We arrived in Paris on Air France on June 27; overnight flight direct from Boston. We wanted to try Marseille, the city that has had a bad reputation, to see for ourselves. This was a good idea because we found a treasure of sights and sounds, food, sun, ocean and coast that is lovely.

The sightseeing around the old harbor was adequate for the time we had. We visited the Basilica on the harbor, the Abbey and the Cathedral on the hill.

The Basilica in Marseille.

The ferry headed to Tangier, Morocco.

The Basilica is a Byzantine Romanesque design from the mid nineteenth century that has exquisite and plentiful decorative mosaics and stone fittings.

A café occupies the street level in front of our hotel and we ate there often during our four nights in Marseille. Breakfast and dinner were there with the sunset in the back ground in the evening. The food was not exceptional but always good and the drinks excellent.

Our hotel was the Radisson Blu on the old port. The ambiance there is wonderful. It is the small boat harbor for the city, full of sailboats and small motor craft surrounded by a fine wide walk and many restaurants and bars.

The Abbey has the appearance of a military fortification, a necessity to defend against Norman raids.

We also visited the Calanques, former marble quarries along the coast that have become intimate swimming harbors for small boats.

During our time there, France won the World Cup in Football and there was much celebrating.