseille products.  Interesting fold up coloured stools behind Alain

We stopped at an excellent recommended bakery, Le Pain de l'Opera (forgot to take a photo) for a baguette and some treats.  Next we visited the boucherie/charcuterie for some food for tomorrow evening's dinner.

Outside of Boucherie/Charcuterie Sambuc

We dropped our purchases off at the apartment and headed out about 30 minutes later to go for dinner at 8:00 p.m. at Dayo, a restaurant where we had an excellent meal during our last trip to Marseille in 2015.  The restaurant is on the northern side of the old port.

Our side of the Old Port

Norman Foster designed shelter/canopy called Ombrière in polished metal
 
Reflection of the bus

Just the two of us

Centre of the port- looking at south side

View from the middle

We headed to The Panier district, the site where the Greeks founded the city.

View from the northern side of the Old Port with the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde in the background

Art Gallery

We had a lovely dinner at Dayo.  We shared an excellent starter of grilled octopus on a bed of hummus with a few large thin pieces of chorizo.

Delicious grilled octopus

I had bavette and frites as my main course

Alain had dorade on a base of potatoes, mushrooms and green beans with a sauce

We had an espresso at the end of the meal and the owner gave us a digestif of either limoncello or a rum/ginger concoction.
Wine, water, coffee and les digestifs 

Outside of Dayo as we were leaving.  No outdoor tables tonight as it was cold and windy!

Le Vieux Port and the Basilica high on the hill

We quickly walked back to the apartment and had a hot cup of tea and a piece of chocolate/pistachio nougat. Hopefully, it will be warmer tomorrow for our further explorations of the city.


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