Marseille is the second biggest city in France. It's only about an hour and a half drive from Vaison. We often fly in and out of the airport there. Yet, we had never really explored Marseille.
For better or worse, that had to change. Our friends, Yann and Helene, live in Marseille and grew up near there. They offered to take us on a guided tour! So, on Sunday, that's where we went.
Here is Ed's review:
"Proof that not all parts of France are charming, this city is at once grimy, gritty, dusty, dirty, smelly and seedy. Not for the faint of heart, travelers to Marseille will note the conspicuous absence of grand boulevards, parks, fountains, statues, public works of art, and trees. While lovers of urban beauty may wish to skip Marseille altogether, "gastros" should visit the awesome Arab market (by far the highlight of the day) which serves the very large north African Muslim population (try the hot chilis!). If you do find yourself in Marseille, take in the impressive views of sea and city from the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, on top of a tall hill. Cross it off your list. Move on."
We were glad to have seen Marseille! Here are some photos:
Pretty Woman in Arab Market
Arab Market
Algerian Child Tastes a Hot Chili at the Arab Market
From Left to Right: Ford, Asha, Ed, Ronnie, Helene (one of our tour guides,
who in addition to being a native is a bio-chemist);
Notre Dame de la Garde in the distance
On Friday night, there was a block party at the end of the cul-de-sac, right outside the gate. It was sponsored by the city. City workers brought some tables and a big block party sign. Many people from the surrounding streets came. Everyone brought chairs and something to eat or drink (think homemade wine). The party started at 7 and didn't break up until 11. Here are some photos:
The mayor even showed up . . . on his bicycle:
So, that was party number 1 of the weekend.
The next day, Saturday, was party number 2: Asha's birthday party with all her school chums. She invited all the girls in her class and two lucky boys. The party began at 11 a.m. and ended at 2:00 p.m. (but coffee with parents at pick up time extended the actual end to 2:45 p.m.).
Activities included: hat wearing, run-around-the-yard, tie-dying pillow cases, eat lunch, pinch-the-girl-next-to-you-and-make-her-cry, semi-organized cheer of some sort, complicated treasure hunt (which they completed in 8 minutes), adult morale meeting, cake and ice-cream, open presents, run-around-the-yard-some-more, water-drinking (it was 85 degrees!), hide-in-Asha's-room, and drink coffee with parents at pick up time. It was fatiguing and fun at the same time . . . you know how these things go.
Here are some photos (and an action-video):
Only the Name and Date Have Been Changed
Part of the Group . . . I Think We Had 10 in All
Hugo, Ford, Kimberly
Seline, Camille #1
Camille #2, Asha
Manon, Nikita
Lola, Mattieu, Julie
Under the Party Table
Parent Coffee at Pick-Up
In this action video, Le General instructs the kids on tie-dying (this was important, as tie-dying is not well-known in France and none of the kids had done it before):
The whole thing was tiring. At the end of the party, all we wanted to do was crawl under a bush and go to sleep!
In Vaison, Tuesday is market day. During the winter it's a small market, but in the spring and summer it gets really big! Ed's mom inspected it at length and pronounced it GREAT!:
Ed and Ronnie and Ford and Ivy took a hike to Crestet . . . the tiny town on the crest of the hill. One of the good things about this hike is that there is a fantastic view at the top and ice cream too if you come during tourist season, which is officially "open" here:
Later, our neighbor brought over a bowl of cherries from her tree:
Here are more pictures from the parade last week (recently discovered on another camera):
The Pont du Gard may not be the coolest thing in the world, but it is definitely one of them.
The Romans built it 2000 years ago here in Southern France as part of their plan to move water from some special springs to the city of Nimes . . . a distance of about 30 miles. (They loved water and used three times as much per capita as modern city-dwellers). Anyway, the Pont du Gard was built to carry this water across a wide canyon with a river (the Gard) at the bottom. It is the highest aquaduct the Romans built, and one of their highest and most impressive structures anywhere. It is almost perfectly preserved now, 2000 years later.
We love to take visitors to the Pont du Gard because it is just so awesome. Plus, you can swim in the river at the base of the Pont du Gard and have a picnic and walk on the Pont du Gard. And it's pretty cool to have a picnic in the shade of one of the most impressive Roman structures ever.
It's been in the 80s here lately, so on Monday (a school holiday) we took Ed's mom to see the Pont du Gard. And, of course, we had a picnic and swam in the river. Ed's mom was game for a swim too!
Here are some photos:
In this video you can see why visiting the Pont du Gard is so much fun:
Here's another action scene:
Le General took the leap too. She's cool. Just like the Pont du Gard!
