Greetings!
Yesterday we spent a family day in Marseille. It started with Keaka’s final hockey game, and first game back from his slight fracture to his right forearm. It seems as though the hockey experience has been a mixed bag, primarily because of the language difference, which creates a lack of comradre in the dressing room. Not knowing what the coaches and the other players are saying, along with the same thing in many school situations, takes its toll.
Recently, we mentioned our Marseille dinner at the Pizzeria Chez Etienne. You’ll see a pair of photos. Nothing great, simply because the lighting in the dingy neighborhood was not the best. But, you get the idea. The main stop yesterday was the Palais Longchamp (Longchamp Palace), which Marlene and I had seen last fall on a tram trip. It’s a beautiful structure with a park located behind it. It houses the Art Museum and the Museum of Natural History. The palace was created to celebrate the construction of a canal to bring water to Marseille. Construction began in 1839 and the building and park finally opened in 1869.
We were not able to get a consensus to go inside either museum, but we covered the property and navigated a step or two and got some photos. We went on one of those double-decker city tour buses (see the photo of part of the Marseille shoreline), which was fun, but we saw a lot that Marlene and I had already seen. But, it was a beautiful day and we wanted the kids to be exposed to the city. The journey from the palace to the tour bus at the old harbor involved a tram trip and then a walk down the main drag of Marseille. Thus, the kids had some experiences.
As an aside, we keep seeing the company Vinci. Especially, because Vinci runs the autoroutes around here and seems to be prevalent at many underground parking garages in various cities. I decided to look it up and discovered that Vinci is the largest construction company in the world. They purchased the Autoroutes of South France from the government, which works well for them, as they have the construction company to maintain the roads (they do a great job) and they collect some hefty tolls. And, the same can be said for the parking garages they operate. Vinci is just expanding into the United States, building a bridge across the Ohio River at Louisville and a big road outside of Atlanta. They also built one and are building a second toll road in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
Speaking of roads, most cars here are small and some are very small. By the way, I promise you I have not seen more than a dozen pickup trucks since arriving here. Ford is the U.S. car you see fairly frequently here in France. I ask myself why a Frenchman would purchase a Ford and I certainly can’t provide the answer. The most visible French manufactured car is the Renault. I’ve been told that Peugeot and Citron (same company) make better cars, but Renault is owned by the federal government (the state), so the citizens want to buy Renaults. You see Toyota, Nissan and Kia, but nothing like you do in the United States. The small Fiat you see in the United States is fairly popular here in France, also. We have a large diesel Peugeot SUV, and it seems like we drive forever without having to get gas. We got our first service at 20,000 kilometers, which Is 12,400 miles. How could the car not have needed an oil change for 12,400 miles? Oh well.
The Wilsons
