Grega

Hi all again! Just thought I'd share with you my experience of Marseille and Toulouse with reference to the post I made 3 weeks ago here (Long post alert):

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=678499

First off for anyone who has heard tales that the French are rude I can only say that this is completely and unequivocally false!!! On my bus trip from the airport to Marseille city centre, my first opening gambit in lousy french: a request for how far it is to the Centre-ville, initiated a conversation between myself and a pleasant woman who battled in earnest through my poor vocabulary and grammar to understand what I was trying to communicate and afterwards went out of her way to find someone at the bus station who could give me precise directions to where my hostel was. It so happened she found me an english speaker. After we parted company, me bowled over with gratitude, and armed with directions in my head it wasn't long before a couple of french students I questioned did more than verify I was on a particular street, they walked me to the actual street where my hostel was!!! I can recant this tale in different situations over and over again...absolutely amazing people!!!

Anyway, Marseille is a beautiful place, though it doesn't manage to conceal the squalor that comes with being the 2nd biggest city in France it is filled with character; aesthetically it's a bit like walking into ancient history with their mono-coloured orange stone buildings. One attraction which stands higher than all others (literally) is the Fort of Notre Dame, it is a cathedral and shrine to (the supposed) Virgin mary and Jesus that stands atop a hill, I believe, 150 meters high and offers a fantastic view of the city and surrounding mountains if you have the energy to climb it. Look out for a seemingly random tank up there I found later was to commemorate France's liberation from the Germans in 1944. As well as this there is the "Corniche", popular with joggers it is a long stone bench hugging the coast line and is great to visit at night...there are other other attractions like the ruins of an ancient fort, an amazing park (with an incredible water fountain) and a myriad of other fantastic sights, many of which I learn now I didn't get to see in my 4 day stay.
Not that I ever uttered the insipid words "parlez vous anglais?" it became apparent that there are very few people in Marseille who speak English as their second language (and why should they???), but there are a couple of Irish pubs in Vieux Port and they seemed to be local 'Mecca's for english speaking tourists. (Incidentally on my first day I got chatting to a french old man in one of these pubs, who impressed with the effort I was making to learn his language, spent the best part of an hour chatting to me in French and giving me both oral and written education in French grammar!! (I carried my french-English dictionary and a notepad everywhere with me - the latter I used on a number of occasions to draw pictures of the things I couldn't express in words (it was a good idea on reflection!))).
One problem I did have though is my attempt to try out French cuisine! Being completely ignorant on such matters and having a dislike for most kinds of cheese (except the cheap stuff you get on Big Macs), I opted for "Boeuf Tartare" figuring it would be beef cooked and prepared somehow in tartare sauce. I was wrong...very very wrong!!! It was actually a dome of raw mince topped with a raw egg yolk. Suffice it to say I left most of it!!! All the meals which followed came courtesy of McDonalds

The 2 hostels I stayed in where hotel "Vertigo" (excellent), and "London-Connection" (less excellent)

After staying 4 days in Marseille I moved on to Toulouse, this place is a little bit more commercial than marseille and has a massive area for shopping if such things interest you. it also has probably the greatest museum I have ever had the fortune to visit: "Musee des Augustins", there is one room in there for which the only person who would not gawp in amazement is a blind person! A room filled with classical paintings, one of which if memory serves me correctly roughly had it's larger dimension of length being roughly 7-8 metres! (I'll have to check my camera later)...there are many other museums, and I visited some of them, but unfortunately they pale in comparison to Augustins. Toulouse itself is surrounded by a large canal and it was nice to walk along some of it with a friend I'd made in the hostel I stayed in ("la petite auberge de Compostelle" I think it was called...I recommend it) it has some nice parks and architecture but one negative experience I had there in my endeavour to find a particular museum was my encounter with two anti-helpful people (who would with a sincere smile point to the floor if you ask them where the sky was) which led to me being stopped and searched by the french police as I continued my walk with a distressed look of bewilderment and confusion into the middle of nowhere!

I've rambled on enough (and there is much i have omitted) I think, but overall it was a fantastic first holiday abroad, I met some great people and genuinely want to improve my french now so that I may one day return!

At some point when I get round to it i'll post a selection of the pics I took

Ka Ora!

Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit......

wetwang

excellent posting.
You missed out on a treat not eating your steak tartare and not appreciating cheese.

dennerlymum

So glad you enjoyed your visit to France; congrats on your endeavours in spoken french!!

G-J-B

Sounds like a great experience, and glad you foud the people warm and friendly (all bar two)...I daresay you'll be back when you get a chance?

Ray51

@Grega :
But the gastronomy has just to be one of the top delights , when visiting France ; personally , in almost 40 years or more or less frequent visits , which took me to virtualy every "department" , I can't remember a bad meal , not even in any self-service Flunch , nor at the grottiest-looking Cafe de la Gare ...
Maybe : read a bit on it , I recommend books by Michel Montignac ;
who knows , might yet result in you giving MacDonalds a wide berth in the future ?

dmu

Hi
the best part of a steak tartare is the plate of chips that they serve with it!

Ray51

Haven't had a steak tartare in many a year and I don't propose to have one soon ;
nothing wrong many other steaks in francophone lands
( N.B. cooked : bleu or saignant , naturally ! ) .
Served with assorted veggies ( legumes , preferably : light steamed only ) .
Bon Apetit !

Ray51

Another word about THAT steak ( tartare ) ;
it is very popular in francophone part of Belgium , especially with females
( here somehow they have some incredible , unexplained metabolisms , which enable them to feast on raw meat , mussels , pommes frites , baguettes and beer , while remaining thin as rakes ) ; they also often munch it in sandwiches ;
beware , the local name for it is ( steak ) "Americain" , so , if you make a mistake of ordering this item , do not expect a T-Bone , sirloin , rump or filet .

Martin Parker

Hi Grega,

Glad you enjoyed the trip. Shame you found two unhelpful locals, but as you said, the majority will go out of their way to help, particularly if you make the effort to speak French.

I think a good food dictionary might be in order for next time!! I personally wouldn't eat steak tartare either, even though I do like medium rare steaks.

Hopefully you are now hooked and will be returning soon.

Relieved to hear you liked Toulouse, since I was one of those that suggested you go there!

A bientot

Grega

Aye...returning to France is definitely on my to do list, I was amazed to discover the contrast between the average person I met in Marseille or Toulouse and the average person I met in Gatwick on my return to England in terms of their willingness to help another person!

Anyway here's a picture of that delightful meal that scared me away from further experimentation of foreign cuisine:

dmu

Beurk!
Where's the plate of chips?

Martin Parker

Definitely not my cup off tea! Some else to look out for and possibly avoid is Andouillet. Its a sausage, but not as you know it!! If you like tripe, dig in, else the smell alone will have running for the door!! Oh yes and gesiers. That is ducks gizzard! normally served in a Gascoigne salad.

A bit of investigation before you go next time maybe. :-)

dmu

I totally agree, andouillettes are frightful. OH adores them but I refuse to cook them because of the awful smell. He's quite partial to gésiers, too....
Chacun à son goût!

Grega

Ha..andouillettes; will watch out for them! Without the warning I'd have probably seen some description of the meal for which I could partly translate as ...sausage... and thought it was the traditional bangers type of sausage :]