After Philippa had left it was quiet as the appartment was empty. On Saturday I met Aimée and Julie (a french student from Aix university who Aimée knows because she's taking courses there) at Saint Charles. We were going to show Julie around Marseille. It was a bit chilly and quite windy so after having walked to Le Palais Longchamps Aimée and Julie decided they wanted to go to the cinema in the afternoon. There wasn't time to go to Le Palais de Pharo, come back and have dinner before the film so we just went down to La Prefecture to have lunch. We went to a vietnamese resteaurant. After lunch Aimée and Julie went to the cinema and I went to meet Angéline - we were going to Parc Borely. The weather had improved - the wind had died down and the sun was warm. After me and Angéline had been to Parc Borély we went to Monoprix at Rond Point and randomally bumped into Aimée and Julie who were just on their way to Parc Borély after having watched the film! Aimée wasn't quite sure where Parc Borély was so we pointed her in the right direction and then me and Angéline went home.
On Sunday I went to the cinema to see a French film - Disco. It's a comedy and very good.
On Monday I met Joe at Notre Dame du Mont and we went for coffee and to do some shopping. I hadn't seen him in a long time. He's not an assistant in Marseille, he's here because his girlfriend's french. He's been here for 6 months and hasn't been able to find a job because he can't speak the language. In the evening I went chez Aimée for dinner. It was a really nice evening. She's cooked Ratatouille and lentil burgers - I wondered why she'd asked for the recipe! I also met the 2 day old kittens (les petites vachettes) that the family cat had given birth to - trop mignon!
On Tuesday I went to Parc Borély with Joe more for something to do than anything else. In the evening I went chez Madison to give her a cours de conversation.
vendredi 18 avril 2008
samedi 12 avril 2008
Philippa week - photos
Above - sunset from the terrace.
Above - Notre Dame de la Garde.
Above - La Plage.
Above - Les Vallon des Auffes - La Corniche.
Above - sunset at Prado.
Above - sunset at Prado.
Above - sunset at Prado.
vendredi 11 avril 2008
Philippa week
Last Friday (4th April) I went out for lunch with Angéline and her mum. We went to La Galiotte and I had brousse pasta followed by chocolat fondant. Delicious. In the afternoon Philippa arrived. I went to Saint Charles to meet her. We went to Le Palais de Pharo and then to Café Simon for crepes sucrées.
On Saturday we went to Parc Borely and la Plage. It was really warm and sunny. In the afternoon we met Aimée at La Prefecture and went for a drink at La Folle Epoque. There was a manifestation about Les Droits des Hommes that was quite interesting. In the evening I went out with Les Restos du Coeur to feed the sans abris.
On Sunday morning we walked around Le Panier. It was beautifully warm and sunny. In the afternoon we walked from Le Palais du Pharo all the way to La Pointe Rouge. We stopped for a coffee and bought churros. We then wanted to get the bus 19 back from La Pointe Rouge to Avenue de Prado to save walking but we waited and waited and although there were number 19's going in the other direction there were none coming in our direction. Eventually we decided to walk. We picked up the number 83 at the Avenue de Prado and went back to la Joliette. After dinner we went to watch the OM Lyon match.
On Monday morning we went shopping and then had lunch at Café Simon. I had Bruschette and chocolate mousse for dessert. In the afternoon we went to Notre Dame de la Garde and then in the evening we went to Prado to watch the sun set. It had been another beautiful warm sunny day.
Tuesday's weather wasn't so good. We were supposed to be going walking with one of my teachers from Lycée but she called me to say the walk had been cancelled as it was cloudy and looked like it might rain. Instead we went to Le Palais Londchamp in the morning and then to Luminy and Les Calanques in the afternoon but it was misty, cloudy and cold. It rained a bit too. It cleared up and we went for a walk around Le Palais du Pharo later on.
Wednesday was a bit cloudy. We went to L'Abbaye Saint Victor in the morning and L'Estaque in the afternoon. It rained at L'Estaque. I've never known weather like it in Marseille. Two days one after the other where it's rained! Unimaginable! After L'Estaque we met Aimée for a coffee and then went out for a meal together.
Thursday was Philippa's last full day. The weather was back to being warm and sunny so we took the boat out to les Iles de Frioul. We were there for most of the day. It was incredibly windy but fun. We did a lot of walking. In the evening we went down to the fort.
And then on Friday Philippa left and I did my shopping. The week's pictures will be uploaded shortly...
On Saturday we went to Parc Borely and la Plage. It was really warm and sunny. In the afternoon we met Aimée at La Prefecture and went for a drink at La Folle Epoque. There was a manifestation about Les Droits des Hommes that was quite interesting. In the evening I went out with Les Restos du Coeur to feed the sans abris.
