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France 2024

July - September 2024
  • Alan Chapman
A 54-day adventure by Alan Read more
  • Alan Chapman

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  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    Chateau d'If

    July 26, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    This was the first day for a while without setting the alarm to catch the Metro or a train. After breakfast, I spent an hour sorting out bus stops and bus and metro times, using the RTM app, in preparation for my first shift early tomorrow morning but, in the end, it proved unnecessary because the shift at the Golden Tulip Hotel was cancelled the previous evening, the first of three cancellations.
    I took a tram for part of the journey to Viieux Port to catch a boat to the Chateau d'If. The sea was calm. At the Chateau, I went into some cells which either had factual occupants such as Mirabeau or fictional characters such as Edmund Dante, the Count of Monte Cristo, the hero of the novel written by Alexandre Dumas. Monte Cristo is near Elba in the Tuscan archipelago.
    I had a good 3-course lunch in the courtyard after walking around the ramparts from where I saw boats practising near the Olympic Marina.
    After returning to the Port with good views of the city from the boat, and taking the Metro to St Charles, I saw lots of passengers milling around the station due to the sabotage of the TGV track further north which had led to lots of cancellations.
    Back at the hotel, I did some washing before watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics on TV.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    More Sightseeing in Marseille

    July 27, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    In the morning, I walked past the Porte d'Aix on the way to Cosquer which was in the redeveloped area near the quayside. Cosquer was a replica of the prehistoric cave under the sea near Marseille discovered by Henri Cosquer in 1985. I travelled in a tub, 37m down, around a circuit showing stalactites, stalacmites, and the outlines of animals, human fingers, seals and penguins drawn or painted 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. The actual paintings were being submerged gradually by the rising sea level.
    Next door to Cosquer was MUCEM, a new museum about the cultures of the Mediterranean peoples. There were also galleries with exhibitions about naturism and contemporary art. MUCEM was joined by a bridge to Fort Saint-Jean at the entrance to the Vieux Port which provided great views over the city from the ramparts.
    I looked inside the nearby Eglis St Laurent but there was a wedding.
    I had an alfresco fish lunch in a square in Le Panier.
    I walked back to the hotel, having bought a paper at St Charles plus a coffee at Starbucks. The station had been closed in the morning, presumably to prevent overcrowding caused by the TGV cancellations.
    Tomorrow's early morning shift at the Golden Tulip Hotel was cancelled via Webex in the evening.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    More Marseille Museums

    July 28, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I walked to the Hospice de la Vielle Charite, a museum which housed exhibitions about Greek pottery, and the history of the penthalon and the Olympics, plus galleries showing collections about Mexican, Egyptian, African, American and Oceanic civilisations., and a gallery with items from other museums in Marseille.
    After another alfresco lunch in Le Panier, I went to the Musee Regards de Provence which had exhibitions of paintings of the port and ships, photos and models about surfing, and historic shipping-line posters advertising their routes to and from Marseille.
    I walked back to the hotel. There were lots of gendarmerie at the Port and at St Charles.
    I watched the Olympics on two French TV stations. Naturally, they tended to concentrate on French success in the swimming pool, judo, and fencing.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    Notre Dame de la Garde and the Corniche

    July 29, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    The teeth were sensitive so the hotel receptionist booked me an appointment for tomorrow morning.
    I walked downtown, past the Opera, followed by a stiff walk uphill to the Notre Dame de la Garde which was the basilica-style church dominating the city's skyline. There were boats hanging from the ceiling plus great views over the city from the terrace outside.
    Helpful locals helped me find the roads down to the Corniche Kennedy at Oriol where I had a lunch of ravioli and canoli. Oriol was a quiet residential district with attractive villas.
    Walking back along the Corniche to the city, I saw flotillas of boats going out for Olympic races.
    There was clear water by the cliffs with sunbathers on the rocks. The Playa des Catalans was a sandy beach nearer the city. I passed the Maregraphe which measures the rise in sea-level, and the Monument aux Morts de l'Armee d'Orient.
    I stopped for an aperol spritzer in Vieux Port where the Foreign Legion were recruiting. Gendarmes were outside the Radisson where Olympic officials might be staying.
    Returning to St Charles on the Metro, the crowds had cleared.
    It was interesting to note the large number of pizzerias plus other restaurants with pizzas on the menu.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    Dentist, Musees and Football

