Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles

Hash Anyone?

After the Porte d’Aix, we came upon the Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles, Marseille’s main railway and intercity bus station. Here, and back at the arch, we noticed what appeared to be an above average amount of young men hanging around.  Difficult to articulate…it was just the vibe, the shady energy that we noticed….and was confirmed when Michael was approached on the steps of the Gare de Marielle-Saint-Charles by a young man selling hash. Michael played along for fun and soon more drug dealers were exposed within the crowds of people.  While nothing dangerous happened, it explained why we saw so many groups of younger men just hanging around. We witnessed, more than once, drug dealings happening as we walked through the narrow streets of the city.   We both agreed that there was a certain vibe in the city that we didn’t like.

I feel like she’s looking right at me!!

View from the top of the stairs of the city:

Notre-Dame de la Garde

View of the city’s best known symbol, the Notre-Dame de la Garde cathedral:

No Hash Today!

Michael returning from his hash adventure! The dealers were aggressive, putting the small product in his pocket, then asked for money. The “product” could have been anything, such as plasticine – that felt like hash – instead of the real thing. Michael refused to accept, and had to be aggressive, giving the “product” back and walked away. The drug dealers were hopeful that the tourists they pushed themselves on were naive enough to trust that their hash was really that.

S, 🇫🇷