An American in France: The Day so Big it Needed Two Posts

From the exterior, Notre Dame de la Garde has a similar style to any number of European buildings, but the views are well worth the embarrassment of the tourist train!

The interior is also worth a visit as it is quite elaborate and includes these amazing hanging boats! At a certain point, cathedrals and castles can all start to look alike so the local touches make a difference.

After ND, I went to check out the Fort St-Jean. There's really nothing left of the history that's explained there, so you have to find it yourself, but it provides great views of the sea. It's also attached by a pedestrian bridge to this monstrosity:

I thought it was the art museum, but turns out it's the "civilization" museum (called MuCEM, which sounds like something you hack up). They had a current exhibit on Algerian maps that was fascinating and explained the development of cartography and its use in invading Algeria.

I decided it was time for a brief nap because I was dragging hard! These poor boots have logged some serious mileage here! No worse foot fatigue than I've had with sneakers though - really love these shoes! I've recently started investing in high-quality footwear and so far, it's worth the upgrade in price.

Here are a few quick pics of the city - cool building, France moves forward & yet doesn't forget, Metro art & Abbaye St Victor.

Also, proof people are idiots in all countries (with defacing a historical fort):

I ended my day at the Palais de Pharo, which is an administrative building now, but has large grounds that are popular with locals - from young couples holding hands to families with a picnic playing soccer to the elderly out for a stroll.