May 29…Nothing particularly riveting to report yet as we adjust to daily life, la vie quotidienne, in Marseille. But I have plenty of photos for you! So, allons-y, let’s go!

We made our way to Cafe Coogee several blocks away on Boulevard Baille, a lovely tree-lined street. Karen had found it online, and it was highly rated for working on a laptop. We met Yoann, who was very open to Karen working at one of their tables. She will expect to at least order a coffee to “pay” for her spot. No problem, said Yoann, who speaks English well and said she should come any time. As long as we were there, I ordered breakfast, an egg and bacon sandwich with pain grillé, toast. It came with a shredded carrot salad, a typical side with a sandwich.

I cared for little Sydney in the afternoon while Karen and John joined their group for a hike in the Calanques National Park. This consists of cliffs, coves and caves on the Mediterranean coast. It was a hot day, so they said it was very beautiful but exhausting. I would like to go there when it is cool enough, since I love to hike.

May 30…I went to a neighborhood boulangerie-patisserie for breakfast on my own, a little “me time.” What is a boulangerie? A patisserie? Basically patisseries sell sweet delicacies, and boulangeries sell breads. The difference is apparently more complex than that, but I’m not going down that rabbit trail today, nor do I care. Believe me, you will read more about patisseries in future posts! You want a great pastry? Walk down the street and there’s a place to get one on every other block.

Eating on the sidewalk also means shooing away pigeons sometimes! A gentleman put his food down on a table next to me and ran to get something. Before I noticed, half of one of his pastries was gone, and his coffee was all over the table. He didn’t seem too concerned. Okay!

Later in the day we went to the beach. I know, a beach is a beach, and this one was nice enough. The water was pleasant. No sand, exactly, just tiny pebbles, but it was ok on bare feet. Here’s a photo in case you want to see a scene on the coast of southern France. The Calanques are in the distance.

We had to take a bus and the Metro to get to the beach. After a couple of hours of Sydney absolutely flipping out in the water, we were all ready to leave. Boarding the bus was something else. There was a Jul (some famous rapper) concert downtown! I practically had to throw a couple elbows at some rude boys who pushed ahead of me, in order to make it on the bus with John, while Karen had to enter farther back with the stroller. Fortunately there were officials there to keep the peace, and he understood when I yelled, “Ma fille est là avec la poussette!” (“My daughter is there with the stroller”. Boy, am I glad I learned the word for stroller recently!) Don’t worry, it wasn’t actually as dangerous as I make it sound.

We made our way to Lulo Bar, a tapas bar that was one among many cafes and restaurants on a place (like a piazza) where hundreds of people were gathered at the outdoor tables for a pleasant Saturday evening. We were delighted that the entire menu at Lulo was gluten free. We had to order sample combinations of course, and it was unanimous among the four of us–yes, including little Sydney–that it was all delicious. The round things in the photo are empanadas with various fillings, and the basket of little discs on the right goes with the toppings (meat, beans, pico, shrimp, cheese, guacamole).

The view from Lulo was great too. In one direction were the cool cypress trees you see in southern Europe, and the view of Marseille in the other direction was amazing.

May 31…This morning we took the Metro to Eglise Evangelique Marseille Kleber, a charismatic church, where we were warmly welcomed. It was the type of worship where we sang worship songs and people prayed for the first hour, and then the pastor spoke for the second hour. I was pleased to understand most of the prayers of the worship leader, because she spoke slowly enough. The lyrics on the Power Point were also mostly understandable to me. But I learned something from one of the students in the Cru group. Did you know you can use the camera function in the translation app that comes with your phone, and read script in your own language? Wow, AI is really something.

We also used the conversation function of the translation apps on our phones, where the dialogue is input through the mic and the translation is both written and spoken. It’s not perfect, especially when the pastor spoke quite rapidly. Nevertheless we got the gist of his message, which was based on the fact that it was Mother’s Day in France.

Other than having to stand up in the back because my lower back was in pain from so much sitting, I enjoyed worshiping with fellow Christians in their own language. The best part for me was partaking communion together. Even in the US I feel most in united with fellow worshipers when taking the sacrament, and this was no different. It is amazing to share this holy moment, even with strangers.

The rest of today was a typical Sunday for me, reading and snoozing in the afternoon, and enjoying something good to eat in the evening. I did try something else in the afternoon hours. As a mixed media artist, I brought along a few supplies. I tried making a watercolor of the beach scene from yesterday. I am by no means good at this medium, but it was fun to try. I will not show you the result! All that matters is that it was fun, and I learned a little bit for the next time.

If there is one thing I have learned from fellow artists in online groups, it is that art is for one’s own enjoyment. Artists keep experimenting and practicing at what they like to do best. Like any skill, it just takes time. And that is what it is like with travel too. You learn as you go. Do what you enjoy. Take a chance and use your broken French. The results are usually good!

For now I’ll say “à bientôt!” See you soon!