Europe June 2019 – Marseille 2/2 – parks, museums & cuisine

Mercredi le 20 juin. Wednesday 20 June

I had a day of R and R at the apartment today, while Dominique fetched her friend Martine from the railway station, and then, much later, went out with her to the Jean-Louis Albert concert at Le Cépac Silo, a converted grain silo, on Quai du Lazaret. Dominique and Jean-Louis have been friends for 15 years and she attends most of his French concerts.

It was a balmy evening and I sat outside on the dining room balcony, watching as the sun changed from radiant to smoky red and then sunk below the horizon. As I washed the dishes, I looked East through the open door of the kitchen balcony ­– the floodlights on the supermarket roof switched off abruptly at 10.00, and I could see a single star in the indigo sky above the hills; the dome of the cycling stadium was ghostly white; Notre-Dame de la Garde was floodlit on her hill; and people were on nearby balconies smoking and chatting.

'The Resurrection of Christ' by Pierre Paul RUBENS 1577-1642. Photo: Ann Barrie

Jeudi le 21 juin. Thursday 21 June

Although Dominique was born in Paris, her father came from Marseille, and she identifies with this city. Today she took me to Le Jardin zoologique which used to be Marseille’s zoo; opened in 1854, it was situated in the gardens of the Palais Longchamp. The zoo was closed in 1987, and nowadays the cages either serve other purposes, such as a small theatre, or contain plaster animals, some in a better state of preservation than others. Dominique was often taken to the zoo by her grandmother, and as a small child was disappointed that the bears always stayed inside in the shade.

Jardin zoologique, Théâtre de la Giraffe, Marseille. Ann Barrie

Jardin zoologique, Marseille. School group in front of Grande Volière (large birdcage). Ann Barrie

Jardin zoologique, Marseille. Model animals in cage. Ann Barrie

The toasted sandwiches we bought for lunch were half baguettes squashed very flat and filled with goats’ cheese and tomatoes, and we ate them seated under a tree outside the buvette, and looking towards the magnificent Palais Longchamp which accommodates the Museum of Natural Sciences on one side, and the Museum of Fine Arts on the other. The former was closed for refurbishment, but we spent some time viewing and discussing the Italian paintings in the latter. We coincided with a group of primary school children, obediently sitting in front of paintings while their female teacher explained the works in a very loud voice; and we were indignant when an attendant, apologetic, but instructed by the teacher, asked us to keep our own voices down – in both our views, the children would have been better off with activity sheets, and minimal explanation, so they could discover the works for themselves. 
The first photo below shows a partial view of the exterior. The other photos show:
'Elijah fed by ravens' by Giovanni LANFRANCO, 1582-1647;  
Tobit giving sight to his father' Gioacchino ASSERETO 1600-47; 
'Lot and his daughters' after the style of Guido RENI 1575-1642 (Lot appears to be listening attentively); 
'La Peste de Milan', a marble bas relief by Marseilles artist Pierre PUGET 1620-1694; and
'Portrait of a Princess' by Pierre Francesco CITTADINI 1613-1681;
'The Air' by Jan BRUEGHEL, 1568-1625;
At the top of this blog is 'The Resurrection of Christ' by Pierre Paul RUBENS 1577-1642 (we liked the fact that Christ is in motion).

Palais Longchamp, Marseille, 2019. Photo: Ann Barrie

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'The Air' by Jan BRUEGHEL, 1568-1625. Photo Ann Barrie

'La Peste de Milan', a marble bas relief by Marseilles artist Pierre PUGET 1620-1694

Later, we wandered along Avenue Longchamp, where Dominique remembers being taken to magnificent apartments owned by her grandmother’s friends; nowadays the apartments are much smaller. Dominique told me that Le Musée Grobet-Labadié, which houses an eclectic collection assembled by one family in their maison particulier, was another favourite spot, but it had been closed for some years. Through chatting to a local we discovered it had just been re-opened. Dominique and I both love this kind of museum. The photos below show some of the things that delighted or puzzled us:

-view from a window across to the Palais Longchamp;

-Armoire à deux corps (cupboard in two parts) in walnut and olive, Provence,16^th century;

-tiny Louis XV-style rosewood écritoire (writing case/table) at the foot of Marie Grobert’s bed;

-Aubusson 18^th century tapestry entitled ‘La Main chaude’ (the hot hand). We assumed La Main chaude was a game, because another carpet featured the game ‘Colin-mallard’, in which one person is blind-folded, then turned around, and has to guess who the surrounding people are when they touch him/her – but we couldn’t quite work out what the people were doing;

-table setting including a Spanish 18^th century Faience plate with a trompe-l’oeil lizard, and, in the background, a Fauchier, Marseille, 18^th century serving dish in the shape of a cabbage;

-Faience pottery with a Provençal theme;

-Torot cards with a Provençal theme, from the cabinet of curiosities;

-a floral porcelain item on the wall of the toilet which Dom and I thought was a pissoir, but which apparently was designed so women wouldn’t get their dresses wet;

-anonymous 18^th century oil painting of a little girl with her dog;

-a little princess, and her dog scampering away in the background;

-music for Au Clair de la Lune from a 19^th century album de musique drolatique. (Dom and I sang a little duet in front of it, since there was no-one in the room to disturb). The family also had a collection of musical instruments, as Louis Grobert was a composer and violinist, and the maison particulier became known for its musical soirées.

