Month: July 2026

A Trip To Marseille – Part One

On By samanthaIn GOING OUTLeave a comment

I didn’t really want to go to Marseille. I had planned on going to Portugal and had been sitting at my PC for hours watching YouTube travel vlogs for suggestions of places to visit and stay, weighing up one hotel against another etc and was just about to check out of the booking website when my husband decided that he would rather go to the south of France. “Why don’t we go to Marseille?” he suggested. Slightly annoyed, I had a quick recce, again on YouTube for the best area to stay, the Old Port seemed to be the favourite and started the whole tedious process again. I had been dithering on the booking website for so long that a rep actually rang me and offered me a ten percent discount and threw in some luggage allowance as well.

After I had paid, I Googled Marseille and was not overjoyed to find it is labelled as “The Most Dangerous City in Europe”. Why hadn’t I just booked Lisbon instead? Fair to say I was not by now in the best mood. My husband thought it was funny and my dad thought we would all be murdered. Every time I mentioned to anyone that we were visiting the city they would say “ooh I don’t think I would fancy Marseille”. What an epic fail. Then a friend who regularly visits France told me it is actually lovely, especially around The Old Port which is where we were staying. The were right, it is beautiful and very lively with so much to see and do. I would quite happily have stayed for another few days.

A word of warning, the traffic in Marseille is madness and the drivers are very aggressive, the countless e-bikes and e-scooters are a real problem as they do not stop at zebra crossings and neither do motorcycles. We saw a man knocked off his e-scooter and the driver of the car who hit him just drove off. Instead of showing any concern or sympathy the other cars just hooted at the injured man lying in the road because he was holding them up. We also saw a woman’s car break down at a roundabout and the response from other motorists was brutal, hooting and shouting at her as she looked thoroughly panicked, fortunately some young men pushed her car out of the way. Good luck to you if you are planning on hiring a car.

We stayed at The New Hotel, Le Qui , which is situated in the Old Port. I would definitely recommend staying here, the beds were incredibly comfortable, the bathrooms stocked with L’Occitane toiletries and the air conditioning worked perfectly. The the hotel is within walking distance of just about everywhere you could wish to go. Just outside the door there are shops and restaurants. The only thing I didn’t like was that there was no safe place to leave luggage if you arrive before you can check in, the staff literally give you a paper ticket and your cases are left in the café area within touching distance of the customers which is not a satisfactory or secure arrangement at all. A taxi from the airport to the hotel was around £30.

The first place we visited was the Old Charity Centre or Le Centre de la Vieille Charité this was free to enter. Built in 1640 to shelter beggars and vagrants, today it hosts various exhibitions. We were curious about the various pieces of material draped over the stone work and then discovered these were part of an art installation by artist Adrien Vescovi. Over six hundred vintage bed sheets have been collected and reflect the site’s history, some of the sheets have rather movingly been used in hospice care. Many of the items were monogrammed with the initials of whoever had slept on them over the years. There is also currently an exhibition called Mémoires de la Méditerranée or What The Sea Keeps, the glass bottles in the photo below make a stunning exhibit.

After we had finished at the Old Charity Centre we had some crepes and coffee and then walked uphill to The Palais Longchamp in the 35 degree heat. There is a beautiful fountain at its entrance were two dogs were playing trying to keep cool. Designed by  architect Henry Espérandieu to commemorate the arrival of water through the Marseille canal, the palace really is a breath taking sight, It is completely free to walk around the surrounding gardens. On either side of the fountain are two museums, on the left side the Museum of Natural History, and on the right the Museum of Fine Arts which is the oldest museum in Marseille. Both were a welcome cool refuge from the sun.

We took a boat trip, lasting around two and a half hours, from The Old Port around the Calanques, the famous cliffs surrounding the national park. The trip cost around £200 for four of us and was probably the favourite part of my holiday as it was so peaceful. All the commentary is in French although there is a QR code which I believe you can scan if you have Air pods to listen in anther language. Of course this probably varies from boat to boat. The Calanques National Park is a popular destination for hiking and kayaking. Longer boat tours are available where passengers can stop off for a swim.

Of course, being a port, there is a lot of sea food on offer. My husband and I are both allergic to fish so we ended up eating mostly crepes, pizza and steak. Some of the food was not very impressive including raw burgers and cold lasagne. The price of eating out is comparable to London. There is a shopping mall called Terrasses du Port where you will find Uniqlo, Zara, H & M and all the usual stores. There is also a large food court with a burger restaurant called Black and White Burger, the black part of the bun being made from natural activated charcoal. My nineteen year old son ate here while we just had a cold drink. The view from the upper terrace of the mall is gorgeous but there is nothing particularly French about this shopping centre however the air conditioning made it worth a quick visit.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

First Visit To A Nail Bar

On By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

The last time I had a professional manicure was the day before my wedding, in 1994. It has just never been anything that I have made time for. I have never had nice nails and my hands always look awful, especially in the winter, red and swollen. I seem to do some sort of cleaning at home every day and also clean my parents’ house and, despite always wearing rubber gloves, my hands have started to look depressingly dreadful. No amount of Clarins or L’Occitane hand cream seems to make a difference. I recently bought some hand masks from Oliver Bonas and they have really helped so much, my hands look smoother and less irritated. My nails were however broken right down. I do take Oesteocare supplements every day and had hoped that these would help but no, my nails desperately needed some attention.

One reason that I never visit one of the dozen or so nail bars in my town is because the industry has such a reputation for people trafficking. I read many online reviews and booked into a salon manned by the two sisters who own it. They only accept cash which makes me think that they are not entirely honest with the Inland Revenue, this appeared to be the case with every local nail bar.

I arrived for my appointment and the technician was very friendly and went to great trouble to explain the options, pricing and the ongoing commitment for various treatments. I was hoping to leave the salon with a set of perfect almond shaped nails but the tech advised me to shun acrylics and go for something called BIAB. She explained that this a manicure that’s gentler than acrylic nails, but thicker and more protective than regular nail and gel polish. The idea is that the client’s natural nails grow under the protective barrier of the gel. The cost of this treatment at the salon I visited was £48 and this included a colour polish.

The technician applied a layer of gel to each nail and then the finger was placed under a lamp. She explained that some people found this a little painful. I found it excruciating and some of my nail beds were still tender the next day. Apparently this is due to “heat spikes” where the gel cures. I Googled and it did say that this is common when too thick a layer of gel is applied and I have to say that my finished effect is a little blobby. After the gel was dry I chose a lavender coloured polish to go on top. The whole procedure lasted for just over an hour. The sisters were super friendly, chatting about their children and holidays and I felt very at ease but I can’t say I am delighted with the result. I left a £10 tip, just over twenty percent, which took the bill to almost sixty pounds. I suppose the techs can’t work miracles but I feel a couple of coats of my Essie gel polish would have had pretty much the same result. I will go and have them “infilled” in three weeks time to see if I am happier with my nails after they have had a chance to grow a little. I am not really sure that I feel sufficiently enthusiastic to make this an ongoing appointment/expense.

I do have some Manicurist polishes, another Oliver Bonas purchase and I see that they sell their own gel lamp and a friend of mine, who has naturally lovely nails, gets her daughter to do hers at home using a kit by Mylee Neither of these options will provide the three week finish that a BIAB manicure offers but both would certainly be less expensive, the cost of buying the kit would be less than two visits to the salon. I may go down this route instead of spending what will amount to about nine hundred pounds a year on blobby nails. Perhaps this just wasn’t the right salon for my first visit.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

Cover photo by Photo by H&CO on Unsplash

Another Birthday Comes and Goes

On By samanthaIn FAMILY3 Comments

June is my birthday month , I am not a person who makes a big fuss about my birthday but I do like to have the day off work. Unfortunately, this year, my colleague was away on holiday (what a cheek) so I found myself working, from home as always. Fortunately it was quiet for once and I did pop out for lunch with my husband, we went to a pub called The Plough in a beautiful Kent village called Ivy Hatch. Eating out has become so expensive now, we both had a small glass of wine and a burger & chips and the bill was almost eighty pounds.

The Saturday before I had met a friend and we had afternoon tea at The Wolseley in Piccadilly. I hadn’t been to The Wolseley before and I probably wouldn’t go again simply because it was so packed and noisy I could hardly hear my friend. The tables are set very close together in order to fit in as many customers as possible I expect. Afternoon tea was about £50 and was pretty average but also half the price of many of the posh London hotels. I popped into Fortnum and Mason, which is just a few doors along, on my way home and was staggered at how much everything cost yet there were long queues of tourists at every till. It reminded me a little of the gift shops you have to walk through when exiting anything at Disney. I resisted the overpriced tea towels and mugs. I enjoyed people watching during my walk back to Charing Cross station in the afternoon sunshine and that was free.

I also went out for a pizza with another friend and have another pub lunch arranged for this week so perhaps I make more of a fuss about my birthday than I am keen to admit. I chose my own gifts from my family, all from John Lewis just because it is easier, some Clarins Serum, eyeshadow from Nars and earrings from a brand called Ottoman Hands in a gold hoop style set with a little green crystal. My daughter sent me a lovely personalised card from Moonpig decorated with photos of the two of us together over the years. A friend in Australia sent me some plum soap which smells delicious and some cute little flower earrings. All lovely gifts which I will use and appreciate.

On the evening of my birthday I visited my parents. My dad always chooses the prettiest birthday cards, I always keep cards from my parents and children. Mum, of course, had no idea that is was any sort of occasion and just told me to Bugger Off which is her unfortunate new catchphrase. Not everyone in their fifties, or at any age, has their parents still around so I try to look on the bright side.

So another year older, a few more wrinkles despite the various lotions and potions I apply twice a day. I am still resisting the Botox! All in all I am very lucky, not everyone is fortunate enough to reach their mid (not quite late – yet) fifties or to spend their birthday with friends and famiy.

Thank you for reading

Samantha