Not loving Marseille...

Since my last post was a bit short, I will take some time now to describe Nice. It was awesome!! So beautiful!! I will definitely be coming back here one day. Just sitting in Messina Square or on the beach makes you just forget about all your troubles. Nice is definitely a haven for old people. They're everywhere!! And they're so active. I don't think I've ever seen so many old people in spandex jogging. And they love to tan too. So many topless old people sunbathing. Quite disturbing. Even though it's winter, the weather was surprisingly warm. I guess it's more towards the south so it's still a bit warm. But I really wish I had packed some shorts. Had an amazing dinner with the two American girls that I met. Snails, lasagne, dessert and champagne for 14 euros. Absolute bargain!! And it tasted so good. It was a nice way to end my time in Nice.


Days 4 and 5: Currently in Marseille. Couldn't get to Barcelona as planned because it seemed like everyone was trying to head there after the trains had been cancelled for the past few days. So desperate to get out that I even headed to Marseille Airport and tried to get a flight out. No luck. Ended up staying the night in Marseille. Hostel owner was very nice and helped me book a flight to Madrid leaving tomorrow. That's right. I'm so desperate to leave the country that I paid $120 AUD to fly out. This also means I'm skipping Barcelona which is a shame.

Marseille is quite seedy and dirty. Dirty because the garbagemen went on strike and haven't picked up the trash for two weeks now. Seedy because it's seedy. I actually don't feel safe here. The hostel owner actually got robbed last night when she went out. I almost got pickpocketed today as I walked through the markets. Noticed three guys following me through the markets, and then one started talking to me about cigarettes or something in French to distract me obviously. I guess it did work because I actually was so distracted that I forgot to look out for the other two. However I had both my phone and wallet in my front pockets and my camera and passport zipped up in my jacket. Anyways as soon as the guy started talking to me, my hands were immediately over my front pockets. Kept walking trying to ignore the idiot but he kept following for some time. Eventually lost him as I approached some police officers (although I hear they're not particularly competent). I can't wait to fly out tomorrow, and I don't think I'll ever be returning to Marseille. Not really anything interesting here anyway. They have their own Arc de Triomphe which was OK from a distance but as I got closer, I saw that it was a home for hoboes. The only good thing that I found about Marseille was this chocolate/biscuit store that had some awesome fudge. That made me happy about being stuck in Marseille lol. Didn't buy too much though since it was 4.5 euros per 100grams.

But yeah, will be flying out tomorrow to Madrid so this will be the first hostel reservation that I will actually make on time. Hopefully from now on, since I won't have to rely on the French trains, I can actually start travelling according to my schedule.

HBL signing out from Marseille, France. Au revoir!!