Concluding Marseille with some Karaoke

Day 5, last day of the Marseille trip☹️. I already miss this trip when writing about it a couple weeks later, but our last day ended with a bang and concluded this trip in such a memorable way. Here’s what happened:

I started off the day with delicious hotel breakfast per usual, and today was a day spent in Marseille without any excursions outside the city. Our first group activity of the day was visiting the cathedral, La Cathedrale Saint-Marie-Majeure. This cathedral’s architecture was similar to the Basilique from the first day in Marseille because they were both built by the same architect! After admiring the cathedral we visited the le Mucem, or the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. This museum had interesting exhibits and a rooftop looking over the harbor of Marseille. After the museum we had lunch in this part of Marseille, which was a nice change of scenery and shops because it was on the opposite side of where our hotel was. For lunch I had a burrata salad and for dessert my friends and I discovered a cookie dough shop. We couldn’t miss the opportunity to try the cookie dough just in case we wouldn’t be back in that part of Marseille😉. After lunch we took the public Marseille bus to la Friche de la Baille de Mai. La Friche de la Baille de Mai is an urban cultural site which was once a factory. It’s now used as a community center, art gallery, workspace, playground, and a place to gather. We took a guided tour around La Friche. It was a light day for group activities since it was our last full day in Marseille.

A couple friends and I headed to the beach to watch the sunset for our last night in Marseille. I took a sunset swim in the Mediterranean and it was so dreamy: there was a crescent moon out that night with skies of dark blue and pink. After the sunset we walked to TopBun, the burger joint we loved from day 3! This time I got a veggie burger that was just as tasty as my smash burger from the first time we tried TopBun. While my friends and I were only expecting to eat dinner then get back to our hotel early, we were in for a real surprise and change of plans for the night. Our waiter asked us if we wanted to participate in Karaoke Night! We said absolutely, but only expecting to sing a couple songs then head out. My friends and I were the singers of the night, and basically the only participates in karaoke night. “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea, “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk, and some Adele with the TopBun staff were just a few of the songs we sang. We were the only ones hyped up in the restaurant though…no one else was cheering or singing, just us😬but hyping ourselves up made it much more fun😜. I usually don’t like to sing in front of people, but doing karaoke like this for the first time helped me let go. I felt so free, singing at the top of my lungs and purely having so much fun. The staff loved us because we were the Americans with so much energy; they said that French people usually don’t like to let loose and stay reserved most of the time. We had so much fun singing, dancing, jumping up and down to our hype music (which no one else got hyped up from), it was such a blast to end this trip on. We were in the moment for the whole karaoke experience that we lost track of time and had to sprint back to our hotel to make it for curfew😅. Wow, what an unexpected way to wrap up the Marseille trip. I wouldn’t have it any other way😎.

My final remarks on the Marseille trip are nothing but good vibes. I loved all of the excursions and group activities and it was a great way to bond with new people I didn’t previously know too well. My favorite activities from the week were swimming in the Calanque, swimming at sunset, and karaoke with friends on the last night. Everyday was a cheat day in Marseille with all the amazing food. My top favorites: Splendido truffle pasta and TopBun burgers! I will also miss the hotel breakfast and the unlimited mini chocolate croissants. Our first school trip was a success and one for the books. Thank you Marseille for the unforgettable memories!