Marseille - Magnifique!

We both sleep brilliantly. Vicks (unsurprisingly) a little more brilliantly than I - but I'm not complaining. We spend the morning mooching around our apartment. It's a fab, if slightly strange, place. The building (I think) is from the Belle Epoque era (late Victorian to UKers...) and is decorated in a fitting style. 12 foot high ceilings, and lots of tall windows. V cool. Oh, but the smallest toilet I think I've ever seen.
We head out for a wander and to find some lunch shortly after midday. Rugby fans are a lot more evident on the streets of Marseille today - mainly Welsh, but a smattering of England, Ireland and Scotland fans in between. We even spot an Argentina fan at one point, but I suspect they'll be heavily outnumbered by Welsh fans for their Saturday quarter final. We park ourselves at an incredibly French bistro with an outdoor terrace on a square, and pass the time with a bottle of Rosé and some typical Provencale cuisine. We realise we're sat next to Welsh rugby legend, Scott Quinnell. Such is the way of things.
We have a wander around the Old Port neighbourhood, passing by a few pubs that are clearly engineered towards rugby fans and/or Brits/Celts. The 'Queen Victoria' pub is heaving at 2pm. The 'Temple Bar' similarly packed. There are 4 quarter finals taking place in the Rugby World Cup this weekend. We have tickets for the two games in Marseille on Saturday and Sunday at 5pm. There are then 2 games each day in Paris at 9pm. We'll head back to these pubs to watch the evening games amongst like-minded rugby fans.
We head back to our apartment, which is a short 15 min walk from the harbour, to clean up, rest etc etc. I manage to squeeze in a short nap. We head out for our dinner reservation down by the harbour. The food is sensational, and I have one of the best octopus dishes I can ever remember having. We amble around town, attempting to walk off our dinner, before finding (yet) another bistro with terrace to enjoy a couple of glasses of Provencale Rosé. These street-side terraces are amazing for people watching, and we while away an hour watching the world go by...Read more
Tim's Travels
Welsh rugby legend, Scott Quinnell.
Tim's Travels
Cuttlefish en Persillade
Tim's Travels
Grilled octopus with Camargue rice and chive cream - stunning....