Wilfred sweater (similar)
Mavi jeans (c/o)
Linjer ring (c/o) (similar)
Stella & Dot earrings
Location: Hotel Maison Saint Louis Vieux Port – Marseille, France
Marseille, October 13, 2021
Dear friends,
There is nothing quite so revealing as the honesty of early mornings. Waking up in a new city isn’t the same as arriving. The early excitement of arrival in a new place dissipates quickly, leaving in its wake the reality of being in that place, whatever it may be. As the sun rises over Marseille, we can see the city as it really is for the first time. City employees are already at work, washing yesterday’s grime from the gutters and streets. Frayed electrical cords dangle from faded neon signs, whose age and general state of disrepair is on full display in the morning light. Tired air conditioners, barely tethered to their window homes, drip languidly onto the cobblestones below.
This is Marseille, in all honesty. A city long past its prime, if ever it had one. In that respect, it reminds me of home.
I’m not the type to be put off by a bit of grit. This is why we often stay over night in new cities, rather than making simple day trips. Stopping in a new place to have lunch and take a wander doesn’t give you the same understanding of the kind of place it really is that you get if you spend the night. Places, like people, let their guard down in the early morning, allowing you to see them as they truly are. The honest face of Marseille isn’t a particularly pretty one, but it isn’t trying to be. Marseille is not trying to be anything but what it is, and I appreciate that type of security in people and places equally.
By the time the sun begins to near its peak, we’re packed and ready to climb the hill back to the train station. The return trip to Paris will prove to be long and stuffy, but worth it, because it’s taking us home. I can appreciate the honesty of Marseille, but the city is not a place I identify with particularly. It would never feel like home for me, certainly not in the way that Paris does. I’m glad that we visited, but sometimes, more than anything, I’m glad to visit new places because it deepens my appreciation of the ones I already know and love.
And of course, I will always love Paris best of all.
