Once boarded, Steve found a very comfortable seat, put his bag in the overhead locker and sat down to relax. Within minutes he was asleep and the train hadn’t even moved off. The trip is very quick and in just three hours or so it will pass the Île de France, pass close by Burgundy, crosses the River Rhône east of Lyon and stops at Marseilles. A lovely trip through rural France that Steve had read about, but he was asleep and it was dark anyway. In fact, he did not waken until arriving in Marseilles (St-Charles station). Now it was just after nine o’clock and Steve wanted to go on to Saint-Jeannet, just outside of Nice. He asked at the reception desk in the station and was advised that a train to Nice takes about three hours and there was a need to change to another train to go a few miles nearer to Saint-Jeannet. So he decided to do that final leg the next day, he wanted to see a little bit of Marseille anyway, even at this time of day. Once outside the station, he had to descend a long flight of steps down towards the old port. He had read a great deal about it and once he had started walking, he thought a little about his surroundings. He was very new to all this and there were many people looking and leering at him as he walked by them and he began to feel a little uneasy. Marseilles was well known for its high crime rates and the more he thought about it, the faster he walked. After about fifteen minutes he stepped into Quai du Port, this is the main road running around the basin of the old port. He stopped and looked around, it really was beautiful. All the old buildings were golden and lit up and high on the hill he could see the silhouette of a church as the sun had just sunk into in the night sky. Around the port, there were lots of little stalls selling leather goods from Africa, confectionary, clothing and many other locally produced goods.
He now felt for the first time since leaving home, that he was ‘on holiday’ and enjoying it. Again, his phone was out snapping pictures all around him. A scruffy child, no more than ten years old came and asked him if he would like to buy a leather belt. Steve almost ignored him, just waved his hand as he was taken in with the scenery and the boy just walked away. There were so many people wandering around, couples, families and children everywhere. He walked further around the harbour edge, looking at the stalls and what was on offer, it was an amazing and very colourful experience. He did buy some peanuts; a girl gave him a sample. Those peanuts that have a sort of hard coating of caramel, they were delicious and he just had to buy them!
He continued walking around the stalls admiring the displays, munching away on his crunchy peanuts. He just could not believe the diversity here, there were all kinds of people doing all kinds of things, selling, singing, music and dancing. It was simply a hive of colourful activity. Now it was approaching eleven o’clock and Steve knew he had better find somewhere to get a decent night’s sleep, he hadn’t really slept well at all for two days and he felt dirty. He asked a man about a hotel, but he spoke no English at all. Just then, a lady in her early thirties came up to him and offered to help. She was English, had light brown hair, rather short and of a fuller figure. She seemed kind and clearly knew the area as she spoke French perfectly well.
“What sort of hotel do you want?” she asked.
Steve looked down at her “thank you, a cheaper hotel would be good” he said, hopeful that she would know of one.
She directed him to a small alleyway in the shadows and assured him it was perfectly safe to go there.
“At the end of the alley, turn left and you will find several” she said.
He did just that, he felt vulnerable though. Minutes later, he appeared at the other end of the dark alley and he felt as if he had just successfully walked the gauntlet. He paused, turned left and sure enough, there were many small hostelries that looked suitable. As he walked quickly along the narrow and dimly lit road, he saw a couple of figures below a street light, it looked like a stage set for a show. As he got close one of the figures stepped out into the light
“bonsoir m’sieur” said a female voice.
He could see that she was scantily clad and simply continued to walk by. As he did so, she stepped back into the dim light again and he saw a glow of her cigarette in the darkness, he knew by now that this was a “service” easily available here. Steve chose a hotel that looked nice, went inside, checked in and went to bed. His room was small, modern but fully equipped and just as he started to drift into sleep, his phone rang, it was Hannah.
“Hiya!” she shouted down the phone.
She sounded lively and full of energy. Steve was happy that she called, of course. He just wished it wasn’t right now, he was so exhausted.
“Hannah, darling” he said, “how nice you called, I was about to call you, did you get my photos ok?” he asked, pretending to sound eager and interested. Well, he was, he just didn’t feel like it and it was late.
“Oh yes, they’re great, I wish I was with you Steve, I miss you so much”.
He knew she meant it and truthfully, he missed her too. He told her so and suggested he call her in the morning, he was completely honest with her and told her he was exhausted and needed to sleep, she understood and agreed. And sleep he did!
