5 Things From the Last 4 Days

THURSDAY 

Well, we had yet another day off because the month of May in France is packed with holidays. This one was for L'ascension, a Catholic holiday that marks Jesus's ascension into Heaven after his resurrection. I worked a little bit in the morning but we had the afternoon free to explore the city for a bit. 

Thing 1: I ran into the fish market at the Vieux Port. It was on my list of things to do but I just happened to walk right into it on my way home from work :) Well, I walked right into the smell and THEN I walked into the market. I included only one picture because I realized the other ones were a little gory. But there was what I am guessing was octopus, red tuna, salmon, and lots of other strange fish I've never seen before. 

**Grandpapa, je pense que tu aurais vraiment aimais parlé avec les pêcheurs :) 

Thing 2: To celebrate Ascension we went to Notre Dame de La Garde, one of the most famous Marseille landmarks. It stands on the highest point of elevation in the city so you can see it from pretty much anywhere. There's been something at the sight since 1200s but the current basilica was built in the 1860s. People sometimes call it "La Bonne Mère" (the Good Mother) and consider it the guardian and protector of the city. The golden statue on top is Mary holding baby Jesus. 

** Grandmaman, avez-vous célébré l'Ascension?

Inside

The view from Marseille on a rare cloudy day

FRIDAY

Thing 3: Kevin and I decided to go out to lunch since neither of us had thought to pack a lunch the night before. We were walking out of the metro and saw this beautiful little Brasserie called Le Terminus (by l'église de St. Barnabé). It was a mistral day (super windy!) but really sunny too and it looked like the perfect spot. We went to work and then went back for lunch.

We both got the special of the day and I when our plates came out we thought it was so funny! haha You always see people in movies accidentally ordering strange things in France and it actually happened to us! But we were excited to try it. 

The sauce in the middle is a Provencal specialty (that's the area we are in). It's called Aioli. It's made of garlic, olive oil, egg yolks, and seasoning. 

** J'ai appris que "coquillage" est le mot pour un mollusque recouvert d'une coquille. Je pensais que coquille et coquillage était la même chose. 

Thing 4: I tried Speculoos. It's basically the consistency of peanut butter but it tastes like gingerbread. It's too good so I'm gonna stop talking about it.

 SATURDAY

Thing 4: We went to Cannes--to see the famous Cannes Film Festival. Well, we knew we wouldn't get into anything since it's really exclusive but we wanted to see the city and maybe even spot some famous people. We didn't see anyone we know but we did really love being on the Cote D'Azur. The train ride was AMAZING.

 Jared at the train station in Marseille.

On the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival. 

In front of the famous Carlton hotel. One night in this hotel costs between $1,500 and $6,000. During the film festival it's probably around $6,000. That's just crazy.

 And then we went to the beach :) It was a perfect sunny day with just a bit of wind. The beach was sandy and clean and the water was clear. It felt like Heaven. 

Also, there were a million yachts out on the water!

SUNDAY

Thing 5: We went to church today and it was so good. The members here are sooo friendly and just really welcoming. There are about 100 people in the ward. 

Today we said goodbye to the senior missionary couple that was serving in the area for the last 2 years. They are from Ottawa so we hit it off right away :) 

Elder Stewart and Sister Rivers 

I already have my work schedule planned for the week ahead and I'm always excited to get back to work after a weekend. The only thing is that it's all going too fast! 

Coming up: 

Monday--Jared's birthday!!

Stéf