Narbonne & Marseille!

Yesterday morning we docked at Sète in France. Our excursion for the day was to the lovely inland town of Narbonne, and to visit the nearby abbey of Fontfroide. Getting off the ship was a bit of a shock as the temperature was lower and there was a bit of wind making the short walk to the coach more brisk than usual. It was an hour’s drive to the cozy town of Narbonne where we found Christmas in full swing. We were dropped off by a very large decorated tree sculpture, and wandered along the Canal de la Robine through the Christmas market. In the centre of town sits the cathedral, much smaller than I am used to in Britain, but very beautiful.

Mind you, on the ground in the town there was no way to see this magnificence as all of the buildings butt up against each other creating the typical medieval town.

We entered a building, perhaps the town hall (not being able to wear the Bluetooth headset I cannot hear the local tour guide’s explanations) and walked up into the Cloisters, which is a square walkway with a vaulted ceiling around a garden where the monks in the Middle Ages walked and prayed.

The arches around this garden outline the Cloisters; with no glazing it must have been very cold in winter, but nice and cool during the summer as stone structures retain the cool. (When I lived in England and practiced the organ for hours in an ancient stone church, even in summer it was cold enough inside to require me to always take a thermos of something hot to both warm my hands and my tummy! No need for air conditioning!) Between each arch of the Cloisters, there is a small tower on which you see gargoyle water spouts sticking out. Each has a different head, frequently looking stupid or making an hideous face. I dearly love gargoyles! Inside the bubble is a modern Nativity scene. Above the Cloisters you see the cathedral itself.

I found some ancient graffiti. St. A. er - I wonder who St. A. er was???

In a corner we walked up another set of stairs into the cathedral itself.

The above photo is a part of a much larger scene which covers the wall in an alcove. You see the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, and below them in the mouth of something malevolent is a depiction of hell. Other parts of the frieze are much less dark subjects. The sad thing about this is how much is missing, having been destroyed in the French Revolution.

This Nativity scene calls to French minds not only its subject but the fact that in the French Revolution all such scenes and more were destroyed and banned. The people, whose faith was bigger than some of the ideals of the new state, made small Nativity scenes, crèches, in their homes, starting a tradition still alive today. One of our wedding presents was a lovely handmade crèche.

Leaving the cathedral we came upon a site familiar throughout Europe, a memorial to those soldiers lost in the 2 world wars.

We wandered through Narbonne’s Christmas market where I could not resist purchasing some typical French sweets, macarons. Later in the afternoon I looked at the little package that we had been carrying around to find that my 4 macarons, which should actually have been 5 according to the sign, had turned out to be only 3. I was ripped off by the vendor who, no doubt, heard my speech, which was not French, so pulled a little sleight of hand, not actually putting the fourth chosen macaron into the little bag. I was even watching him! Oh well, the French do have a reputation for not liking foreigners. Had I studied French and made the transaction in his language the result might have been different. I studied a lot of languages, but sadly, French was not one of them.

The violet macaron did not quite stand up to being handled much of the afternoon, but wow, was it good!!!

Back to the big Christmas tree, we boarded the coach which took us into the countryside for lunch and a visit to Fontfroide Abbey. The journey took us winding up through the hills and past myriad fields of grape vines. The area is famous for its wine. But where in France isn’t?

It turned out that lunch was actually at the Abbey. It was not only a time to meet a couple of our fellow thousand passengers, it was an exquisite meal, accompanied by a local wine.

Trout!

Chicken

Dessert, which tasted like English Trifle, topped with raspberry sorbet

After lunch we explored Fontfroide Abbey. The Abbey was founded in 1093. Its residents were almost eradicated during the Black Death in 1348, but its real downfall was, you guessed it, the French Revolution. In 1858 it was re-founded, but due to French legal changes the community was forced out in 1901 and the Abbey was abandoned. It is now owned privately, no longer affiliated with the church.

More Cloisters!

The altar

The other end. This is what we would think of as the entrance to the worship space. Not so for the monks. They entered at the side from the Cloisters. This door was only used when the monk leaves for the final time - to the graveyard just outside.

Back on board I sent Glenn to enjoy dinner and I went down to the Spa for a Swedish Deep Tissue Massage. Lovely!

This morning we docked at Marseille. It may only have the second largest population in France, but it has more acreage. On the famous Côte d’Azur in Provence, it was founded c. 600 BCE by the Greeks, and was later taken over by the Romans. It is quite cosmopolitan, not being far from Spain, Italy or Switzerland, or even from North Africa. One of Marseille’s claims to fame is in the film industry. Films like The French Connection, Taxi, The Count of Monte Cristo and Borsalino were shot here. Speaking of that, at least part of the famous novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas was set in a prison out in the bay. Our guide pointed out the castle-like prison saying it was from where the Count of Monte Cristo escaped. My brow furrowed. Wasn’t that a novel I thought? Then he admitted that it was just a novel and that no one had ever escaped from that prison. Château d’If is a fortress built in the 16th century, and was used as a prison until the end of the 19th. It is one of the most visited sites in Marseille.

As you can see, it was a very grey day. Still, we enjoyed our very brief visit to the famous city. We had an hour of free time so we found a place to have coffee and a pain au chocolate while sitting outside. Very French!

The view from the 1st arrondissement of Marseille. We were frequently petitioned by indigent people for assistance. Notice the pavement and the width of the lanes in front of where we sat. This is a main thoroughfare, yet the lanes are very narrow. Also notice the needles sticking up above the cars, which are the masts of the many, many sailboats in the harbour.

Upon our return to the ship we have continued the day resting, blogging and preparing for tomorrow in Monaco!