On Sunday morning we walked around Le Panier. It was beautifully warm and sunny. In the afternoon we walked from Le Palais du Pharo all the way to La Pointe Rouge. We stopped for a coffee and bought churros. We then wanted to get the bus 19 back from La Pointe Rouge to Avenue de Prado to save walking but we waited and waited and although there were number 19's going in the other direction there were none coming in our direction. Eventually we decided to walk. We picked up the number 83 at the Avenue de Prado and went back to la Joliette. After dinner we went to watch the OM Lyon match.
On Monday morning we went shopping and then had lunch at Café Simon. I had Bruschette and chocolate mousse for dessert. In the afternoon we went to Notre Dame de la Garde and then in the evening we went to Prado to watch the sun set. It had been another beautiful warm sunny day.
Tuesday's weather wasn't so good. We were supposed to be going walking with one of my teachers from Lycée but she called me to say the walk had been cancelled as it was cloudy and looked like it might rain. Instead we went to Le Palais Londchamp in the morning and then to Luminy and Les Calanques in the afternoon but it was misty, cloudy and cold. It rained a bit too. It cleared up and we went for a walk around Le Palais du Pharo later on.
Wednesday was a bit cloudy. We went to L'Abbaye Saint Victor in the morning and L'Estaque in the afternoon. It rained at L'Estaque. I've never known weather like it in Marseille. Two days one after the other where it's rained! Unimaginable! After L'Estaque we met Aimée for a coffee and then went out for a meal together.
Thursday was Philippa's last full day. The weather was back to being warm and sunny so we took the boat out to les Iles de Frioul. We were there for most of the day. It was incredibly windy but fun. We did a lot of walking. In the evening we went down to the fort.
And then on Friday Philippa left and I did my shopping. The week's pictures will be uploaded shortly...
jeudi 3 avril 2008
La semaine dernière
Alors, lundi, je n'ai pas fait grandes choses.
Mardi, je suis allée au Lycée. C'était une journée chargée. I didn't have Olivia's BTS because Olivia was absent - she's on a school trip in Italy - can't be bad - why couldn't I have gone?! I didn't have Isabelle's secondes either. I don't know why, she said she would send me six but she didn't. It didn't matter though, it enabled me to do some printing, photocopying, email sending. After Lycée at 16h I walked to the métro and caught the bus number 2 to La Ravelle as I had a cours de conversation with Madison. After the cours de conversation I just missed a bus back to La Rose so had to wait for the next one. Then, when I got to the métro it was closed!! The métro man told me it was due to 'a techincal incident' and that it was functioning from Chartreaux - not all that useful when you're 4 stops away at La Rose! I went back to the bus stop to catch the bus 41N. Whilst I was waiting for the 41N (which I've caught before just out of interest. It takes a long time and only takes you to Cinq Avenues where you have to get the tram to Sadi Carnot) and there was a lady there who asked me where the 41N would take us. I said to Cinq Avenues. And she said there was the métro there. I said yes and asked her where she wanted to go. She said La Canebiere, I advised her to take the tram which goes down La Canebiere. Then an old lady came and we were discussing why the métro was closed. I said I'd been told 'a techincal incident', the lady wanting to go to La Canebiere told me she'd heard there'd been a fire whereas the old lady said she heard it was because someone had jumped onto the track as the métro was coming. In the end we didn't have to get the bus as the métro was reopened although you couldn't get on or off at Malpassé. That didn't bother me any as I wanted to go to Colbert. I finally got home completely exhausted. I looked in the papers the following day but nothing was mentioned about disruptions on the métro. Auriane heard at Lycée (which is right next to Malpassé) that someone commited suicide by jumping in front of the métro. It's the third time it's happened this year on the blue line...
