France: Paris, Avignon, and Marseille - March 2026
Posted March 25, 2026 - — Photos. We made another trip to France, so Rick could work on his French speaking and comprehension. We started in the capital city Paris, where the weather was mostly rainy and chilly (reminding us of our trip to Florida earlier in 2026). After a couple nights in Paris, we took a night train to Marseille in the south, where we encountered a nasty little thunderstorm while we waited for our next train to Avignon. After spending couple of days in Avignon, we took a train back to Marseille, which is France’s second largest city. The weather was quite pleasant for the second half of our trip, which was nice since we were outside more often than in Paris. Rick feels like he did a decent job with his French, although he had his share of blunders. But all-in-all, it seemed like just about everyone understood him and he understood them!
01 - The French cities that we visited. It's about 475 miles from Paris to the Marseille/Avignon area.
02 - We booked a day-use hotel at the Paris airport, so we could catch-up on our sleep before heading into the city. Here's Julie outside the airport train station, after our refreshing naps.
03 - We then found ourselves on a very crowded rush hour train. The photo does not do the situation justice -- we were all packed-in like sardines.
04 - Passing through the incredibly busy Gare du Nord train station in Paris. We've been through there quite a few times, but never when it was so busy.
05 - Our hotel was near the Place de la République (town square), where earlier in the day, there were demonstrations related to International Women's Day. The Monument à la République (statue) is Marianne, the personification of France.
06 - Our hotel, with a very creative name -- "Hôtel Paris France."
07 - Rick, inside our modest, but comfy and quiet, room. It felt great to call it a day and get out of the cold and rain.
08 - Ready to do some exploring in the city center of Paris. Julie has found our upcoming metro stop on the map.
09 - Our first stop was the Hôtel de la Marine, originally the home of the office managing the furnishing of all royal properties. This also included storage of the French Crown Jewels.
10 - The Hôtel was also the home of the guy who managed the office that furnished all the royal properties -- it must have been a fairly prestigious position to have such a nice residence.
11 - We were at the Hôtel for the "Dynastic Jewels" exhibit. The exhibit followed European history to understand how fine jewelry became a political and cultural symbol.
12 - The collection included a sapphire and diamond tiara designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria, as well as jewels that belonged to Empress Josephine, Catherine II of Russia, and the British imperial aristocracy.
13 - A close-up of a tiara and broach set. In 1792, the Hôtel was the site of a massive theft of French Crown Jewels during the French Revolution. Most of the stolen items were never recovered.