Correspondances de Manosque 2010

Last week end was that time of year again when we go down to Manosque for a literary festival and hang out with friends. While Anne-Celine, Maxence, Jerome and Veronique are getting interviewed on their impression of the festival, Sam is chatting with Arnaud Catherine few tables further down.

Manosque 2010.

I had to post this picture of A.C. since I got the same one last year. The only difference... a bigger belly!

Manosque 2009.

Pascal, Elodie & Charlie

We went to the Alimentarium this week end. Before we walked into the "food" museum, we said hi to Charlie Chaplin who passed away in Vevey where we took this picture.

Wedding in l'Etoile. Jura. Mai 09

4 week ends ago already! Time flies by...

It was Pascal – my little brother –  and Elodie’s wedding. The perfect traditional rural wedding in the village where we grew up. L’Etoile.

 

l'Etoile's Church by Sam.

The day went this way:

9.30 am: pictures in the park- The civil ceremony at 10.30am

The religious ceremony at 11.30am. Followed by a first réception  until 2pm.

The formal diner from 3pm until 7pm.  And a big party  all night long with a buffet just in case!

A great time to visit with people I hadn’t seen in the last 15 years… A week end that just went way too fast.

Tough day for the little one...

He started early in the morning and didn't stop until he was done!! 

At the end of the day... my little nephew was rather tired. These pics were taken 3 weeks ago at my aunt's retirement party in le Jura.

Les Calanques. Marseille.

This Tuesday, Céline B. and I went for a 6 hour hike in Les Calanques. 15 minutes away from Marseille. What can I say but that it was just beautiful, quiet and peaceful. We even got sunburnt!

Cité Radieuse de Le Corbusier. Marseille

A couple of Thursdays ago, with Pauline, we stopped by la Cité Radieuse - the Radiant City. Sam had mentionned it for a while and I had wanted to stop by but it was not on top of my list. Probably because I'm not a huge fan and I probably don't know enough about urban architecture to truly appreciate it. But here it is,  I finally made it. 

View from the roof above and all three pictures below are taken on the roof. 

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Le Corbusier was a pioneer in studies of modern high design and was dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities. His career spanned five decades, with his buildings constructed throughout central Europe, India, Russia, and one each in North and South America. He was also an urban planner, painter, sculptor, writer and mordern furniture designer.

He believed that his modern architectural forms would provide a new organisational solution that would raise the quality of life of the lower classes.

In 1922, he presented his scheme for a "Contemporary City" for three million inhabitants (Ville Contemporaine). The centrepiece of this plan was the group of sixty-storey, cruciform skyscrapers, steel-framed office buildings encased in huge curtain walls of glass.

After WWII, Le Corbusier attempted to realize his urban planning schemes on a small scale by constructing a series of "unités" (the housing block unit of the Radiant City) around France. The most famous of these was the Unité d’Habitation of Marseilles (1946-1952).

Mum's birthday.

For Mum's birthday, we went to a lovely small restaurant in Pupillin. Jura. I didn't take a lot of pictures but my brother took a couple nice shots from the area. Lots of vineyards here, which means of course, really good wine. 

 

Dessert was amazing. Warm dark chocolate nems to dip in sesame caramelized sauce, with a touch of curry oil. And a litchee sorbet.  Yum! 

In french, Joyeux Anniversaire means Happy Birthday as well as Happy Anniversary. Works for both.

Why is everyone hiding from me?! 

Mum and Noé.

Who is Sam?

We met in 1984, he grew up 5 miles from where I grew up. We kissed once the last year of middle school in 1987. It was on a ferry between England and France during a trip to London with our school. And that was it for 20 years. We got back together in 2007. Among many things, Sam enjoys photography and comtenpary art, you can check his interests on this blog.