Winter road trip part V - Marseille part 1.

Pauline's reputation at getting us good accommodation at a good price and location were put to the test on the Marseille leg of our winter rod trip. Above is the view from the window of our hotel room,we knew were close to the railway station and handy for the city centre but...anyway a chat with a slightly irate receptionist got us moved to the back of the hotel with a different view from the window.

Once we settled in, it was straight back out to take advantage of what was left of the day. The lady in the photo below,from Tunisia, had helped me by showing exactly where to enter the station and the direction to take to get to the Old Port but in talking she said it is actually only two stops on the metro,which with only two lines was easy to use. She actually helped us buy the tickets took us to the correct platform came off with us at our destination before going back down underground to finish her journey - how kind was she!

The metro exit brought us out at the Old Port from where it was a short walk up 'La Canebière' to the tourist office where we picked up our guide to the city before returning down to the port. 

Grand Carrousel de la Canebière Marseille

Could not resist stopping for a wee refreshment here - and it happened to be 'happy hour'.

We got talking to a couple of locals about the walk up to the Basilica Notre Dame which sits on the highest point of the city, they said it should take around half an hour but it is a steep climb. They did point out that we could use our metro/travel card and catch a bus tonight just by where we were sitting but it may be the last one of the night so we would have to walk back down. They did say looking over the city at night would be worth it!

We decided it might be an opportunity not to be missed so caught the bus up and we are glad we did! We got to the gates of the basilica just as they were locking up but we knew we would be coming back tomorrow for a daytime visit.

After taking in the views we headed back downhill to the Old Port to find a restaurant to have dinner.

We eventually choose 'La ferme , terre & mer'  Place Thiars we enjoyed a lovely meal and a nice bottle of red.

After dinner as were walking back to the metro station we went along Rue de la Paix Marcel Paul which felt like a Dublin street 

The Old Port at night.

Then it was two stops on the metro back the train station then a little walk to our hotel.  Although we had only arrived at 4.00pm we had managed 5.7km of walking and had a very pleasant evening.

Winter road trip part IV - Annecy to Geneva.

We had planned a bus trip (55mins) from Annecy to Geneva, allowing eight hours for a visit to the city before heading back but I should have spoken to my brother first. Richard used to travel to Geneva from Paris once a week on business and eventually made the journey on a day return basis as even though he was put up in a 5 star hotel he found it a very boring place, a reputation that seems to be frequently labeled against the city. Here is a summary of our visit.

On arrival we walked down to the lakeside for our first look and to see if we could catch a glimpse of one of the city's main attractions the 'Jet d’Eau' - we couldn't as it was either too windy (it wasn't) or it was under maintenance.

Then we headed up to the 'old town' where we stopped for lunch which was good,large and surprisingly not too expensive.

After lunch we headed up to the highest point of the old town to visit St Pierre Cathedral which sits at its heart. 

I found the mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Neoclassical styles slightly at odds with each other and the inside uninspiring.

The visit was saved however by the discovery of the 15th century 'Chapel of the Maccabees' attached to the southwest wing of the cathedral, something I am sure some visitors may miss.

View from the high ground around the cathedral.

A short walk from the front of the cathedral onto rue du Puits-Saint-Pierre and you will discover the 'Maison Tavel' described as a unique testimony to medieval civil architecture in Switzerland. Rebuilt after fire in 1334 by the Tavel family it now hosts a museum in which its six levels illustrate the city's urban development and various aspects of the history of daily life of Geneva’s inhabitants.

Not sure this would have been part of 'daily life'

This may have been however...

and these

There was an interesting digital visual reproduction of how the city developed over time as well as an extensive 3d model which kept us amused for a wee while.

Above is a view of the internal courtyard.

Snuck into the courtyard of the nearby Hotel de Ville for a nosey as well.

We walked around the 'Old Town' and along the 'Promenade de la Treille' which can be found at the end of the Grand’Rue and just below the Town Hall, it has a120 m long bench, supposedly the longest in the world !

It is a lovely walk with a view down to the Parc des Bastions.

Then we went walkabout along the streets where we did a wee bit of window shopping but everything was too rich for our blood.

Like this bottle of Islay single malt at 2,400 Swiss francs!

Then there were the Rolex watches and Mont Blanc pens.

It was interesting 'watching' these young skilled craftsmen through the windows of their workshops.

We finished 'shopping' and headed down to the English Garden and its floral clock only to find that had been dismantled for maintenance.

It also gave us another chance not to see the famous Jet d’Eau!

We had a coffee in the restaurant with the non-view and a final look over the lake before heading for an earlier bus back to Annecy after clocking up 11.7km of a walk.

 Below is the image we did not get - from the Geneva Tourist Office.