    July 30, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    I went to the dental centre in the centre of town for my 11.00 appointment. Without waiting, I was seen by a female dentist who took an x-ray which showed a broken filling which had exposed the nerve. She repaired the filling which held until I saw my dentist in November, and she mentioned that an orthodontist would have to deal with the nerve. Differently to my BUPA dentist, there were no glasses to wear nor a rinse cup. The cost was 50 Euros although this appeared twice on my credit card statement.
    I went to the Musee Cantini which had mostly 20th century art.
    The Musee d'Histoire de Marseille had lots of exhibits about Greek and Roman periods in Marseille, including a Roman trading vessel.
    Having walked back to the hotel, I left again at 17.00 to take the Metro to Rond-Point du Prado to go to the Stade de Marseille for the men's football match between France and New Zealand which France won comfortably 2:1. Before the kick-off at 19.00, I bought the Olympic and Paralympic mascots from the official shop.
    My uncomfortable seat was in the cheapest price category behind one of the goals. I was surrounded by some of the 45,000 mainly French spectators. There was lots of singing of football chants and other songs.
    Walking back to the Metro station after the match, it was fortunate that an empty train soon arrived.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    Le Corbusier, Beaux Artes, and Football

    July 31, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    I took another Metro journey to Rond-Point du Prado and then walked to the Unite d'Habitation (Cite Radieuse) designed by Le Corbusier and opened in 1952. Besides the apartments, there were some offices, a shop, a hotel, a restaurant and a cafe where I had a morning break. There was a good view from the 9th floor roof terrace. especially of the Stade de Marseille.
    Taking the Metro back into the city, I went to the Musee des Beaux Artes in the Palais de Longchamp which exhibited a mixture of painting styles.
    After an alfresco lunch opposite the Palais, I walked back to the hotel.
    At 17.00, I took the Metro to Rond-Point du Prado again for the short walk to the Stade de Marseille for my one and only shift at a football match, a women's match between the USA and Australia which the USA won. There were water breaks during the match because it was so hot. The Doping Control Chaperones watched the match on TV in the Doping Control Centre rather than in the stands. The female volunteers acted as the chaperones whilst I used a tablet to record the entries and exits from the Centre.
    Because it was so hot, the players were dehydrated and some had difficulty in providing a urine sample so, although the match finished at about 21.00, I didn't leave until midnight to catch the Metro back to St Charles.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    Aix-en-Provence

    August 1, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    I took a train for the 45 minute ride to Aix-en-Province.
    I went to two Granet Musees to see a mixture of religious and contemporary paintings, and sculptures, including works by Picasso, Rubens and Cezanne.
    After a break for an alfresco lunch, I walked around the Quartier Mazarin and went to the Caumont Centre d'Art in the Hotel Caumont which also had a nice garden. There was a film about Cezanne who lived near Aix, plus an exhibition about the Japanese influence on Pierre Bonnard.
    I went into a couple of churches. There were lots of smart shops and cafes and, like all the cities in Provence, lots of tourists.
    It was another hot day with a clear blue sky and wonderful light so it was easy to understand why many painters chose to live and work in Provence.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    First Shift at the Marina

    August 2, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    03.50. Woken by the alarm.
    04.58. Caught the first Metro to Rond-Point du Prado
    05.07. Began the 20 minute walk to the Marina since it was too early for a bus.
    05.30. Met Doping Control doctors and volunteers.
    06.00. Walked to Nhow Hotel next to the Marina but volunteers unable to access because the update to our accreditation hadn't been done overnight.
    07.00. The volunteers left the Marina for a "formula" breakfast at a cafe across the road.
    08.50. Accreditation updated.
    09.00. Entered Nhow Hotel but too late because the doctors had found and tested the chosen athletes.
    10.00. Volunteer dining hall opened so I had an early lunch.
    12.00. I went to the Marina Doping Control Centre who were short of chaperones, and I chaperoned one athlete.
    17.00. Left Marina because the lack of wind led to the cancellation of the races.
    It was 32 degrees during the day and I may have caught a little sunstroke when standing around on the beach where the boats and athletes landed.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    Callelongue

    August 3, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 31 °C

    I took the Metro again to Rond-Point du Prado, and then buses 19 and 20 to travel east along the coast from the sandy Playa du Prado, Montredon, Point Rouge and Les Goudes to Callelongue, a small fishing village and the start of the Parc Nacional des Calanques with its rocky coastline, coves and fishing villages like Callelongue. The Parc was closed due to the dry vegetation and the fire risk, especially since the Mistral had picked up today with "white horses" out in the bays, and waves hitting the beaches.
    I had a nice lunch in the village at La Grotte, after which I returned to the hotel by the same route.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanTravelerFrance 2024

    Les Baumettes

    August 4, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Another ride on the Metro to Rond-Point du Prado and then bus B1 to Luminy, but the Parc Nacional du Calanques was still closed and there was nothing except university buildings at Luminy so I returned on the B1 to a bus-stop where I caught bus 22 to the end of the line at Les Baumettes. The Parc was also shut there so, instead, I had an alfresco Sunday lunch with cerviche de loup and a Cafe Gourmand.
    Les Baumettes was an attractive district with the hills of the Parc in the background.    Read more

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