Wednesday was quite. I went to Lycée in the morning for my french class and then spent the afternoon working. Today (Thursday) I've been at Lycée. I started at 9h with Christiane's anglais renforcé class. I did a quiz with them and had biscuits for the winning team. I finished Lycée at 16h and went to Camille's to give her a cours de conversation. I then came home. No métro problems today. Tomorrow I'm going to do my shopping in the morning and then, at 12h15, I'm meeting Angéline devant la pharmacie. Towards 16h I'll be meeting Philippa at Saint Charles. I'm looking forward to her coming. It's the holidays now. I haven't really got anything planned. The first week with Philippa and the second week working in my dissertation. I then have two weeks left at Lycée and then it's finished :(
Mardi, je suis allée au Lycée. C'était une journée chargée. I didn't have Olivia's BTS because Olivia was absent - she's on a school trip in Italy - can't be bad - why couldn't I have gone?! I didn't have Isabelle's secondes either. I don't know why, she said she would send me six but she didn't. It didn't matter though, it enabled me to do some printing, photocopying, email sending. After Lycée at 16h I walked to the métro and caught the bus number 2 to La Ravelle as I had a cours de conversation with Madison. After the cours de conversation I just missed a bus back to La Rose so had to wait for the next one. Then, when I got to the métro it was closed!! The métro man told me it was due to 'a techincal incident' and that it was functioning from Chartreaux - not all that useful when you're 4 stops away at La Rose! I went back to the bus stop to catch the bus 41N. Whilst I was waiting for the 41N (which I've caught before just out of interest. It takes a long time and only takes you to Cinq Avenues where you have to get the tram to Sadi Carnot) and there was a lady there who asked me where the 41N would take us. I said to Cinq Avenues. And she said there was the métro there. I said yes and asked her where she wanted to go. She said La Canebiere, I advised her to take the tram which goes down La Canebiere. Then an old lady came and we were discussing why the métro was closed. I said I'd been told 'a techincal incident', the lady wanting to go to La Canebiere told me she'd heard there'd been a fire whereas the old lady said she heard it was because someone had jumped onto the track as the métro was coming. In the end we didn't have to get the bus as the métro was reopened although you couldn't get on or off at Malpassé. That didn't bother me any as I wanted to go to Colbert. I finally got home completely exhausted. I looked in the papers the following day but nothing was mentioned about disruptions on the métro. Auriane heard at Lycée (which is right next to Malpassé) that someone commited suicide by jumping in front of the métro. It's the third time it's happened this year on the blue line...
Wednesday was quite. I went to Lycée in the morning for my french class and then spent the afternoon working. Today (Thursday) I've been at Lycée. I started at 9h with Christiane's anglais renforcé class. I did a quiz with them and had biscuits for the winning team. I finished Lycée at 16h and went to Camille's to give her a cours de conversation. I then came home. No métro problems today. Tomorrow I'm going to do my shopping in the morning and then, at 12h15, I'm meeting Angéline devant la pharmacie. Towards 16h I'll be meeting Philippa at Saint Charles. I'm looking forward to her coming. It's the holidays now. I haven't really got anything planned. The first week with Philippa and the second week working in my dissertation. I then have two weeks left at Lycée and then it's finished :(
samedi 29 mars 2008
Emily
Emily arrived on Wednesday. 24 hours later than planned. We went to the beach on Wednesday. We took the metro and the bus. We then caught the bus back along the coast and got off at Vieux Port. We went to Café Simon for tea. I had the fromaggi bruschetta and Emily had a crepe salée. We also shared une assiette de frites and then had dessert and a coffee. I had mousse chocolat and Emily had tarte tatin. It was delicious. We then watched France beat England in the football and went home. On Thursday I was at Lycée and Emily came with me. I had my BTS at 8h - I checked their work, went through their work experience with them - they both had their exams that afternoon. At 9h I had my anglais renforcé with Christiane and then at 10h it was Olivia's termiale which went really well. At 11h it was a class with Andrée - they're one of my favourite classes. Andrée had asked me to talk a bit about the government and main political parties in the UK and Sarkozy's official state visit to the UK and also about the Olympic Games in China. Afterwards we did some translating and then it was lunchtime. At 13h I had a cours de conversation with a member of staff at the Lycée and then a class of Terminale who were not well motivated. There were only 2 of them and I let them go after half an hour - half an hour that felt like a lot lot longer! I went and joined Marie José and her secondes.
After Lycée we went to Le Palais du Pharo and Le Palais Longchamps before meeting my french teacher and her daughter from Lycée at Saint Charles at 19h30. We went to Notre Dame de la Garde and then to a pizzaria on La Corniche that is famous for it's pizzas. It was really nice and such a lovely location too. We then came home.
On Friday morning I had French so Emily took a map and went for a wander round. We met later on at Vieux Port, bought a baguette and came home for lunch. We then went to Saint Charles and Emily caught the navette to go back to the airport. I met Angéline devant la pharmacie at 14h30 and we did some shopping. Galeries Lafayette have a sale on at the minute and I bought a necklace. I also bought some cow and sheep stamps in a stationery shop. I then had my cours de conversation.
After Lycée we went to Le Palais du Pharo and Le Palais Longchamps before meeting my french teacher and her daughter from Lycée at Saint Charles at 19h30. We went to Notre Dame de la Garde and then to a pizzaria on La Corniche that is famous for it's pizzas. It was really nice and such a lovely location too. We then came home.
On Friday morning I had French so Emily took a map and went for a wander round. We met later on at Vieux Port, bought a baguette and came home for lunch. We then went to Saint Charles and Emily caught the navette to go back to the airport. I met Angéline devant la pharmacie at 14h30 and we did some shopping. Galeries Lafayette have a sale on at the minute and I bought a necklace. I also bought some cow and sheep stamps in a stationery shop. I then had my cours de conversation.
