Harbour as sun rises…
The Fish Market. 
The Vieux Port’s hottest spot. Marseille wisely decided to preserve it right on the quay with the boats landing their catch from 9 am on…because it really brings to life the harbour, it’s raffish among the sleek tourist boats and posh yachts……I don’t imagine the wonderful bass Iate last night came from the market, the rest probably have their own boats contracted….I see some fish being brought to the market by van and laid out for sale…
Here’s the oldest fisherman who sells St.Lucy periwinkles called L’Oeil de St. Lucy…, St Lucy was a Christian martyr, difficult to sample them at
this moment…
Live fish are now being landed…..the pink fish on the left is the RASCASSE, the toxic scorpion fish essential for Bouillabaisse
now I realize my camera memory is low. One of the benefits of Vieux Port as tourist hub is that it’s only a couple of blocks to Centre Bourse, a big shopping centre of the main drag Canabiere….Finac is a good tech store, i buy 4gb memory for around $20, and a iPad cable for $10. As I leave I check the prices in Galeries Lafayette. Oh la la, about 25-30 percent higher than Toronto.
Camera renewed, I walk along the Rive Gauche looking for the Free Ferry……It glides across the harbour to the Town Hall, a handsome building designed by Mansard.
…….The luxury apartments which flank the town hall were built in the fifties because the port was heavily bombed in world war II. I walk past them to Madie’s, Fellow guests at my hotel, Kiwi rugger players recommend it highly as a hang…right on the harbour of course with a great view of notre dame….Madie is the ebullient owner who has hung the walls with paintings by local artists….Food is friendly, a dish of baby clams with a creamy thyme sauce …
The house special is the local galinette, a pinkish fish, a gurnard I think…..hearty meal…Interesting, this simple lunch is almost as expensive as last night’s diner, but then i guess harbour side commands premium prices.
Dinner is at Peron, along the coast and perched spectacularly on the rocks. Beneath us a lonely fisherman is catching our dinner. 
We sit on woodsy planks by the window…an amuse arrives, cucumber diced in guacamole, little triangle toast….A tartare which turns out to be cooked shrimp, langoustine, octopus, coriander jelly and white foam. More wonderfully fresh fish, this time cod with pureed carrots and cardamom…
dessert is astringently splendid, pineapple ravioli, cream of pineapple, granita, little glass of crushed pineapple…
