Sunday, February 26, 2012

Walk through Marseille

Thank you for the comments on the bag.
I knitted another bag in the past, for the same daughter, and did not reinforce it. Big mistake. That's why I tried to do better this time.
I too thought it would take ages to knit. But how can you refuse a daughter's request? The nice surprise was that it is crochet, not knit. And bullions are quicker done with a crochet :-)
For the shape, style and color, Alexandrine Rohart is the one to congratulate.

I'm still in a knitting fever, hence going to a knitting tea party in Marseille yesterday. If I can manage driving in Marseille, parking in the busy streets is out of my scope. I decided to play is easy, and to park my car at the entry of Marseille. As the weather was sunny and mild, I walked to the tea room instead of taking the metro. A good opportunity to see streets I never go through.
Here are some pictures.
 La Porte d'Aix: this arch was the end point of the road between Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It is now the end of the highway.
It was started in 1784 to honour the King Louis XIV. The project was abandonned during the French Revolution, then the Napoleon era. It was resumed in 1823, to honour the royal family and French victories in general. It is now in the center of a very crowded and exotic quarter, with heavy traffic, that undergoes a major renovation right now.
 This is a glimpse at Saint-Charles station, the main train station. It is difficult to capture it, since the station is on the top of a hill, with monumental stairs. It is a symbol of Marseille. People would converge from the North of Europa to Marseille through this train station, to continue their trip to Africa and Middle-East. Around WWII Marseille was well known for songs and musicals, and the station was part of them. It is still a main station, with the TGV bringing travellers directly in the center of the town.
A view of an old school.

 Pavillon de partage des eaux des Chutes-Lavie: this building (front and rear views) was part of the water distribution system of Marseille.
This is the Church of the Chartreux. It is not on the tourist route, although it deserves it. There was a funeral about to take place so I did not get inside. Maybe next time. Its story goes back to 1632, with hard  times during the French Revolution.

Two nice buildings on my way.
The Vierge Dorée was erected around 1857 to celebrate the dogma by Pope Pius IX about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was originally erected where the stairs to Saint-Charles station are now. It was moved to the current place (not very far away) in 1922 to build those stairs, while keeping the Virgin inside the town.
Just a graffiti...

12 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What a wonderful tour Vero. Thank you so much. Marseille is a beautiful town. I don't blame you for not wanting to drive in lots of traffic. I hate driving in heavy traffic. Love seeing the sun shining too. Cheers.

Bassetmomma said...

What beautiful pictures!!

neki desu said...

did you get to go to the tendances creatives show in marseille?

Remington said...

AWESOME post! Thank you for sharing!

Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts said...

Oh la la lovely! Hasn't the weather been just perfect? Marseille really is very pretty and you have captured her so well. Next weekend is supposed to be beautiful too, you'll have to go out again for us! x

houndstooth said...

What a beautiful place to visit! I envy you enjoying all that history!

georgia little pea said...

Europe has so many lovely old buildings. We're such a young country here by comparison. I love that you have knitting tea parties which I assume is where you drink tea, eat cakes and knit. Perhaps a community project like a quilting bee?

P.S. georgia was her usual self despite the thorn which was why i was so surprised when it came out. I suspect it must have been in that layer between the skin and muscle. If it had pierced muscle, I'm sure she would have wailed like with her tail lol.

Happy leap year! x

Susan Elliott said...

I have read the book Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas...it is one of my favorite books. so much of the story occurs in Marseille so I enjoyed seeing all your pictures from your trip!

There is a Chateau D'If swim that I would love to do one day!

Remington said...

Beautiful! I wish I could see those buildings -- that would be awesome!

47 said...

Great pictures! Thank you for sharing.

Wally said...

Love the photos.

nikkipolani said...

Somehow, I'm not at all surprised that you are attending a knitting tea party :-) What a fun way to pass the time with like-minded people. And your photos are Marseille are terrific.