Adventures #2 and #3: Marseille and Cassis

I would have to consider our trip to Cannes as Adventure #1.  Since our official move to Aix at the beginning of this month, we have added two more small trips to our list.

Adventure #2: Marseille



Weird band in Marseille



Mark and I were trying to figure out what to do for our 2nd anniversary, other than a steak dinner at home.  We debated about going to Lyon for the weekend, but after buying a new TV screen for our apartment (much needed), we settled on spending a day in Marseille.  For 10 euros/person roundtrip, we were able to take the bus from Aix to Marseille.  Since we had gone out with Mark's coworkers the night before, we had a bit of a late start, but still got to Marseille by 2pm.  During our walk through the center of town from the bus station to the old port, we saw quite a few interesting sites.  And I'm not talking about the beautiful architecture.  We saw two protests and a really weird band.  The larger of the two protests was about Tunisia - they didn't want the former President to stay in Paris, and the smaller one had to do with the government - probably protesting the extension of the retirement age to 62.  On a happier front was the really weird band.  I think it must have been students, but they were wearing incredibly odd clothing and playing tubas, trombones and trumpets.  One guy even had a Batman belt.  I didn't get a good look at what was written on their collection box, but since there were 10 or 12 of them, I figured they were students raising money for their school band.



We could not have asked for better weather.  It was sunny and about 15 C (mid-60's F).  Mark and I found a table outside at one of the restaurants along the port.  We had tickets for a tour ride at 4:00, so we decided to just order a drink while we waited.  In one of my previous blogs I wrote about "customer service" in France (or lack thereof).  Well, this was another classic example.  Mark and I had been sitting at our table for about 10 minutes before the waitress finally addressed us.  She then asked if we were eating, and when I told her we were only drinking she replied that it would be 5 minutes because she wanted to have a cigarette first.  Hmmm...  We ended up spending more time waiting at the table then actually drinking our beer because by the time we got them we had to go meet for our tour.  At least we don't have to worry about tips!



View from Notre-Dame de la Garde





Notre-Dame de la Garde



After our drinks we took a little train tour through part of Marseille.  The tour started in le Vieux Port and passed by several forts, la Corniche and Notre-Dame de la Garde.  One of the forts was Chateau d'If, the famous prison from Alexander Dumas' novel "The Count of Monte Cristo".  Yes, it was a prison, but it was really neat to actually see the place that inspired part of the book.  One day Mark and I plan to take a ferry tour out to see the chateau.  Notre-Dame de la Garde was exquisite.  The golden statue at the top is 12 1/2 meters tall and weighs about 20,000 pounds!  This was Mark's first visit to a European church, so needless to say he was quite impressed with the interior of the basilica.  In addition, the view from Notre-Dame de la Garde at 531 feet altitude was breathtaking.  We could see all of Marseille, the various ports and the Mediterranean.

Following our tour we decided to walk through the town for a while.  We stopped at a few pubs for a drink and almost stopped at an Irish pub called O'Malley's (Apparently this should be a tradition - going to Irish pubs in every town we visit).  Sadly, O'Malley's was packed for a rugby game and we couldn't find a place to sit.  We did get to watch the end of another rugby match at a different bar.  It wasn't as exciting as the first match I saw, but anything is better than soccer.



La Prefecture



During our ramble we walked down one of the main pedestrian shopping streets, which I believe was called Rue Saint-Ferreol.  At the end of the street was a gorgeous building called La Prefecture.  At the time, Mark and I had no clue what the building actually was, but Brian informed me later that it's an administration building.  La Prefecture is probably where we will have to go to renew our visas next year.

Our last venture of the evening was at La Fetische for dinner.  Mark and I enjoyed a nice bottle of local wine and a fabulous meal.  Me: Caprese salad with pesto (diced tomato and mozzarella - slightly different, but delicious), steak and frites and an apple tart.  Mark: Shrimp with avocado spread, sashimi tuna and tirimisu.  It was the perfect way to end our day in Marseille.

Adventure #3:  Cassis

Brian and Joan came to visit us this past weekend!  They came in Friday night, we had dinner at our apartment (4-cheese stuffed shells and homemade meatballs) and then headed out to O'Sullivan's.  It was pretty crowded so we only stayed for one drink before venturing out to some new bars Mark and I wanted to try.  It was a long night, followed by drinking games back at our apartment.  Needless to say, we had a rough start on Saturday.  Well, at least Mark did.  Since Brian and Joan drove their car to Aix (a small car that still could not fit in our garage!), we drove down to Cassis for the afternoon.