Joyeuses Pâques!
On Monday I went out for lunch with Angéline. We went to La Galiote at Vieux Port. I had brousse stuffed ravioli and Angéline had a pizza. We both had tarte tatin for dessert. It was still really windy so after we'd eaten we went home. Angéline came chez moi for a cup of tea. She left at about 16h and I cleaned my windows. I couldn't reach the tops but they still look so much better than before. My room is now even brighter. I then did some dusting and sweeping. That was all really. Not alot to report for Monday.
I was at Lycée on Tuesday but there were mock italian oral exams in my room so I was roomless. I therefore didn't have any lessons. I went to a class with Marie José and then came home. Emily was supposed to be coming to visit. She was due to arrive at 14h45 but she'd had problems getting on the right train. She caught the Stansted Express at Liverpool Street rather that the train to Gatwick and so ended up at the wrong airport. She therefore missed her flight. She was able to get a transfer onto the next flight which was at the same time the next day.
I was at Lycée on Tuesday but there were mock italian oral exams in my room so I was roomless. I therefore didn't have any lessons. I went to a class with Marie José and then came home. Emily was supposed to be coming to visit. She was due to arrive at 14h45 but she'd had problems getting on the right train. She caught the Stansted Express at Liverpool Street rather that the train to Gatwick and so ended up at the wrong airport. She therefore missed her flight. She was able to get a transfer onto the next flight which was at the same time the next day.
dimanche 23 mars 2008
83. La Corniche
Above - La Corniche - Anse des Auffes
Above - Looking out to sea towards Les Isles de Frioul and Le Chateau d'If
Above - it could be Monaco, it is infact Marseille
Above - La plage de Prophet in the 7e arrondissement.
Above - La Corniche - walking from La plage des Catalans to Prado.
Above - looking towards Prado in the 8e arrondissement.
Above - Le port de Prado
Above - again, it could be Monaco. It is infact Marseille.So this afternoon I went on an adventure. A couple of weeks ago I asked my class of Seconde at Lycée to write me a news article. One pair wrote about tourism in Marseille and mentioned 'beautiful beaches like Catalan'. I remember at the time making a mental note that I must go there. I'd completely forgotten until the other day at Lyceé when the receptionist said she'd seen me at Catalan. Impossible! I'd never been! So today, I got my tourist book out (actually it's Louise's, she left it for me) and saw that bus number 83 goes from la Joliette to Rond Point de Prado passing through Vieux Port, up towards le Palais de Pharo and on around the coast - la Corniche, to the statue of David and up the Avenue de Prado to Rond Point where the métro is.
After lunch at about 14h I took my camera and walked to Joliette where I got on the number 83. I got off just after Catalans because it was looking very very pretty and I wanted to take some pictures. I ended up walking the rest of the bus route! You can walk around the coast, it's beautiful. My only complaint was le mistral. It was really really really windy and quite chilly (because of le mistral) but gloriously sunny. I just kept walking stopping every now and then to take the odd photo and admire the view. I could see Prado getting nearer so I just kept going. I then walked up the Avenue de Prado with the idea of getting the métro back to la Joliette but instead I got on the number 83 at 16h40 which took me back around the coastline, where I'd just walked, and back to la Joliette. It took much longer than the métro but I was able to see the sea and coast again.
For an Easter Sunday it was quite busy - people walking despite the wind, people using the bus, tourists. I was surrounded at one point by a japanese or korean family, a girl reading a german book (presumably she was German) and a man and woman speaking a language I didn't recognise - it was neither French nor English, it wasn't German or Spanish, nor any other Latin based language. I eventually decided they were Lithuanian or Estonian. Quite what led me to that conclusion I have no idea. They just looked Lithuanian or Estonian, not that I'd know what Lithuanian or Estonian people look like!
Yes so I've been exploring today. La Corniche is in the 7e arrondissement which is the 'rich' arrondissement. And yes, compared to la Joliette where I started off (at the south of les quartiers nord - the poorest of the poor quartiers) it is rich. It was hard to believe I was still in Marseille as the Marseille I know is a poor Marseille, a dirty Marseille, beautiful but nevertheless not without it's problems. I spend the majority of my life walking between Le Panier and métro Colbert which involves le Passage de Lorette. It's not the nicest of routes. I also spend a lot of time around my Lycée out in the 13e arrondissement - again, not the nicest part of Marseille. And then when I go out with les Restos du Coeur it's the poor parts - les quartiers nord. So to go to the 7e or 8e arrondissements is quite an eye opener. It becomes easy to see why the people here voted right right right.
And here is another video I took. It's La Corniche. It was REALLY windy - that's why it's so shaky - I hadn't been drinking, honest! Just listen to the wind and watch the waves and the blue bin bag at the end - look how it's blowing!
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)