View through window of  Le Musée Grobet-Labadié toward Palais Longchamp, Marseille. Photo: Ann Barrie 2019

Armoire à deux corps in Le Musée Grobet-Labadié. Photo: Ann Barrie 2019 

Louis XV-style rosewood écritoire in Le Musée Grobet-Labadié. Photo: Ann Barrie 2019 

Aubusson 18^th century tapestry ‘La Main chaude’.Le Musée Grobet-Labadié. Photo: Ann Barrie 2019

We wandered a little further to a colourful area which had little shops with wares from Turkey, North Africa and the Mediterranean, and also a fruit and vegetable market where the vendors were keen to sell their produce before the end of the day. We bought olives, French strawberries – the season is nearly over – melons and lettuce, with Dominique all the while reminding me to keep a close watch on my valuables.

Marseilles has a modern tram network which was opened in 2007, and now has three lines. It’s a pleasure to use. Cars are banished from the streets where the trams operate. (I find myself comparing Marseilles with Auckland, in particular, and also Wellington, and how difficult it has proved for us to implement light rail, let alone underground trains.)

Marseille tram. Photo Ann Barrie June 2019

Meals Dominique has prepared for me at the apartment, have been simple and light, suitable for a Mediterranean climate. Some, like the shrimp and rice dish, were made from scratch; others were local dishes bought ready made – these included tielles Siètoises, which are a torte with a short pastry at top and bottom, and a filling that includes octopus, squid, tomato sauce.

Vendredi le 21 juin. Friday 21 juin. Fête de la Musique

Dominique and I were both tired today – she was disturbed in the early hours of the morning by a giant flying creature and cried out to me for help; the creature proved to be some kind of beetle and it took some time for me to dispose of it, teetering on a stool with Dom holding on to my legs – so we took our time over our breakfast of fresh fruit, cereal, tea and toast, and set off later than usual.

Dominique had made a booking at Le clan des Cigales at 8 rue du petit puits in The Panier district so we could enjoy their Aïoli du chef which is offered only on a Friday and a Saturday; she was advised to be early, as they make enough aïoli for only 20 customers on each of those days; those who arrive late, such as two ladies, regulars, at another reserved table, need to choose something else from the menu. The dish includes cabillaud (cod), fennil and steamed vegetables. The boiled egg is missing from this photo (it was later supplied).

Aïoli du chef at Le clan des Cigales, Marseilles. Photo: Ann Barrie

Le clan des Cigales, Marseilles. Photo: Ann Barrie

The atmosphere was calm, the staff were jovial, and there were hats to use if the sun pushed away the shade. We finished our meal with the café gourmand. The components were: financier aux amandes; sorbet pistache; navette à l’anis, which is traditionally made with orange rather than anis; and organic café Marseillais Luciani.

Café gourmand, Le clan des Cigales, Marseilles. Photo: Ann Barrie

After our leisurely meal we walked the short distance to La Vieille Charité, a former almshouse which now functions as a museum and cultural centre, where we visited the exhibition

Sahara mondes connectés (Sahara connected worlds). The idea for this exhibition came from a meeting between artist-traveller, Titouan Lamzou, and historian, Charles Grémont. The exhibition was fascinating, covering many themes, from history and customs, to explorers, to refugees, and too rich to explain in this blog, which is already long. Here are just two of the many photos I took. The first is a

drum, and the second is Timia welet Hebeti, 2013, in the refugee camp of Bera, Mauritania, 2013, acrylic and sand on paper.

We popped into this beautiful modern library and found two elderly women playing a duet using the piano and sheet music left in the foyer for the public to enjoy this Fete de la Musique; preparations were also afoot for a daytime concert for school children. The library had many well-equipped tables for quiet study. After this, we went home for a rest and a light meal together – we had intended to wander the different quartiers in the evening, but in the end we decided our day had already been rich enough.

Samedi le 22 juin. Saturday 22 juin.

I’ve just made a basic mistake – I hope it’s my only one on this trip. This morning I ate an early breakfast with Dominique and insisted on getting myself to the railway station via bus and metro without her accompanying me. I arrived very early for my 9.09am TGV, so I tapped away on my MacBook Air while I waited and then leapt on the train when it arrived. I was slightly puzzled that there were no seat numbers in the tiny First Class, but it was only the controller came round that I discovered I’d leapt on the Lyon Part Dieu train rather than Gare de Lyon TGV. The controller told me I must always look for train numbers and not train times – it would help if the numbers appeared in large typeface! – and then he worked out how I could get to Paris: descend at Avignon and take the train to Avignon TGV station; wait an hour and a half, and when the 12.43pm TGV to Paris arrived, report to the controller so he could hopefully find me a seat; he also alerted the train controller, and wrote a message on the back of my ticket to show to Security. I was nervous as to whether this would work, but it did, and I’m grateful for his helpfulness.

Postscript: Paris and environs.

I have spent two relaxing days with my friends at Châtou, and now plan to leave my bags at my hotel (TimHotel Nation) and spend the rest of the day with other friends. Then tomorrow, I fly Easyjet from CDG to Glasgow. I’ll take a break from blogging now, until July.