Well friends, here we are on a grey old Monday, like so many other grey old Mondays it has a kind of comforting sameness about it... We know that this too shall pass, we can relax a little. Tuesday WILL come, this won't last forever...
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Here are Pierre and his sister Danielle in the restaurant
Le Nautica des Gourdes, outside Marseille |
Not that I have any reason to complain about this Monday, having spent the past weekend in Marseille with dear old friends -- what a great combination. An exciting port city that is pure pleasure to discover by foot (we walked for hours), and the delight inherent in good conversation that has its foundation in times past. Indeed, more than four decades have passed since I was teaching Theatre Arts in Timmins, and met Pierre (then a student who had a part in a play I was producing) and his sister Danielle (then a teacher in another high school). And now we find ourselves walking the streets of Marseille (where Pierre lives), a far cry from Timmins -- or even Toronto, for that matter, a city we all still love.
Even though we don't often see each other, we continue to share many interests in common, among them an enjoyment of fine food &wine, and a love of reading. Although we did have a marvellous lunch in a seaside restaurant in Les Gourdes outside the city, I have to say that the next day's lunch prepared by Pierre was equally delicious. Talking and eating and laughing, accompanied by a good red wine -- what could be better? Let me urge you, dear reader.... invite someone for lunch as soon as you can!
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Sunday lunch at home with Ian, Pierre and Danielle,
absolutely divine (tiny stuffed pumpkins, for a start!) |
Marseille offers marvellous opportunities for photography, and I couldn't resist hauling out my camera several times a day... The narrow streets, the port full of sailboats at rest, the splendid architecture of public buildings such as the Prefecture (political power & pride exemplified in stone), the happy jumble of people in street markets where vendors are selling everything from watches to clementines to fresh fish...All of it was asking to be captured by a click of my shutter, and of course most of it now resides somewhere behind my eyes in memory...The trick is, of course, to find the words to keep it all fresh.
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This view of Notre-Dame de la Garde seemed a dramatic close
to the end of a perfect day exploring Marseille |
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