2019 Euro Trip – Marseille, France
In Arles, we packed up and checked out of the Wifi-free hotel. Walked 20 meters to the “A” bus stop and jumped on for â¬1 for the short ride to the train station. Fast and easy and cheap. Take that, taxi man!
We were able to walk onto the next train to Marseille in about 6 minutes. In an 8-car train we just happened to walk into the first class compartment, it didn’t seem to be marked on the outside. It was a nice short ride along the coast.
We got off the train in Marseilles and since our hotel is close to the airport, we waited for the free shuttle bus to the airport. At the airport, we pulled our suitcases for about 15 minutes to the hotel. The hotel was an “Ibis Budget” and by budget they mean “expensive, but crap quality but we’re close to the airport.” We checked in with a nice helpful young man. I got to my room only to find it hadn’t been cleaned from the previous customer. Since Jim and I were heading out to explore Marseille, I told the man and I watched him phone housekeeping to clean the room while I was gone.
We took the shuttle back to the airport, then got 2 round-trip bus tickets to the train station in the heart of Marseille. From there we took the subway 2 stops to the harbour. We popped up right at the heart of the harbour area, the sun-filled, beautiful marina is filled with boats of all sizes and surrounded by restaurants and shops. We walked to the end and then back. We stopped into a restaurant with a blackboard that said something like “Veggie friendly”. The very helpful waitress got me set up with a plateful of no-onions Middle Eastern food, so yummy.
We walked through the small streets, checking for a new pair of boat shoes for me but couldn’t find anything less than â¬90. We stopped for a beer at a small restaurant called “Texas Bar.” We decided to walk back to the train station rather than getting the subway and passed a lot of scooter shops through the hilly streets. We arrived at the train station just as our bus was getting ready to head back. We tried to “beep” our return ticket but it said it was out of money. Fack! We went inside the station and got into a slow moving queue for the single girl working. When we asked to get tickets for the ride back she said she doesn’t do that ticket, we have to go to the other side! Damn, all of that wasted time. We found the right guy and bought our tickets. From the cost of the fare, it turns out our original tickets were one-way only, despite asking for return tickets. Ugh.
After arriving back to the airport, we walked to the spot for our hotel shuttle and pushed the button and talked to the lady to get a ride back. Waited over 15 minutes and finally pushed again, she assured us the shuttle was coming soon. Another 10 minutes she arrives. It takes around 60 seconds to drive back to the hotel. WTF was she doing for 25 minutes while we were waiting? In hindsight we should have just walked. Ibis Budget. Argh.
I got to my room and it still hadn’t been made up! I went downstairs and gave the man the stinkyeye, while another employee almost laughed and gave me a room across the hall. I schlepped my stuff over to find that the batteries were dead on the aircon control so took them out of my old room. We walked across to the “other” Ibis hotel in the same cul-de-sac, and had an overpriced cold roasted veggie salad for dinner.
So a quick stop in Marseille, the city is much better than I expected but the buses and hotel were terrible.
Luckily, two uneventful flights and we’re back home again. All in all, I enjoyed the short trip and Jim’s company. Lots of good food and wine and adventures. Some of it sucked but you have to take the good with the bad.
