ised that I'd see when I came to France. As it happened, she was away all the while, holidaying in Israel on the exact same days that I had my trip (which is how I got an empty house for myself as well when I was in Paris! - Thanks Amel!). So.. somehow, we managed to squeeze in a day so we could see each other in Marseille on Friday, the 14th (Aug).The bus from Barca was at 9am and it was a splendid 9 hour ride along the coast. Traffic was a touch high on the highways, with the weekend approaching and all that.
We stopped at some sort of a resort for lunch. I had had a heavyish breakfast, and the lunch looked rather bland, expensive & uninviting, so I decided to eat just some Snickers from the vending machine.
I mostly slept all the way. The vast blue sea to my right remained blue and the vast green fields to my left remained green. The bus would, every now and then, stop at a town to drop off some passengers and pick up a bunch. Between my naps, I kept myself amused by playing hide-n-seek with a cute little girl in the seat in front of me. Her mother kept asking me the time, and each time it provided an opportu
nity for me to revise my french!The clock struck 6pm and a road sign said Marseille was still 74km away! The bus was late. By the time it drove into the bus station, it was 7pm. A 15 minute baggage check followed. They didn't trust Indians apparently. But the officer was a really cool guy and was joking around. Once he finished the baggage check, he said with a smile "I just ask this because I have to, but.. are you carrying cash more than 10,000 euros".. I just burst out laughing, and replied.. "I wish, I wish! Wouldn't I have come by my private jet then, yeah!?". Then he went about laughingly explaining how he feels like a fool to ask the question every time, but still as per protocol he just has to do it.
So I had finally arrived in Marseille! On the way, I'd caught a glimpse of the port and wished I could go out to sea sometime.
Amelie's house help, Aga, and her boyfriend, had come down to pick me up in his car! Amelie was due to arrive the next morning. I
t was a short ride to her (Aga's) place, where I would sleep for the night. It was a pretty house, with a direct view of the magnificent Church of Notre Dame on one side and the seaport on the other! She prepared a nice dinner for me with some fried fish, veg balls (sorta like manchurian, without the red), and some wine. It was nearly 10pm and we decided to call it a day. After she left, I was sitting around blogging, admiring Notre Dame by night and... watching 'Jaane bhi do yaaro' & 'How I met your mother' on my laptop till 3am ;)I woke up leisurely and prepared a cereal breakfast and some eggs for myself. By the time I got refreshed and ready, Amel had arrived, and I waited for her to come and pick me up to go to her new apartement, that her family had just moved into.
Even she was coming there for the first time. And it was great discovering the place. The apartment was spread over 3 floors, with a hall, 4 bedrooms, study and store. It was the top 3 floors of a 9 storey building, and on the top floor was a personal swimming pool!!! I immediately asked Amel what her father did :D - He was a World Rally Championship (WRc) driver and had won the Monte Carlo Porsche 911 rally in 1978-79!! He now had his own insurance firm!! I was in total awe!
I was in presence of greatness here. An actual racing car driver!!! He showed me miniature replicas of his cars, the Porsches, the Alfa Romeo... I was totally dumbfounded! I realized much later there were so many questions I could have asked.. How did it feel to drive those cars?
How was the competition? Saftey issues, etc. etc. etc. But I was just speechless and in rapt attention!
After a while, I sat around talking with Amel & Stephane, and Amel's sister, Marine, waiting for lunch to be served. Amel's grandmother was trying to converse with me in French, and speaking very slowly and it was fun! I was telling her about Hinduism and why I was wearing that thread on me, and that the ring on my finger was NOT an engagement ring :D We had a sublime lunch with two fish curries,
rice and wine. There was also this drink which was supposed to be a speciality of Marseille and NO-ONE is supposed to like it the first time. Its not that I didn't like it, but my drinking it slowly prompted Amel's Dad to ask me to stop drinking it and just have some wine!The weather was like a warm Bombay day without as much humidity in the air. After lunch, we stepped out for a coffee by the port.
After we were done, Amel tells me "My dad is just going to take us for a drive now"
The next 1.5 hours was the most unexpected and amazing experience of my entire trip. Amel's Dad took us for a spin in his BOAT!!! HE HAD HIS OWN BOAT!! Yes, I'll say it again, HE HAD HIS OWN FRIGGIN' BOAT!! It was a powerboat and flew along at maybe a 100km/h. And with a racing driver at the helm, it was exhilarating!! He moved the steering around like a toothpick, and the boat twisted and turned and splashed water at exactly the people he intended to drench! It was super cool!!!
Amel showed me the best-known of Marseille's sights visible from the sea, where Dumas based the Count of Monte Cristo, where Zizou's face was painted, (and now an Ol
ympic Marseille painted was put up), the Champs Elysees of Marseille, the Notre Dame, of course, and much more..!! A most memorable afternoon!Amel then had to leave with her family to go to Cavalaire for a family get-together. So I decided to make a quick trip down to Aix-en-Provence, which is like a 1/2 hour bus ride from Marseille. Before I got to the bus, Aga & I made a trip to the Palais Longchamps, which is a stunning palace in the heart of the city. Then I was off to Aix.
Its a pretty little town. There're absolutely tons of eat out places, a beautiful fountain, church, merry-go-round and the usual entertainers et al. I walked around from 8pm to 11pm, had a pizza and a beer and the caught the last bus, at 11.30pm, back to Marseille.
Aga took me out for a spin on her bike again, this time to show the Palais Longchamps by night, and it was absolutely magnificent. The next day was going to be spent packing, traveling back to Paris, and then eventually flying back to Bombay.My train was at 1pm from Marseille, and was to take me directly to Paris Charles de Gaulle via Lyon. I met a charming lady on the train - Frederique. She had a cute Jack Russel named Enjoy, and I was trying to tell her in Freninglish a little bit about India, which was like a dream destination for her.
Before I knew it, we'd blitzed past Lyon, all the way across to the North of F
rance, to Paris. At the airport, it was quiet. I had arrived at 5pm for a 10pm flight! With nothing to do and 100 euros in my pocket, I shopped for chocolates, wine and desperately searched for Made in Europe souvenirs (all of them were Made in China! X( ) It was time to board the flight then, and I realized I had forgotten to take my tax money back. When traveling in Europe, you pay VAT on everything, which is reimbursable at the end of the trip. But by then it was too late - a loss of about 50 euros (GRUNT!).I was looking forward to getting back.
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It has been the trip of a lifetime! So many fond memories...! I'm glad I penned at least some of em down on this blog. My laptop has been a faithful companion on the trip. Not once misbehaving, and light enough never to trouble my back. I've returned with at least a few shades darker skin, thanks mostly to my time in Spain. It would be next to impossible to pick a favourite place on the trip... All I can say is I loved EVERY moment of it!
Au revoir. Goodbye. Adios.
i like i like i like.
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