Reunited Friends and New Friends in Marseille

We were sad to say goodbye to the Dufoixs, but our next stop was to meet up with our friend, Whitley Worthington. Whitley has been serving a short term mission position down in Marseille, a large port city off the coast of Southern France. This was a fortunate opportunity as Whitley and Kathryn are close friends from college and our trip overlapped with her time in France.



Whitley had arranged for us to stay with Keith and Patti Moore, a couple originally from Annapolis, MD , who have been in Marseille the past 3 years doing mission work. A dynamic duo, we quickly discovered their amazing gift of hospitality. Also, they were both very encouraging in our travels and had provided great insight for our lives back in DC. Again, we were overwhelmed with the gift of these new friends. We instantly clicked and we hope to visit them soon when they return to the states in March.

As soon as we arrived, we jetted off to lunch at a French hotel/restaurant management school. Our meals were cooked by student chefs and served by student waiters. It was quite the experience! The food was delicious, and we were entertained as we watched the students nervously serve us as their “quintessential plump and proper” instructor looked over their shoulder verbally correcting and grading them. At the end of our meal they served a classic French pastry, "Galette des Rois," to celebrate the Epiphany.





After lunch, Whitley took us through a short tour of Marseille as we climbed to the highest point of the city, the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde. As the city is a working-class port town, it still has a charm to it with its beauty all around and in the city: the red slated roofs, the aqua-blue Mediterranean, the rocky Calanques, and the cobble-stoned, meandering streets. From our view from the top of the basilica, we could see the infamous Chateau D'If, which was the prison where the Count of Monte Cristo was held in the novel. Whitley also introduced us to an excellent new beer, Desperado!





On our last day in Marseille, Patti and Whitley took us to a small village nearby called Cassis. It was a gorgeous day with no clouds in sight, and the Mediterranean was shimmering like an aqua-marine gem. This was definitely a treat! We enjoyed a great meal of cafe-au-lait and crepes filled with cheese and various meats. Ron enjoyed taking pictures while Kathryn, Whitley and Patti shopped in the local stores selling provencal goodies.





It was difficult to leave Marseille as we had to tell Whitley and our new friends, the Moores, goodbye. The community and fellowship we experienced over those few days in Marseilles were much needed and we left feeling alive! We boarded our train to head to the Cote D'Azur......