The next morning he was woken by a lady banging on his door calling him. He looked at his phone for the time, it was 10:15! He acknowledged her with a grunt and he heard her walk down the corridor and back downstairs. He got up and looked out of the window, it was a lovely view and he couldn’t wait to get back outside again. His train on to his last destination was at 15:10, so he had a few hours to see a bit more of the city.
After showering and dressing into clean clothes he felt fully refreshed but breakfast was out of the question as he was so late. He went down through to reception and gave the key back. The lady said in a loud humorous way that he had slept well. Steve smiled at her and went outside He went back down the road the way he came, there were no ladies, no dim alleyways, it was bright sunshine and sixteen degrees. In front of the harbour where all those colourful stalls were, was now a fish market. He could not believe the transformation, a few hours ago, it looked like something from a romantic movie, now it was fish – everywhere. However, this was just as fascinating as last night’s little show as there were creatures laid out that he had never seen, naturally, this was the Mediterranean and they are normal for the region. He wandered along, looking at the different stalls again. It seemed that some dealt with smaller fish like Wrasse, Salema, Seabream and Pilchard, whilst others only the larger ones and some were very large, Dogfish, Swordfish and even sharks were on display. There were also plenty of crabs and other things with legs of all sizes and colours, it really was fascinating.
Time was getting on, it was already lunchtime and he soon found himself in a bar, ordering a beer and a cheese and ham toasted sandwich (Croque Monsieur).It was pleasant outside and he chose to enjoy it by sitting on a table outside in the sun. Then he remembered, he had to call Hannah and now he felt guilty, he was drinking beer, in a bar, in the sunshine! At that moment, the waiter came and asked if he wanted another and within minutes there was another cold beer on the table. He was annoyed with himself now though and felt selfish for a moment as a tall dark haired beauty walked past with a lovely smile on her face. She wore tight jeans and he found himself gawping at her as she went by. “Phone” he remembered. He immediately got his phone out and called Hannah. She was so happy to hear him, she cried!
“Hannah, please don’t be upset, everything is fine here, I am enjoying myself” he explained.
She asked where he was, what he was doing, what he had seen and so she got a rather excited but brief summary of the adventure so far. Hannah could tell he was still excited and understood this was likely the reason for him calling her late. So now it was time to finish that beer and get to the station. As he got up to walk back toward the station, a young man, probably in his late teens approached him. He was scruffy and Steve knew that this was going to be some sort of discussion, another ‘service’ perhaps.
“Hey, you wanna buy some pot, grass, cocaine, marijuana?” he whispered. Steve snapped “no!” and walked away briskly.
He hated that sort of thing and really did not want to get involved with anything or anyone to do with it. He realised, as he walked, that just about anything goes here, people seem to do just anything. Within minutes he was at the station and inside, he was getting excited once again, as he knew this was the last leg to his destination. As he sat into his seat on the train, he could still taste beer in his mouth and delved into his back pack to pull out a chocolate bar. He gazed out of the window as the train pulled off, wondering what was in stall next. “Would the campsite be far, would it be easy to find”, he wondered. Just then, a rather scruffy little man came and sat opposite. He was unshaven and thin and reminded Steve a little of his father.
“Bonjour” Steve said to the man.
He looked back at him “bonjour m’sieur” he replied, then he opened a newspaper and that was the conversation over.
Steve looked the man over, he was scruffy, but oddly, his shoes were strikingly sparkling and shiny clean. He had a small case with him, one of those really old fashioned brown hard cases with those old latch locks. Steve wondered what he had in it, where he was going and why, he just seemed so odd. He wore a pair of round wire framed glasses and they enlarged his eyes as he read his paper. Suddenly, the man looked up and he saw Steve was looking at him. He smiled at Steve and suddenly his face changed and he looked friendlier and warm. Steve smiled back and again, tried to break the ice.
“Do you speak English?” he asked the man.
“Yes, are you on holiday here” he asked Steve inquisitively.
Steve told him of his plan, where he was going and for how long. The man knew Saint-Jeannet well and told Steve the campsite was well known and was reputable. This was reassuring, as he kept wondering what it would really be like.
“What station are you getting off at” Steve asked.
“St Laurent du Vare, the same as you” he replied.
Steve had to get a bus from there up to Saint-Jeannet. Soon after, they were there in St Laurent du Vare, the train stopped and the little character stood up, took hold of his funny little case, said goodbye and left. Steve smiled to himself watching him through the window as the friendly little man walked down the short platform, then he was gone. It was time too, for Steve to disembark.