A Trip to Aix-en-Provence

At the beginning of the month, Epiphany to be exact, I made it up to Aix-en-Provence to look around and do a little shopping. I ended up buying an incredibly delicious chèvre cendrée (goat's cheese with an ash rind--it sounds gross, but it is not! Just don't eat the ash) and Turkish apricots that were to die for at the farmer's market; drooling over a pair (...make that several pairs...) of Ubu earrings at a boutique; and hightailing it to the Musée Granet to see some of the lovely works of native son Cézanne--as well as other Impressionist, etc., artists.

Paul Cezanne lived here once

Santons: little figures for your Nativity scene made in Aix!

For my first trip to Aix, I'd say this was a success! I wish I had enough money to buy myself a pair of Ubu earrings, but the trip itself will have to suffice for my little birthday present to me. I thought about buying some santons, the little Nativity figurines that are made in Aix and a staple of Provence at Christmastime, but I realized, if you buy one, you have to buy a set--and those don't come cheap, either! They're something you buy as a collection: one each year to add to as the years progress: finding the perfect one is half the fun! But for me, I didn't think it was worth it, knowing I probably won't be able to collect year after year...I'm not going to be in France forever! Then there's the question of which figure to collect first: Baby Jesus, because he's most important? Or one of the Three Magi? Maybe Melchior because he has the coolest name...and there's where I left off, because I cannot make a decision, if ever so inconsequential, to save myself.

Here are some more pictures of santons:

And here are more pictures of Aix:

Hotel de Ville

A protest?!? In FRANCE?!?

One thing I learned at the museum, which was small but good, is that Cézanne and Emile Zola met when they were kids at school, and continued a lifelong friendship, even after they each became famous! Definitely cool. I also learned the French for "still life": nature morte. It just seems so much more philosophical and expressive! 

Here is a famous Cézanne nature morte:

Christmastime, Christmastime is Here Again!

Merry Christmas! I know this is late, but my Christmas was pretty packed. 

After moping for the better part of a a couple of days thinking I'd have to spend it alone, I got two last-minute invitations to Christmas dinner--one Christmas Eve in Marseilles, the other Christmas Day in La Ciotat. Neither dinner was "traditional" in the strict sense, but then again nowadays, who does that? "Traditional" is sort of code for "boring" in my opinion. Not always, but often enough. 

I tagged along to an invite from my friend Marianne on Christmas Eve. She is actually Jewish, so the holiday doesn't mean much to her, but we were celebrating with Frenchies. We had Thai and tons of desserts--a bûche de noël among others. It was a lot of fun!

On Christmas Day, I went to the house of one of my fellow teachers, Valérie. who had her family over for dinner. It was delightful, though she said her Christmas dinner wasn't exactly "traditional" either. She made risotto and roast beef, which is apparently "too Italian" to be French, though we did have a lovely salad and cheese selection along with lots of desserts. She made a fruitcake for the first time. I thought it turned out well.

Here are some "fesitve" pictures of La Ciotat! They put up fish as their town Christmas decorations near the port...I'm guessing in an attempt to cash in on the "traditional fishing village" motif? If Cassis can do it, so can they, after all!

Joyeuses Fêtes!