As I have said many times, exploring this side of the world is a huge bonus of living in Algeria. When Sean and I got to the point where we couldn't take eating only at night during Ramadan any more, we were so fortunate to be able to jump on a plane to Marseille (south France). Honestly before we thought about where to go, I couldn't tell you exactly where Marseille is, but then again I didn't know where Algeria was initially either. Maybe I will finally be good with geography when I come back home.
Marseille is only an hour flight... and definitly beats anywhere you can fly to from Maryland in an hour. It was beautiful and so relaxing. We did some sight-seeing, swam in the mediterranian, ate awesome food, and took a boat trip along the coast to a smaller island. We were surprised how french-speaking people dominated the area, and communicating was tough. In Rome and Curacao (the other 2 places Sean and I have gone outside of the US- and Algeria doesn't count because no one goes their to vacation), we could always find someone who spoke English, especially at tourist attractions. We got used to information being delivered to us in multiple languages. In Marseille, we really didn't have a clue what was going on a lot of the time. Sean fortunately speaks some french, so he was less lost than me. While the food was great, ordering was not easy. I basically just looked for poisson (fish), fromage (cheese), and tomate. But as many have pointed out to me, I am basically as picky an eater as a child, and even the poisson and fromage would come with fish eggs, veal, or something other meat I find gross. In trying to ask a waiter what they had that didn't include red meat, he suggested lamb and steak. But eventually I found the sea bass option, and it was well worth the initial menu frustration.
I think one of the somewhat pathetic highlights from the trip was how much I appreciated our hotel with hot showers with water pressure and the soft bed. Back in Algeria, I couldn't even take a shower this morning because there was no water. And Algeria seems to have a lumpy pillow/hard bed problem. Marseille was the best sleep I've gotten since leaving America, and it was hard for Sean to get me out of the bed most mornings.
One thing I have to comment on is the "show" we saw out at the bar one night. We got there around 11, and were 2 of about 10 people there. We thought maybe it just wasn't the spot to be, but with Sean wearing shorts we couldn't get in to the other bar we wanted to go to. But before we knew it, the bar was packed. But what I need to comment on was the entertainment. Around 1am, a male and female got up on the bar and started dancing. They were clearly hired by the bar, and dressed like strippers (and I am still kicking myself for not taking a picture!) She had on a bikini top, and jeans that were cut up, pants length on one side and shorts length on the other side. He had on a black mesh tank top, cut up jeans, and clearly showing striped orange and black boy short underwear. In a word, it was "ew." I thought maybe it was a french thing, but no one seemed to really enjoy the show. The dancers looked like they were saying "aren't we hot? don't you want us?" Um... no thanks. I hope this is a european trend that never makes it to the states.
One of the best highlights was the new friends we made, Kelly and Ritchie. We met on our boat trip, and were immediately drawn together as the only people on the boat speaking english! You gotta love the common bond. After the boat ride, we had drinks and laughs (Ritchie loving my freak out when a big cockroach crawled on to my foot). We are so thankful to have met these Aussies, and hope we can meet up with them somewhere else in the world.
I wonder where in the world we will go next!
Marseille is only an hour flight... and definitly beats anywhere you can fly to from Maryland in an hour. It was beautiful and so relaxing. We did some sight-seeing, swam in the mediterranian, ate awesome food, and took a boat trip along the coast to a smaller island. We were surprised how french-speaking people dominated the area, and communicating was tough. In Rome and Curacao (the other 2 places Sean and I have gone outside of the US- and Algeria doesn't count because no one goes their to vacation), we could always find someone who spoke English, especially at tourist attractions. We got used to information being delivered to us in multiple languages. In Marseille, we really didn't have a clue what was going on a lot of the time. Sean fortunately speaks some french, so he was less lost than me. While the food was great, ordering was not easy. I basically just looked for poisson (fish), fromage (cheese), and tomate. But as many have pointed out to me, I am basically as picky an eater as a child, and even the poisson and fromage would come with fish eggs, veal, or something other meat I find gross. In trying to ask a waiter what they had that didn't include red meat, he suggested lamb and steak. But eventually I found the sea bass option, and it was well worth the initial menu frustration.
I think one of the somewhat pathetic highlights from the trip was how much I appreciated our hotel with hot showers with water pressure and the soft bed. Back in Algeria, I couldn't even take a shower this morning because there was no water. And Algeria seems to have a lumpy pillow/hard bed problem. Marseille was the best sleep I've gotten since leaving America, and it was hard for Sean to get me out of the bed most mornings.
One thing I have to comment on is the "show" we saw out at the bar one night. We got there around 11, and were 2 of about 10 people there. We thought maybe it just wasn't the spot to be, but with Sean wearing shorts we couldn't get in to the other bar we wanted to go to. But before we knew it, the bar was packed. But what I need to comment on was the entertainment. Around 1am, a male and female got up on the bar and started dancing. They were clearly hired by the bar, and dressed like strippers (and I am still kicking myself for not taking a picture!) She had on a bikini top, and jeans that were cut up, pants length on one side and shorts length on the other side. He had on a black mesh tank top, cut up jeans, and clearly showing striped orange and black boy short underwear. In a word, it was "ew." I thought maybe it was a french thing, but no one seemed to really enjoy the show. The dancers looked like they were saying "aren't we hot? don't you want us?" Um... no thanks. I hope this is a european trend that never makes it to the states.
One of the best highlights was the new friends we made, Kelly and Ritchie. We met on our boat trip, and were immediately drawn together as the only people on the boat speaking english! You gotta love the common bond. After the boat ride, we had drinks and laughs (Ritchie loving my freak out when a big cockroach crawled on to my foot). We are so thankful to have met these Aussies, and hope we can meet up with them somewhere else in the world.
I wonder where in the world we will go next!
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