Students on strike. Marseille

I just walked back from lunch and as I reached the Old Harbor, I ran into a strike. The students had taken over the street right by the water.

I took these pictures then crossed behind them to see the street... empty, no cars. Something that never happens!

I like old doors...

All taken since October 08.

Notre Dame de la Garde. Marseille

We took these pictures in October. On this one from le Vieux Port (Old Harbor) you can see far away, perched at the top of a hill, Notre Dame de la Garde. The basilica (XIXth century) dominates Le Vieux Port of Marseille. 

In Marseille, Notre Dame de la Garde offers a unique point of view of the city. When we tell people that we live in Marseille, the first thing they remember from a visit they might have made to the city is Notre Dame. Many people hike up the hill to the church mainly for the view.

This is where we realize how Marseille is so spread out. So many neighborhoods left to discover. 

Built by Esperandieu between 1853 and 1864 in the romano-Byzantine style, it replaces a chapel which dated 1214. Later, in 1524, It will be fortified by François 1st. I stole this picture from the web since we haven't found a way to fly above the town yet!

Everyone in Marseille refers to the church only as la Bonne Mère, the Good Mother. The habitants see the basilica as a real pilgrimage. They ask for the support of Mary for the fisherman, the protection against wars, diseases… and it seems to be working. The basilica survived mysteriously to the World War damages.

The inside is taken over by ex votos. In commemoration of Mary's protection, they include paintings, plaques, model boats, war medals and even soccer shirts given by players and supporters of l'Olympique de Marseille, the local soccer team. 

Christmas shopping in Aix en Provence.

With a friend last Thursday, it took us 30 minutes by bus to get to Aix en Provence and we spent the afternoon shopping. It was nice to get away from Marseille to go check out different boutiques. 

La Cathédrale. Montpellier

A picture of the Cathédrale Saint Pierre (1536) that we took when we went a week ago visited friends in Montpellier. 

No popcorn-crunching allowed!

In Montpellier, last week end, Sam pointed out an independant theater, le Diagonal, impressive for its selections.

Now, here is something that we would never see in the US...

In December they will be playing " Young @ Heart". I need to see if it will be in Marseille as well. This movie is coming out in France now but it was released in 2007 in England and the US. I'm looking forward to seeing it. Check out the video.

Add Persepolis to your list!

If you didn't get a chance to watch it on the big screen, you shoud consider renting Persepolis. It's a wonderful film (in french with english subtitles) that I saw last winter (thank you the Darkside!).

It started with a book.

"...Published in 2003, Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis depicts Iran's recent history through the saucer eyes of a feisty girl whose childhood is suspended by the 1979 Islamic revolution. At first, nine-year-old Marji is thrilled by the tumult around her, but as she enters adolescence she chafes under the restrictions of the new regime. Between art classes where chador-clad women pose as models, the teenage Satrapi and her friends secretly flirt, smoke dope, and swig homemade wine. You gotta love this girl: After convincing the fearsome female morality police not to lock her up for wearing a punk-rock jacket and a Michael Jackson button, she sneaks home, rips off her head scarf, and plays air guitar to a clandestine rock cassette..."

Then came the movie.

"...Now living in self-imposed exile in Paris, the 38-year-old cartoonist has produced an animated version of her memoir. The movie won the 2007 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize and packed theaters in Europe. An English version, featuring honey-voiced Catherine Deneuve as Satrapi's mother, Sean Penn as her father, and Iggy Pop as her uncle, was released in the States at the end of 2007..."

I really enjoyed the movie for many reasons, here are a few:

- It's a memoir and a poignant story. "... It is through the eyes of precocious and outspoken nine-year-old Marjane that we see a people’s hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power — forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands..."

- It's an animated movie in black and white, quite unique in its style. Refreshing change.

- I found the relationship between the main character and her grand mother delightful!

Now keep in mind that history here might be slightly revisited by Marjane Satrapi, not all critics were as enthousiast as I am. Some of them said: "While Satrapi’s animated film may be fun and visually enticing, historically, it is inaccurate and misleading. It is said that the film is aimed, primarily, at non-Iranians who, at best, have a partial and incomplete knowledge of Iran’s general history..."

April 8, 2008, we drove up to Portland to a Literary Art and Lectures evening: Satrapi spoke for an hour. She gave us a better insight to her upbringing, her motivations and opinions all in a broken English (yes, worse than mine) that I could barely understand, but it was worth the trip.

Boîtes aux Lettres vs. Mailboxes

Mailboxes by the Arceneaux. Marseille. 12/04/08

Mailboxes in Utah. August 08.

Chocolate, Banana and Chestnuts...

I've made this decadent dessert twice now... Well, it's decadent only if you like bananas and dark chocolate. I found the recipe on a french food blog and stole her picture just to give you an idea. I used chestnut spread instead of hazelnuts. Still works just fine! If you're dying to know the recipe in english, just let me know...

L'Hydroptère. Marseille

As we walked by the Old Harbor when I first arrived in October, Sam showed me l'Hydroptère. I went back yesterday and took some pics.

This trimaran has set two world speed records. I found a picture on the net while it's sailing... or flying!

Les Navettes. Marseille

Opened since 1781, the Four des Navettes, is again right next to our appartment. Rue Sainte. It's famous for its speciality biscuits called Navettes They are some kind of cookies flavoured with orange flower and they keep for up to a year. They are really dry and I can only eat them dipped in a cup of tea!

Paul Valery's house. Marseille.

A picture I took yesterday. This house used to be owned by Paul Valéry. It's right next to Saint Victor's Abbey and 100 meters from our appartment. Paul Valéry (1871 - 1945) was a French poet, essayist and philsopher. He is known for his poems le Cimetière Marin et La Jeune Parque. His poem Palme inspired James Merrill's poem Lost in Translation in 1974.

Saint Victor Abbey. Marseille

We live 30 seconds from l'Abbaye Saint Victor. I just stopped by and took a few pictures.

St. victor’s Abbey is a late Roman former monastic foundation, named after the local soldier saint and martyr, Saint Victor.

Saint Victor is said to have been a Roman army officer in Marseilles, who publicly denounced the worship of idols. For that, he was brought before the Roman prefects, Asterius and Eutychius, who later sent him to the Emperor Maximian. He was then racked, beaten, dragged through the streets, and thrown into prison, where he converted three other Roman soldiers. The three were beheaded, and St Victor himself was crushed under a millstone and then beheaded, after refusing to offer incense to the Roman god Jupiter. You just couldn't think out of the box back then or else...

In the 4^th century, Saint John Cassian built this monastery over the site where the bodies had been buried in a cave.

The belts were ringing so I had to zoom on them...

This is the view standing in front of l'Abbaye Saint Victor, le vieux port.