Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Adieu Le Mer
It was awfully sweet of the jousters to throw a parade for us as we departed for Spain.
The Fabulous Miss Maya Hayuk
Maya took the train into town with her Mom, who lives in Montpellier and we visited her super amazing mural, part of a grafitti exhibition at the museum. The day progressed with grilled sardines and stories of Van Gogh, thanks to her Mom's running monologue over dinner. Entertaining and lovely to see a familiar face from the States. Go Maya!
JOUST me baby
Carrying over a hot sport from Venice, this unexpected specatcle on the Canal involved bugles and grown men getting very macho about pushing one another off a ledge in cute sailor outfits with long poles. Hm.
Bravery vanishes
Now I love seafood platters as much as the next person, but the Violette and the Sea Snail pushed me over the edge!
The Deal with SETE
The unofficial story of the town: The King (Louis IIX?) wanted a port town for France and had a canal dug, envisioning a Venice of his very own. Founded in 1666 (!), the town blossomed around the new canal and traditions from Italy were set in place (see Boat Jousting entry above). Filled with only French tourists, we found it pleasant and oddly uncomfortable, for no particular reason.
Say it in Sete
By most sauve and fortuitous recommendation, we ended up staying at Le Grand Hotel du Paris, a former "men's convent" (monastery) that was changed to a hotel at the turn of the century, updated in the 40's and basically, left to fester. Run by the charming Lucy, who won't sell to the many who offer, as it was her grandfather's, we were living in a sequel to The Shining at every turn. Peeling wallpaper, dim hallways with plaid carpeting, dust laden unused restaurant and...well...ghosts. The first night I saw two coming home from eating a late dinner. Either that, or they laced our brochettes! A fitful night of sleep, as Jenny heard me talking to the "residents" there in my sleep! Worth it? Worth it.
Avoiding The Nudes
After picking some delightful spot on the coast to chill and accidentally discovering that it was Europe's biggest nudist colony, Jenny and I high-tailed it towards Sete, where our pal Maya Hayuk had finished a mural at the local modern art museum. En route, she befriended a busy codger in the sea who turned out to be digging (yep, you guessed it) TELLINES! I got busy pretending to be Edward Weston for 3 seconds.
En route from Clam to Sand
I couldn't get over that I felt like I was driving real real fast.
The walled town of Aigues Mortes was restored and revered with such perfection that it kind of looked like a mall?
Le Cirque le Freak c'est Chic
This circus was of the olde time gypsy fleabag variety and continued to cross our paths for days afterwards. The carnies were suspicious, but decent and bored enough to let us come in and snoop around for a spell. I had to keep a close eye on Jenny, who had threatened Nayland that she might run off and join the circus while we were away. Lucky for us, this particular tawdry bunch was no temptation, though she developed a crush on the llama with the underbite and hairlip. Go figure.
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