June 24-26, 2017

June 24-26, 2017

Yesterday afternoon we fell out of the pan and into the fire moving from the heat of Tucson to the toasty120 degrees of Phoenix. It is just temporary. We spent the night and left for the airport before dawn. But it was still 90!

At the airport we boarded a flight to Chicago.  It is fortunate we left this morning, as yesterday afternoon flights were getting cancelled because of the record temps.

We had a long layover in Chicago made longer with a delay to change planes. We paid extra for premium economy seats. Aimee thought it was well worth the cost. Besides a little extra legroom, we had our two-seat row all to ourselves.

After an uneventful flight we arrived in Paris, tired and jet-lagged. Unfortunately we aren’t done yet. Our goal is to drive the countryside of France. So we hop on the train and take it south as far as we can.  Since we couldn’t be sure of when our flight would arrive, we booked the train four hours later. We are tiring of layovers. This is too much waiting.  Aimee wants to fire her travel agent.

We rode the TGV bullet train. It is not as nice as I remember and certainly not as good as the Japanese.  I think trains are going the way of airlines, and squeezing seats together. Four hours and 500 miles later we pull into Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. It is almost 6 pm. Fortunately, our hotel is across the street.

We check in and get a second wind and decide to do a quick check of the local area. It is a short stroll downhill to the Old Port.  Marseille is one of France’s oldest cities, established as a trading port by the Greeks in 600 BC.  The old harbor is now filled with modern pleasure craft, a giant Ferris wheel and a large mirrored roof that reminds us of "The Bean" in downtown Chicago.

We have a hard time picking a restaurant for dinner. We want to have some of the local seafood but neither of us is fond of oysters and mussels that are popular here. We opt for fish and calamari at a diner recommended by the hotel.