[May 2025]

I’m here to tell you, those northern Mediterraneans will build ANYWHERE, no matter how precarious. We saw two smoking volcanoes on our trip, Vesuvius (and the Pompeians have rebuilt their city right back up the lower slopes of their pyromaniacal neighbor) and Stromboli (an island volcano that has been erupting steadily for two thousand years), both of which erupt frequently, often with complementary earthquakes. There are others lurking right next door, waiting to go kaboom. The Tyrrhenian Sea is like the mini Ring of Fire. Above left on the way up to Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille and on the right the base of the basilica itself. You get the feeling that everything is just hanging on like grim death.

The view from the basilica. On the left if you swipe in you can see the tiny island in the channel in between the mainland and the big island in back of it. Allow me to introduce you to the Chateau d’if, which should be familiar to fans of both Alexandre Dumas père and Mary Stewart. Marseille is the second biggest port on the Mediterranean (first is Barcelona, third is Naples) and the second largest city in France (after Paris, bien sûr).

The basilica from in front of our hotel. Marseille has a coastline made for a port and they utilize every single little bit and bight.

Like the tiny little finger of water here, seen from the window of our restaurant that night. Sorry Rob has his eyes closed. On the plus side you get to see some random French dude doing his Charles Atlas impression when he saw I had my phone out.

I loved Marseille, it simply crackles with energy. They appreciate their history while they’re busy making more.

Chatter Random Saturday