Cassis



Yet again we had a beautiful day.  Slightly chilly, but warm in the sun.  Cassis is normally known as a beach town, and I believe it is very popular in the summer... especially with the boat tours to the Calanques (these beautiful inset waterways where people anchor their boats and spend the day in the turquoise water - a definite adventure for the future).  We found a table in the sun and enjoyed a nice lunch.  Brian's friend Nicole, from Nice, her son and her "manny" joined us as well.  Lunch was accompanied by some tantalizing rose wine from a vineyard 5 minutes away.  Oh was it good!  We tried to visit the vineyard after leaving town, but got there right as it was closing.  Then Brian wanted to drive us along the  Route de Crête, a road that goes along the cliffs of the Med with breathtaking views, but it was also closed due to too much snow along the road.  We were still able to find a path that led us to the top of a cliff overlooking Cassis to the west and Ciotat to the east.

After our site-seeing, we visited Brian's friends Lionel and Tiffany (he and Lionel had worked at Club Med together back in the day).  Lionel is French, and Tiffany Canadian.  They have a young son named Seven who is absolutely adorable.  What a fun couple!  We were only going to stay for a drink or two, but instead ended up staying for six hours.  We ordered pizza, tried some more fabulous wine and enjoyed great conversation.  I hope to see them again soon.



Lunch in Aix



Brian and Joan's visit ended on Sunday with lunch at a restaurant along Le Cours Mirabeau.  We were all decked out in our Bears gear and tried to stay in the sun during our meal (as you can tell, we mostly eat outside at restaurants - even in the winter).  Mark and I gave them a quick tour of the center of town and visited Saint-Jean-de-Malte, one of the churches in Aix, before they headed back to Perpignan.  I look forward to visiting them soon... possibly for a rugby match!

It's Official!

It's official - we live in France!

Our trip back to Chicago was longer than anticipated.  I arrived in Chicago on December 14 and Mark came the following day.  Unfortunately our meeting with the French Consulate got pushed back from the 15th to the 27th so we weren't able to spend Christmas with Brian and Joan in France or go to Palermo for New Year's Eve.  There's always next year, though, and it was great to be able to spend the holidays with our families in Chicago and go out with our friends again before the big move.

The visa meeting wasn't quite what I expected.  I thought we were going to have to sit down with someone and get interviewed, but all we did was hand our paperwork to a woman behind a counter, pay for our visas, and electronically get fingerprinted.  That was it, and it only took about 5 minutes.  The next day, while we were out in the burbs, Mark got a message from the Consulate saying that his passport was only valid for one more year, but it needs to be valid for 15 months.  So we had to drive back to the city on Wednesday to get Mark a new passport.  Luckily, Chicago has an expedited passport office.  However, I thought it was going to take another week for us to get our visas.  When Mark dropped his new passport off at the Consulate on Thursday morning, they told him to come back that afternoon for our visas.  After the stress of those past few days, it was great news to know that we would get back to France on the 2nd.  (Mark stopped getting paid on the 3rd if he was still in the States).

We flew into Barcelona via Pakistan International Airlines.  That alone was it's own experience.  The airline was very nice, plus it was a new plane.  We had our own tv screen with several American movies and tv series, although we spent the majority of the flight sleeping.  The food was fine... airplane food.  And the staff was really nice.  Yes, there were a lot of Pakistani's on the flight, and there were several passport check points, but all in all, it was totally worth it for a direct flight to Barcelona.  Brian picked us up in Barcelona (which was slightly stressful since my cell phone wasn't working and we just had to hope Brian could find us), but we did get to spend Sunday night at Brian and Joan's in Perpignan.

Finally, Mark and I made it to Aix on Monday afternoon and moved into our new apartment.  We did some shopping the following Saturday to get the last few essentials for our place; including an oven!!!  Yes, it's an oven that sits on the countertop, but it works.  On top of our excitement for having our own place (finally), Mark is thrilled that our Slingbox works (thanks Charlie!).  Now we can watch American television and not just CNN International.

I've spent most of my time walking through town to get my bearings.  I've visted the market practically every day and really enjoy cooking with such fresh ingredients.  Our first week here I bought fresh cod from the seafood market, and boy was it good.  Jill got me an amazing Provencal cookbook for Christmas that provided me with the wonderful cod recipe.  The best part was that Mark actually ate fish and liked it.

Mark and I walked through the outskirts of town our first Sunday in Aix.  It was pretty quiet since most places are closed on Sundays, but then we noticed a large crowd near the Rotund.  Apparently there was a big parade for La Feter l'Epiphanie which commemorates the end of the holidays.  The parade consisted of peopled dressed in traditional Provencal clothing and playing traditional music on flutes and drums.  Once the people reached la Rotund, several of them performed a dance while the crowd gathered around.  There were even three camels!  It was quite interesting and unexpected.  Afterwards, Mark and I walked through the antique shops set up along the Cours Mirabeau.  It seems to me like there is always something happening along that street, which is wonderful because it always tends to surprise me!

