Weather is warmer and the light seems brighter. Anne's knee has been giving her some trouble so we spent some time searching for a suitable knee brace, without success, and settled for a packet of paracetamol instead. Anne decided on a bath and a rest, while I set out to explore. Visited the Museum of Archaeology which had interesting Egyptian, African and Oceanic artefacts (including the mummy of an ibis the like of which I had not seen before), the splendid Marseille_Cathedral, and the new Museum of Mediterranean Civilization, MuMEC. There is a lot of money being spent in Marseilles, to establish it as a "cultural capital". The Museum is one of the outputs, and it is certainly popular. I did learn a few things while I was in there but the crowds and the layout of the collection made it heavy going. I like museums like the Musee de Cluny which are logically arranged and where the provenance of the objects on display and the relationship between them is explained, and where you are free to find your own way around and through the collection.
The public spaces around the MuMEC by contrast to the interior spaces, are very nicely designed, very convivial and open with fantastic views. Walked home through Fort Saint Jean which guards one side of the mouth of the old harbour. For dinner we went to a Tunisian restaurant for couscous which was delicious and relatively economical, then a twilight walk along the quay, then back to our room to admire the view from our terrace, looking over the old port towards the magnificent structure of Note Dame de la Garde which seems to watch over the city. We are looking forward to exploring more tomorrow.
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