TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4
Little did we know when we set out on the flat, wide main streets of Marseille that our day would be defined by stairs, lots of stairs, leading to Marseille’s famous Basilique .
We crossed to the Port side opposite Fort. St. Jean. Broad, bustling squares bordered by cafes opened up to us. In one of them, we found a busy Vietnamese restaurant for lunch.
Our ascent to the Basiilque began on a wide, busy street leading to the Abbaye Saint-Victor, which was closed for renovation. We wandered over to the Universite Aix-Marseille and sat on a bench, enjoying the sun, a view of the sea, covered in whitecaps from a strong wind, and of people walking their dogs on a grassy hill.
BASILIQUE NOTRE DAME DE LA GARDE
Though we were already feeling the effects of the hill’s incline, the real challenge was ahead, in the form of a steep mountain path and a zillion steps to Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, on the mountaintop. The iteration of the Basilique that stands today was built in the 1800s. It took over over 21 years to build, but it’s history dates back to a chapel constructed in 1215. The site also functioned as a fort in the 1500s, thus the drawbridge to enter. This Basilique is the most visited spot in Marseille, popular as an Assumption Day pilgrimage destination, and looks down on the city, golden angel atop, from the city’s highest point.
As seems to have become a habit, we took the long way, which meant the hardest climb, up a rocky mountain path to old stairs (stairs to heaven?), many more than lead to Montmartre. The wind howled as we climbed to a 360-degree view of the city and sea with clay-roofed, beautiful white homes nestled in a hill of Mediterranean greens, palms, cactus and prickly grasses, modern apartment blocks behind us, sprawling clusters of apartment and business buildings, and the sea dotted with islands.
LIKE A SHIP
The church is so high it gave me vertigo, and once inside, it seemed to rock from the wind. It felt like we were on a ship. TheBasilique is small, quirky and golden. Wood boats danglied on strings from the ceiling, small framed paintings of boats hung salon-style, crooked and dusty ,on the walls next to displays of framed metals and coins. The golden inlay and patterns cover the church like a quilt with images of towns, lions, eagles, rainbows, peacocks, thyme, circles and religious icons. It all feels strangely cozy and quaint.
As we left, we lit candles and made wishes. We wound our way back to the old port, leaving on the other side, the shorter side, and passed through a parking lot and then down broken stairs to narrow, windy streets covered in graffiti.
