Above - the bruschetta, just as I remember it.It's been pretty near to exactly 6 months since I left Marseille. The 15th June. I remember it well. The day seems etched in my mind if not because of the sadness then the heaviness of the luggage! Last Saturday I went back, minus the sadness and with considerably less luggage. I didn't go to bed particularly early on the Friday evening. I went out for chinese in Hove. When my alarm clock sounded and I came to I could hear wind and rain. I had originally been going to walk upto the train station and catch a train to Gatwick, but then I'd been offered a lift which involved walking up to Churchill Square (about half as far as the station) and catching a number 7 bus to get my lift to Gatwick. The rain put an end to both of these plans. The station may only be a few minutes walk but I knew I'd spend the rest of the day feeling damp and soggy if I walked it so I called for a taxi! It was the best £3,60 ever spent! I arrived at Brighton station and caught the 8h50-something train to Gatwick. I arrived at the airport 100% dry having only had to step outside to cross the pavement from my front door to the taxi. Now that's what I call service! Once at Gatwick I checked in and made my way to the departure area. Although the flight was never displayed as 'delayed' we were late in taking off. And, as I was flying in style with no expenses spared Easyjet it was one of those flights where, instead of giving you a seat number, it's a free for all. Now, this doesn't particularly bother me. I figured that if they've sold 100 tickets there are going to be 100 seats, I mean, no one's going to have to stand! So why do people insist on pushing and trying to get to the front of the queue?! It just makes for a stressful start to your holiday! I was quite content to be the last but one person to board the aircraft and have to go and find that last remaining seat. But I'll never understand these people who, after pushing to be first on, not only choose to sit themselves in an aisle seat blocking the other two seats in the row, but also put their seatbelt on and then look daggers at you when you ask them to move so you can sit down! The human population really are something else! When I arrived in Marseille I was pleased to be greeted with warmer temperatures, although only slightly warmer, and to see that it wasn't raining. I caught the navette to Saint Charles and very quickly found the youth hostal which was located just opposite the main train station. I dropped off my case and left to meet Angéline devant la pharmacie à 16h30. We descended la Rue de la République and visited le Centre Bourse when it started to rain. Nothing heavy, just a bit of drizzle. I noticed that there's a new supermarket which has appeared on Rue Colbert and there are also a couple of new shops that have popped up along la Rue de la République. We stopped in Chez Paul and I had an orange juice and then, towards 19h30 we went for dinner at Café Simon. I was just as I remembered it - delicious. I had the quatre fromaggi bruschetta which, having not had it for 6 months or more, was doubly delicious. After dinner we went home, or should I say that I went back to the youth hostal, showered and went to bed.