The next night was our 2-year anniversary.  I surprised Mark with a gigantic steak dinner.  We were both pretty excited that I found such a big steak in France, but our super market is great.  So was the steak.  I was able to bring some Chicago Steak Seasoning back from the States, so that definitely added to the deliciousness of our meal.  We may not have a grill, but I'm learning to improvise on a lot of things in the kitchen and bought a grill pan to use over the stove.

Wednesday, January 12 was a slight breakthrough for me.  I joined a group called International Friends in Provence (IFIP), an Anglophone group in Aix, and decided to attend the coffee morning scheduled for that day.  I went to the cafe, not really knowing anyone in the group or who to look for.  I just sat outside and hoped I would spot a group of people gathering together.  No such luck.  Eventually I spotted a woman who was looking around the cafe and had a very American-like resemblance.  An easy way to spot an American is by their shoes.  Most French will wear flats or Sketchers as "comfy" shoes, but Americans will wear your basic gym shoe.  She was wearing black, somewhat baggy clothes and white gym shoes.  I was able to stop her before she left and turned out I was right.  She was American and a part of IFIP.  AvisAnne and I took a table inside, and as it turns out she had met Mark during the Thanksgiving dinner he had been invited to for another Anglo-group I am joining.  She was very friendly and informative, and I'm excited to get more involved with these groups.  Mainly it was just nice to meet someone new.  Eventually we were joined by another two women, one French and one American.  The American, Valerie, lives in Florida but also has an apartment in Aix and another in Paris.  Valerie was also looking into joining the group, and she and I ended up walking around together after coffee.  She showed me her gorgeous apartment on the Cours Mirabeau and then took me to the bookstore in town with native-English books and DVD's called Book in Bar.  We had both planned to participate in IFIP's book club the following week, so we reserved copies of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (since they didn't have any copies in stock).  I was able to pick up my copy the day before the club meeting, and amazingly read this very intense, very philosophical book within a day and a half.  I met some more women at the meeting, all very nice, but of course all older than I am.  Still, I really enjoyed myself and their company.  The following day Valerie and I met for coffee.  Although she is 65 I must admit that I enjoy her company the most.  She was a former French teacher and now organizes a workshop each year for other French teachers.  Valerie has been so helpful and inspiring, offering up ideas on what I can do to practice my language skills, activities to keep me occupied, and even job ideas that could help me prepare for my teaching career once Mark and I move back to the States.  It's just a shame that she isn't in Aix year round, but perhaps I could go visit her in Paris! ;-)  The most interesting thing Valerie and I have done is visit an AquaGym class.  She took me to this gym facility (not in Aix), and we tried out the class.  I was so surprised at how well I understood everything, and it was a great workout, but I think I'll just join a gym in town.  As for the other women in IFIP, many of them have husband's who work either for ITER or Europocar.  I didn't get much of a chance to talk to them about what they do, but one of the women, Barbara, met Mark back in November, and she's the one who told me about all of these groups.  It was great to finally meet her, and she's been keeping me abreast of events for the Anglo American Group of Provence (AAGP), the other group I'm joining.  A lot of these events are coming up in the next few weeks, so it will be wonderful to be involved more.  I'm even hosting the IFIP book club meeting in February and possibly a Tastevin (wine tasting) for AAGP in March!

Since my days mostly consist of going to the market and trying new dishes, I feel that I should always have a small portion of the blog dedicated to my culinary adventures as well.  I previously mentioned the cod I made, which was fabulous, but nowhere near the phenomenal swordfish I made our second week in Aix.  Kudos once again to the fresh fish market.  The woman who sold me the swordfish even gave me tips on how best to cook the fish.  With those tips and Bobby Flay's recipe for Grilled Caponata, I was set.  To my delight, it was another success with Mark as well.  On a side note: Mark and I have come to the odd realization that in French grocery stores chicken is very expensive while pork is ridiculously cheap.  I bought 4 chicken breasts for about 7 euros and 6 pork chops for 3 euros.  Guess I need to work on my pork recipes.

Last weekend we visited Marseille as an extended way to celebrate our anniversary.  Details for that adventure will be given in my next blog.  Then, last Sunday we invited some of Mark's coworkers over to watch the Bears vs. Seahawks game and dinner.  Roberto is originally from Mexico and has lived in France for serveral years now.  He was pretty familiar with American football, so we didn't need to provide him with much explanation.  Gregory, on the other hand, is French.  He's a rugby fan, so he understood the basic concept of the points system, but we still had to explain a lot about the game.  Luckily he came before the game started and Mark gave him an overview to prevent too many questions during the game.  Now that I have watched soccer and rugby matches on television, I can see why Europeans can't get into football... there are so many commercials!  We are used to it as Americans, but I began to realize how disruptive these commercials really are when it comes to the action of the game.  That plus the fact that the plays stop so often (and it was a really long, slow game).  But Roberto and Gregory still had fun and enjoyed the game.  I guess we should've invited them over again this past Sunday... maybe the Bears would have had another victory.  C'est la vie.