I spent most of the day walking along the seaside, wearing only a sweater, enjoying the sunshine. It didn’t look quite so promising this morning when I woke up. Annecy was foggy and dark at 6am, and the steep hill down to the town was almost sheer ice. In fact, I had to clutch onto a chain-link fence as I descended, for fear of sliding down the hill into oncoming traffic! It took over an hour to get to the train station, something that would usually take fifteen minutes. Yikes!

My train ride was peaceful, and I enjoyed watching the countryside get brighter and (I hoped) warmer. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful, with dramatic hill and valleys, that I got really excited to arrive in Marseille. The train stopped in Aix-en-Provence briefly, and based on Peter Mayle’s high praise in “A Year in Provence,” I was sorely tempted to stop and take a look around, but I resisted.

I can’t say I saw much of Marseille at first: from the train station, I took the metro and then a bus. Unfortunately, there was no indication as to which stops were which and I missed my stop. I’ll admit it – I had a mild breakdown in the street when we reached the end of the line and I was in the middle of nowhere – but I pulled it together and found the hostel on my own. Okay, that’s a lie. I asked a lot of people for directions in very poor French, and they were nice enough to point me in the right direction.

The hostel is great! It’s very open, with a lot of common space. It’s colourful and cheerful, with a bar and pool tables and an internet station (they also have free wifi, which makes my job much easier). My room is adorable, and once again it looks like I’ve got it all to myself. And the folks at the front desk are all really nice and great at giving directions. I love it here!

Once I settled in, I set out for the Sea! It’s only a five-minute walk from the hostel, so I managed to find it without any tears. I’d never seen the Mediterranean Sea before, and I was giggling with happiness when I finally set eyes upon it. Between the beautiful blue water, the palm trees, and the fact that I was wearing a sweater in lieu of my winter coat, I was in heaven.

I walked all along the coast (which took me more than a couple of hours) until I reached the Vieux Port. It was getting on into the evening by the time I reached the busy tourist area, and I was starving. I had a quick look around, stopped at a restaurant for a quick chicken dinner, and then hopped on the hotel to go back to my hostel. Hey, I’d been walking for HOURS. I was tired.

I’m going to spend the night resting so I have a lot of energy for tomorrow. I’m going to need it. Marseille is a huge city and I’ve only got one day to see it all!