Trip to Marseilles & Film: 28 Years Later

Ah, our last day in Provence - I was delighted to be leaving. We rose early, packed quickly - our verdict on our accommodation was - hard beds (although, again, not as hard as the Aldstadt Hotel Zurich), indifferent cleaners - the first time they cleaned, all they did was turn off a light that had been left on: the second, they made the beds and changed the towels. This during a week's stay. But anyway, it was generally fine.

We knew where to go for the bus to the airport, and already had our tickets - so it was easy. Now, my companion had the excellent idea of heading to the airport first and dropping our bags - the website said there were left-luggage facilities in Terminals 1 & 2, and Terminal 2 was where I'd be flying from, so I suggested that. Unfortunately, when we got there, we were told it was only in Terminal 1. Off we went there, and deposited them - the guy was very confused to hear we'd be coming back at different times, but it all worked out in the end. €5.50 for a smaller case, a few Euros more for a large one. They close at 8pm. so that's the limit. And so we got the bus into town - I figured it'd have been cheaper to get a carnet of 10 tickets in the first place but never mind.

Now, my companion had the idea of going on a harbour cruise -  so, not really knowing what we were at, we took the Metro to La Joliette. Yeah.. see, it's hard to gauge from the map, but when we got off, all we had was a long, hot walk in the direction of something that might have been interesting. Along the way, we eventually came to Cathédrale la Major:

Now, with nothing else on the horizon, this was irresistible. We climbed the imposing steps at the front:

And from the terrace at the top of the steps - which corresponds to a higher city level, there are roads alongside that cars drive on - there was, undeniably, a great view:

We had terrible trouble finding an entrance to the cathedral, and ended up walking the whole perimeter:

Finally finding an entrance on the south side, we were glad we'd made the effort:

We eventually located a tourist office, only to find that we'd missed the only harbour cruise we could have taken - there was no way we'd have made it. Well, my companion spotted MUCEM (the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations) across the way, and wanted to go there.. and I'm sure it would have been interesting. But, to her credit, she asked me what I wanted to do - that, or lunch, followed by a hop-on, hop-off, bus tour with Colorbus, which we could see parked near us. And I was influenced by two things - firstly, my memories of hunger the day before, and secondly, the fact that I tend to favour sightseeing above everything else when I'm in a new place..

And so we went for lunch, at Les Voutes de la Major. Where I had steak, very nicely cooked, and service came with a smile.

And so, on to the bus tour. I'd picked up a brochure at the tourist office - instead of headphones, they provide an app, where they said you could get the audiotour. Eh - no. I couldn't get any audio - neither did I see anyone else using it. So, this was the first audio tour I undertook in silence. Having said that, it was also the most scenic!

Not only did we get a stunning coastal drive, but the bus wended its way up streets never designed for its like.. rounding one corner, we came across a lorry unloading pipes:

And not only it, but even the little Cinquecento coming down the hill had to get out of our way!

We went nearly up to the highest point:

I had an earlier flight, and my companion decided to get off somewhere in town, to browse the shops. I headed back to the Metro - albeit it was kind of hard to get the driver to stop - and thence to the airport. And I tell you, I needed all my time to navigate it - they're still making people present liquids in plastic bags, and they make you show your boarding pass before you go through the metal detector. Plus they pretty much unpacked my case, which I'd taken such trouble to make close, earlier, to discover that - of course - there was nothing wrong with it.

I hung around a bit, and when my gate was announced, made for passport control - had just scanned it and was headed for the gate when I realised I hadn't brought my coat! Now, this coat was redundant for my entire trip - but I wasn't coming straight back to London, I was heading to Ireland for the weekend - and it was a lot colder there! So I had to tell my story to a couple of different officials, who were then happy to open the gate for me to get back out again. Took a while to find my coat, mind - I'd forgotten where I was sitting - but mercifully, I found it in the end and back I went again. Some entertainment was provided with a group of American-sounding girls, one of whose cases was deemed too large for hand luggage. The standard refrain of "But I've taken it all over the world!" did absolutely no good, and she had to pay a €75 Euro charge to check it in..

And so, au revoir to the Med:

We were very late leaving, and late in arrival - but I had a good gap between flights, and there wasn't a problem. And so I went from 35 degrees in Marseille.. to 28 in London.. to 16 in Ireland. The Irish flight was early - delighted, mind, to see that they no longer play that trumpet refrain onboard on such occasions. No indeed - they email you a link to it, which you can play if you like. The cat was delighted to see me - didn't stop purring all weekend. She was light as a feather though, and ravenous - really, this policy of having people dropping around to feed her isn't working. I will have to find her a home..

With no word from my cousins about meeting over the weekend, I did my own thing and went to the cinema on Saturday - and wouldn't you know it, they were still showing 28 Years Later, which I never had gotten around to seeing! This much-anticipated latest instalment in the franchise is directed by Danny Boyle, and written by Alex Garland - both of whom worked on the original 28 Days Later - Cillian Murphy, who starred in it, is an executive producer of this. This new film stars the always excellent Jodie Comer as a somewhat deranged woman living in an isolated offshore community in Scotland, and Ralph Fiennes as the local weirdo, who lives on the infected mainland.

Earliest showing was in Ennis - so for dinner, I took myself to Supermac's beforehand! And oh man - it's years and years since I had one of their cheeseburgers.. but it's every bit as good as I remembered. Absolutely delicious. So happy I did that.. and wow, they do table service if you're eating in!

As to the film: so, it's a zombie apocalypse franchise. The makers deny they're actually zombies, but to all intents and purposes, they are. And nobody, I daresay, will deny the efficacy of the first 2/3 or so of the film - it's fast, it's pacy, it's scary. What a number of people have trouble with happens about 1/3 of the way from the end, and involves something of a twist. Now - I liked the twist. If I'd been reading the book, I would have thought this was an excellent plot development. This is exactly the sort of thing you do.. if you want to tell something other than a horror story: which, I guess, is what they're doing.

It's patently set up for a sequel, which I'm looking forward to. I think it could be very interesting. I have to say this though - when the mad Vikings appeared at the end, even I started to wonder whether the writer hadn't gone slightly insane.. 

Anyway, the film finished too late for me to shop - so I took myself in again on Sunday, and took the opportunity to eat in Supermac's again. And yup, still excellent.. with the accompaniment, this time, of the big match on the tv. And afterwards, a singsong from the teenagers in the corner. Nice venue!

And so, back to London.. and more to follow..