Bridging The Gap

Matt and I have had a very busy couple of days.  I can't come close to remembering all the southern French towns and Spanish places we've hit during out drive from Marseille to Barcelona.  We've had some great meals, driven through some fabulous landscape in both countries, and seen a couple of remarkable sights.  The most memorable for me will be the Ponte du Gard in Vers-Pont-du-Gard (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard), and the Millaue Viaduct (see simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct, and ketknbc.com/news/25-of-mankinds-greatest-engineering-achievements, and www.nbcnews.com/id/6711265/ns/world_news/t/france-opens-worlds-tallest-bridge/).  Both are in France.

The Ponte du Gard is one of the world's best preserved Roman aqueduct bridges.  I've been seeing some ancient Roman aqueducts in my travels through Italy; but none matched this.  The Millau Viaduct is unbelievable.  Really.  It is an awesome bridge that has been haled as the tallest in the world, and has been lauded as one of the greatest engineering achievements in world history.  The pictures below unfortunately don't do it justice.      

Closing Out In Marseille

Matt and I finished up in Marseille today, and we enjoyed a little 5-hour side trip too.  We took the train to Aix-en-Provence and hung out there for a bit.  Matt did a semester there back in college, so let's just say that he knows the ropes in this fancy town of 150,000.  (What happens in Aix-en-Provence stays in Aix-en-Provence!!)  We took in a relatively bite-sized exhibit of Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and others at a local fine art museum, and made it back to Marseille by 6:00 p.m. for some drinks and another outstanding dinner.

We depart tomorrow.  Before arriving in Barcelona on Friday, we're going to take a day-and-a-half to drive through the south of France.  We have a couple of candidate towns to visit tomorrow, and we'll update you on our progress!  Au revoir for now.

The hot-spot place to see and be seen in Aix-en-Provence

Matt in his old stomping grounds

The best bouillabaisse burger I've ever had

Back in Marseille.  Met Vivienne (a devoted reader) on the street.  

Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier is one of the pioneers of 20th century modern architecture.  One of his most famous works is the Unite d'Habitation in Marseille. (See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unité_d%27Habitation.)  This housing development was built between 1947 and 1952, and is one of the most influential examples of Brutalist architecture.  Today, the development houses private apartments, a hotel, a restaurant, rooftop exhibitions, and a rooftop nursery school.  It is pending designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Sight.

Matt and I spent a little time today at the Unite d'Habitation.  We are cultured fellows who wanted to take in this historic sight of modern architecture.  For both of us, the rooftop sculpture exhibitions were the highlight.  But check out the views from the roofs too -- and have you ever seen such a blue sky? 

The Unite d'Habitation

Le Corbusier

Matt

More Marc & Matt In Marseille

Day 2 was pretty great too.  One awesome thing I did not know about is that Matt studied French in high school, and was a French major in college.  He still speaks it well, so that helps a lot in our explorations.  We might be lost at sea in Barcelona because neither of us speaks any Catalan.  But then we'll be in Cinque Terre, where I'll of course be speaking my fluent Italian! Not.

Some of today's highlights are pictured below.  We saw some parts of Marseille that are beyond the central port area, and we went on an outstanding 3-hour little cruise ride to the calanques.  These are fjords right off the coast of Marseille.  (See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calanque.)  Very dramatic and beautiful landscape, which was extra splendid on another absolutely perfect day.  We also had more awesome food, wine, and spirits from our morning coffee and croissants to our eclectic dinner at a fantastic restaurant named Malthazar.

Check out the mirror above this portion of the port-side street.  Very mod and stylish.  It's disconcerting to see the pedestrians -- and yourself -- reflected above. 

Where Marseille is relative to the rest of the Mediterranean

Pastis on the left, the dominant digestif in Provence.  It resembles the other famed anise-based liqueurs of the Mediterranean, i.e., sambuco (Italian), ouzo (Greek), and raki (Turish).  And, Suzey on the right.  Another digestif from Provence that we just discovered here.  It doubles as an homage to Matt's wife -- and my original friend from the pair -- Susie!

Marseille: You Heard It Here First!

With all this sublime, abstract, and decidedly modern art and architecture, forgetting your location would be easy.  Are you in Berlin? New York? Barcelona? Tokyo? Basel?  No, no, no, no and no.

I don't know what Marseille was like in the '50s or the '70s or the '90s.  I don't know what Marseille was like when Jason Bourne washed up on its shores in 2002's The Bourne Identity.  (Yes, it was that long ago.)   But I can tell you that it is now a visual feast.  Matt and I arrived in Marseille early this afternoon, and we spent a good part of the day exploring the port, a series of art installations, some galleries, and other cultural venues.  (They are not really museums — they are not that stuffy or formal.) While everyone describes France's second largest city as a gritty, shabby, and vaguely dangerous port town, that's not what we saw.  Marseille is sparkling.

I'm sure part of the luster is due to Marseille's designation as one of Europe's two Cultural Capitals of 2013.  But this rebranding must have been going on for a little longer.  There's no way such dazzle could take hold overnight.  However long it has taken, Marseille is obviously enjoying a renaissance. We enjoyed it too on this crystal clear mid-70s bright sunny day.  Here's a taste: