Allons enfants de la Patrie, le jour de gloire est arrivé...

Going to Marseille was supposed to mean sun and warm sea breezes, yet the exact opposite awaited us: rain, rain, cold, and more rain. It rained so much that several pairs of our socks were soaked, shoes waterlogged, and for some: umbrellas pushed to the limit.

There's definitely a thrill to going somewhere new, especially to the city that gave France's national anthem, "La Marseillaise" its current name. The first lines will forever be in my head, because my friends and I did a skit while singing it for extra credit in high school French class.

And even though I'd been to Marseille on a whirlwind study abroad trip in college, we'd only stopped for the afternoon to have lunch. Apparently, it was long enough for me to decide I'd wanted to be a teacher.

Six years later, I was back in Marseille for two days, wanting to give teaching a break, and with a different band of traveling companions. I've really learned that traveling and seeing places isn't really all in the sights themselves, but the people you see them with. The sights are just an added side bonus.

AJ, Jamie, Allison, Leslie, Maria, and I got on really well and I think that made our trip so good, good enough to laugh at the rain in its face.

Vieux Port (Old Port) as seen from Fort Entrecasteux. The boats give you an idea of Marseille's seafaring vibe. So will the variety of fish flopping around in plastic buckets on the dock. No one can say they aren't fresh.

View of Fort Saint Jean, marking the entrance to Vieux Port. I read that this fort was not intended to provide defense from the sea but instead from the city itself and uprisings against the governor. In the background is striped Cathedrale de la Major.

Here's Notre Dame de la Garde on a hill at night in the distance. Little did we know, AJ would take us on a hike through puddles and stone steps-turned-gushing waterfalls throughout the streets of Marseille. We thought she was leading us somewhere. She just wanted to walk around in the rain. Surprisingly, we all thought it was hilarious at the time.

Scene from our rain walk.

View of Marseille from Chateau d'If, a fortress made prison made museum, and setting of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Visiting France's version of Alcatraz, made me want to read the book, having known nothing about it beforehand.

Chateau d'If from the boat dock.

The island was relatively easy and cheap to get to, save the cold rain. Unfortunately, we sat inside the boat and not on top. This choice probably saved our limbs.

Below is a view of the other islands from the top of a tower.

Inside the Cathedrale de la Major and proof of my black and white photo experimentation. Apparently I was getting bored of color.

Hiking around the top of the hill on which Notre Dame de la Garde is situated, then watching the sunset while eating our gourmet cookies was probably one of my favorite parts of our weekend. I like being up high on hills, mountains, or even up on tall buildings. It's like coming up for air from the city or confined spaces below.

The view was spectacular.

Sunset (and that's got to be Chateau d'If in the distance) I'll just pretend it is..

Olive tree in the park of Palais Longchamp. Our last day was the sunniest and most gorgeous.

At least we had the morning.