Sean pauses at the top of the steep footpath
Olympic Non-Sailing, Notre Dame, and the Journey Home, Marseille, France - 8th August 2024
It's the last half of the week in Marseille, and we head down to the sailing venue for another brutal day in the baking sun. There's even less wind than the last few days, and the men's ILCA 7s are laid up on the beach as their sailors hang around with nothing to do. Meanwhile, Hannah comes down to spend some time with the Team Snellgrove massive, do a lot of selfies, and continue looking for other sailing teams to trade pin badges with. The next day, Nosher and Hamish set off early to walk the few - but very steep - miles to the church of Notre-Dame de la Garde on the top of the hill overlooking Marseille, where the early start is made easier by the fact that Nosher has been up since about 4.30am. After we get to the church and have a look around, Hamish comes down with some sort of flash stomach bug, so we have a gentle walk down to the old town area and then get a cab back to the villa. Unfortunately, it's an Uber and as usual it's relying on SatNav, and so drops us off in a gated community that looks connected to where we're staying. Sadly, we get to the top of the very long hill to find that we're only about a metre away from the house, but it's on the other side of a locked gate, which means an additional two or three kilometres' walk to get home. Then, we meet up with the rest of Hannah's gang on the beach for a nice evening in the sunset, and after a quiet day mooching around the house we go out for dinner on the sea front with Sean's kids and Phil. Finally, it's a non-stop drive right across France, followed by a drop off at the Ashford Premier Inn and the return leg on the train to Diss on the following day.
next album: Camping at Weybread, and the BSCC at Cotton and Dickleburgh - 14th August 2024
previous album: Hannah and Olympic ILCA 6 Sailing, Marseille, France - 5th August 2024
The men's ILCAs are laid up due to lack of wind
Two boys shelter from the sun
Tipping water on the head is another option
There's a big contingent of Belgian fans
An Australian boxing kangaroo
Irish and GB fans on the pier
Hannah gets in a photo
There's a hug for Hannah
It's time for another selfie
It's another hot day crammed into the tent
Hannah shows off one of her home-made banners
Team support for Micky Beckett in the men's ILCA7
A Cayman Islands sailor comes over for a chat
Hannah swaps pins with the Cayman Islands
Another flag-waving photo op in the tent
Sean leans in with a gurn
Hamish roams around in the InterMarché
Hamish wanders the aisles looking for something
A faded green door with rescued number plates
The pool is nice and quiet
Proof that Nosher actually had a swim
Nosher and Hamish set off early for a walk
A dog guards a side street
Hamish points up to our destination
Notre-Dame de la Garde, or la Bonne Mère
A view from the hill
Inside Notre Dame
A stripey church
Hamish looks out over Marseille
A nice old telescope
A statue tells the world to shush
A view up at the tower of Notre Dame
An old-school cyclist fills up a bidon
Hamish walks down the steps
We narrowly miss a herd of cruise-ship tourists
Graffiti by a shrine of some sorts
Graffiti on a door
We head down a wide sreet to the old town
Banksy-esque graffiti on a wall
More intersting graffiti on a roof
A very high washing line with a solitary item
A curious Cosworth Vega
Up.Town music school
Down by the waterfront in Marseille old town
The marina in Marseille
Hamish walks about
A café sets up for the day's trade
Hamish shows off something on his phone
A building undergoes some renovation
La Tour de Pizz has lost a crucial letter
A statue by some fountains
Café culture
Hamish on the street
A throng of people is reflected on a shiny roof
Hamish waits for the cab to arrive
We're off to the beaches again
There are actual police snipers on a rooftop
Someone gets interviewed
Crowds cross the road near the InterMarché
We're on the beach
Hamish has a bit of left-over pizza
The sun sets
Sean stands around in the evening sun
A line of palm trees gives us some shade
Sean has a swig of water
There's some fishing going on
The gang on the beach
The sun sets over Marseille
People on the rocks watch the setting sun
The illuminated balloon seller does the rounds
The ferris wheel is lit up
Chatting on the beach
Sean signs the Hannah teeshirt
Hannah's teeshirt
Sean in the lounge
The bedroom is a bit of a tip
One of several terraces around the house
Phil, Sean and Hamish have a swim
We walk down to the seafront for dinner
Phil checks out an ancient Renault 4
Casey, Sydney and Rowan in the sun
Phil and Hamish
Hamish does one of his non-PC monologues
We load up the van for the long drive back
A heavily-graffitoed part of Marseille
