Cannes - The Food

It never fails to amaze me when on the continent, the sheer variety of produce available in local markets and shops. Cannes didn't let me down.

Marche Forville was only a 5 minute walk from our apartment and it was a real treat to head out each morning in search of croissant, pain au chocolat and baguettes and walk through the fresh produce, the flowers and the bustle on the market on the way. I love to take pictures of food.......it's just so colourful.

I love the flat peaches - always makes me smile thinking that someone has sat on them....

Tomatoes the way they should be (take note Tesco!) 

One day we bought supplies from the market to make or lunch....lovely tomato salad, feta and watermelon salad, fresh baguette, broad beans, rocket, olives and harissa....truly the way to eat 

And then of course there is the patisserie.....a French treat....

If I were to live in France, I think I would be enormous!

Cannes

We took the train from Marseille to Cannes along the beautiful Cote D'Azur.......where we spent the next 4 days relaxing, lounging in the sun, chatting, shopping in beautiful markets, watching fireworks, swimming in the sea.....

Cannes is of course famous for the Film Festival but it offers so much more. Whilst the harbour is full of amazing yachts and cruisers, La Croisette home to many 5 star hotels and designer shops, the town still seems real. 

This film focused mural sits atop the Bus Station, the most amazing bus station I have ever seen!

This is the view over the harbour and the Bay of Cannes from the castle. It is located in Le Suquet, the old part of the town where we were staying. It is the original fishermans quarter of the town, with narrow steep cobbled streets and tall houses. Rue du Suquet is the old road into the town and is lined with lovely restaurants and bars. During the day it is empty, by dinner time it is lined with sparkly lights, beautifully laid tables and diners. 

At night it was great to sit in a harbour side bar, people watching, wandering along the front eating ice cream, watching the kids on the carousels and gazing at yachts and sports cars.

Every summer, Cannes hosts a firework competition and we were lucky enough to be there on the first evening of the competition. They are usually on a Saturday evening, but the first was on July 4th. The fireworks were launched from the bay, and many of the boats were out on the periphery of the harbour to watch. At the end of the fireworks they all started sounding their horns.....that was almost as amazing as the 25 minutes of glorious fireworks.

The beach is just beautiful, fringed by mountains and blue blue sea. It was lovely to feel the sun on your skin and to swim in the sea - oh and to jump the waves - the first day the sea was really choppy and it was so much fun (and great exercise) to try to stay upright and to jump those waves.....

Marseille

I'm just back from a lovely few days in Cannes in the South of France. I went with a couple of friends for some much needed sun, rest and relaxation and we found all 3 in bucketfuls!

We flew into Marseille, European Capital of Culture 2013. We wanted to see all the new museums that they have built, including FRAC, designed by Kengo Kuma Associates, who are also designing V&A at Dundee, one of the projects I am currently working on. Of course, as with most French museums, this one was closed on a Tuesday so we made it as far as the outside and the cafe but we didn't get to see the inside of the museum.

FRAC - Fondation Regionale d'Art Contemporaire - designed by Kengo Kuma Associates who are designing V&A at Dundee.

Steps to the Train Station, Marseille

Marseille

MuCem - Marseille's newest museum and the first national museum in France outside Paris - celebrating Mediterranean Civilisations - designed by Rudy Ricciottie

 The Temporary Pavilion for European Capital of Culture

An urban lavender field in Marseille

Marseille was an interesting city......with lots of new architecture, interesting history and culture. Definitely worth a visit!

Provence 2011

A week in the south of France, all the way there from Dundee by train (OK I stopped in London for 2 nights each way)....from the grey, damp summer in Scotland to the beautiful bright blue skies and warming sun of Provence.

My friend Karen and I rented a house in Arles. It was a beautiful house, just newly renovated, impeccably decorated and right in the centre of town, just 50m from the Roman arena.

Arles was a great base to explore Provence, although to do justice to the area you'd probably need to spend months rather than a week. We spent a couple of days just relaxing in Arles, wandering the town, visiting Roman remains, eating ice cream, sitting on the roof terrace listening to the crowds in the arena...

We took the train to Avignon one day - to visit the Papal Palace (I didn't know that from 1309 to 1376 the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built over a period of 20 years, this immense palace dominates the Avignon landscape.  We also saw the half bridge made famous in the song Sur le pont d'Avignon. 

We hired a car for 3 days which definitely makes it easier to see Provence. We took a tour to the Camargue to see flamingoes, to St Remy de Provence, where Vincent Van Gogh spent his last years, to Pont du Gard to see the Roman aqueduct, to Gordes high on the rocks of the Luberon, to Uzes in Languedoc - a beautiful town of outdoor cafes, alleys lined with renovated buildings, cute little shops - a great place to spend time. We ate ice cream made with violets and sea salted caramel, had tapas in a cute little restaurant called La Querida in Arles.... I got to swim in the sea at Saintes Maries de la Mer and in the river at Pont du Gard, fulfilling my need to swim outdoors at least once a year!  All in all a fantastic week!

Weekend in Lille - La Piscine

We took a trip to the small town of Roubaix, linked by metro to Lille. With a history in textiles, the city experienced economic decline........however, they have worked hard to revitalise their economy (I could take lessons from it back to my own job) and have developed a number of new opportunities. One was the innovative decision to create a museum formed in the city's disused art deco swimming pool and public bath house - "a temple to hygiene". The pool was designed by Albert Baert and opened in 1932 and closed its doors in 1985. Reimagined as a museum it opened in 2001.

Using the pool as the centre piece of the museum, the stunning glass "sunrises" at either end, the tiled changing rooms converted into gallery space...housing the town's collection of art and textiles. Drawers on the upper floor open to allow you to experience the tactile nature of the fabrics and textiles on display. It is an amazing transformation, maintaining the integrity of the original building and creating a unique and breathtaking space....that outshines the art!

To make you feel at home in the swimming pool, every so often, they played a recording of children's excited squeals and splashes.....

We spent ages taking photos of the gallery - and enjoying more cake from Meert on the terrace outside in the sunshine!