It's just like the Hollywood sign
Rowan looks for stuff in the service station shop
We head back to the van
The wide empty expanses of midlands France
We stop for a wee at a packed services
The road is fairly busy
A tractor hauls around straw bales
A very French water tower
Hamish gives his van a little wipe
We're at the LeShuttle terminal in Coquelles
We're earl so have lots of time to kill
Hamish crosses a giant zebra crossing
Nosher's Premier Inn bedroom in Ashford
Waiting on Platform 5b at Ashford International
On the Hitachi Javelin to Stratford International
The train leaves Stratford for St. Pancras
A long escalator to the shopping centre
A long corridor leads to the world of shopping
It's busy at Stratford
London 2012 Olympics legacy at Stratford
Westfield shopping centre at Stratford
More passengers pile onto a packed train
The old Midwich offices in Diss are looking derelict
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Sean pauses at the top of the steep footpath
Sean pauses at the top of the steep footpath
The men's ILCAs are laid up due to lack of wind
Two boys shelter from the sun
Tipping water on the head is another option
There's a big contingent of Belgian fans
An Australian boxing kangaroo
Irish and GB fans on the pier
Hannah gets in a photo
There's a hug for Hannah
It's time for another selfie
It's another hot day crammed into the tent
Hannah shows off one of her home-made banners
Team support for Micky Beckett in the men's ILCA7
A Cayman Islands sailor comes over for a chat
Hannah swaps pins with the Cayman Islands
Another flag-waving photo op in the tent
Sean leans in with a gurn
Hamish roams around in the InterMarché
Hamish wanders the aisles looking for something
A faded green door with rescued number plates
The pool is nice and quiet
Proof that Nosher actually had a swim
Nosher and Hamish set off early for a walk
A dog guards a side street
Hamish points up to our destination
Notre-Dame de la Garde, or la Bonne Mère
A view from the hill
Inside Notre Dame
A stripey church
Hamish looks out over Marseille
A nice old telescope
A statue tells the world to shush
A view up at the tower of Notre Dame
An old-school cyclist fills up a bidon
Hamish walks down the steps
We narrowly miss a herd of cruise-ship tourists
Graffiti by a shrine of some sorts
Graffiti on a door
We head down a wide sreet to the old town
Banksy-esque graffiti on a wall
More intersting graffiti on a roof
A very high washing line with a solitary item
A curious Cosworth Vega
Up.Town music school
Down by the waterfront in Marseille old town
The marina in Marseille
Hamish walks about
A café sets up for the day's trade
Hamish shows off something on his phone
A building undergoes some renovation
La Tour de Pizz has lost a crucial letter
A statue by some fountains
Café culture
Hamish on the street
A throng of people is reflected on a shiny roof
Hamish waits for the cab to arrive
We're off to the beaches again
There are actual police snipers on a rooftop
Someone gets interviewed
Crowds cross the road near the InterMarché
We're on the beach
Hamish has a bit of left-over pizza
The sun sets
Sean stands around in the evening sun
A line of palm trees gives us some shade
Sean has a swig of water
There's some fishing going on
The gang on the beach
The sun sets over Marseille
People on the rocks watch the setting sun
The illuminated balloon seller does the rounds
The ferris wheel is lit up
Chatting on the beach
Sean signs the Hannah teeshirt
Hannah's teeshirt
Sean in the lounge
The bedroom is a bit of a tip
One of several terraces around the house
Phil, Sean and Hamish have a swim
We walk down to the seafront for dinner
Phil checks out an ancient Renault 4
Casey, Sydney and Rowan in the sun
Phil and Hamish
Hamish does one of his non-PC monologues
We load up the van for the long drive back
A heavily-graffitoed part of Marseille
It's just like the Hollywood sign
Rowan looks for stuff in the service station shop
We head back to the van
The wide empty expanses of midlands France
We stop for a wee at a packed services
The road is fairly busy
A tractor hauls around straw bales
A very French water tower
Hamish gives his van a little wipe
We're at the LeShuttle terminal in Coquelles
We're earl so have lots of time to kill
Hamish crosses a giant zebra crossing
Nosher's Premier Inn bedroom in Ashford
Waiting on Platform 5b at Ashford International
On the Hitachi Javelin to Stratford International
The train leaves Stratford for St. Pancras
A long escalator to the shopping centre
A long corridor leads to the world of shopping
It's busy at Stratford
London 2012 Olympics legacy at Stratford
Westfield shopping centre at Stratford
More passengers pile onto a packed train
The old Midwich offices in Diss are looking derelict