Maybe it is only All at Sea humour. Bonne soiree.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Humour
Maybe it is only All at Sea humour. Bonne soiree.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Random Marseille
A few random photos from around Marseille to give an added flavour of the place.
 |
| Campus de Luminy, dating from 1966. Marseille is in the background and the sea is behind me. I am halfway up the 600m mountain that towers over campus. |
 |
| The rush to leave work...... but actually the start of a cycle race in September |
 |
| And a pretty house nameplate that caught my eye while hunting for geocaches in a posh district. |
Monday, 28 November 2011
Gorge de Regalon, Petite Luberon
I have been in France for six months now, but hadn't really explored further afield than the local area. Public transport had served me well and there was a bit of a deep-breath required for the next stage. Last weekend I plucked up the determination and went and hired myself a car. Idiosyncratically, in Marseille, hire cars are cheaper from the airport than within the city. To the point that I paid just over half the price at the airport, oh and being a British 'resident' I got a cheaper rate than as a French resident(!!).
So Saturday morning saw me heading off into the wild driving a car on the right side of the road for the first time in 18 months and the first time outside of a little Greek island. My goal was the Foret du Luberon between Avignon and Pertuis in Provence. More specifically I had identified a nice region for walking and this was the second goal of the weekend after practising my driving. One hour or main and secondary roads, umpteen roundabouts and no near misses I arrived at the parking area.
The Gorge de Regalon (here) is quite a popular destination, but was previously unknown to me. I just picked somewhere nice looking from the map i had bought the evening before!
Maps:
Carte de Randonee IGN 3142OT - Cavaillon (1:25k)
or Carte de loisirs de plein air IGN 'Balades en Foret du Luberon' (1:20k)
Time: 3-3.5 hours
Moderate walking, rough underfoot and a need for boots and to use your hands. Don't go after heavy rain as the gorge is likely to be impassable!
I can't find a good representation of the route I took online, so in brief I went North from the parking area following signs to Gorge du Regalon (ignore coloured marks, these are wooden signs). Once past the obligatory 'this is a hazardous place' sign and slightly more ominous depth of water indication I was into the gorge itself. The narrow file through the rock (limestone I think) is generally wooded with deciduous trees and ivy common. The path and floor of the gorge shows signs of considerable water movement in places and you come across various cave openings at intervals. Gradually the gorge narrowed and I was using my hands to balance along, including using stepping stones in places. At one point the path appears to go into a large cave entrance, which is actually a short tunnel.
The path continues along a narrow passageway which isn't actually dark, but gloomy and open to the sky. Claustophobic people who can't cope with something just over shoulder width wouldn't be happy, but I didn't have to take off my bag or go sideways at all. Gradually the file opened up and went back to wide gorge, large caves and scrabbles up rocky steps.
Eventually the path splits at a sign post. I took the left side heading for Vallon de la Galerie (top of the google map). Ten minutes later a wide forest track is joined (turning left again) and the path is followed up the twists and turns of this valley to the Galerie.
Vallon de la Galerie climbs slowly from gorge level up to the foot of the higher peaks behind. The path climbs up and gives a wide view over the surrounding landscape. It does feel like a wilderness with few or no roads or buildings in sight.
At the northern tip of the Vallon the track doubles back on itself and climbs up to reveal the view. A signpost at the top for 'Le Mayorques' shows the southerly path back over the top of the plateau. The farm at La Mayorques itself appears to be a centre for groups to come and learn about traditional farming, but also has a room for hikers to spend the night. There are several places like this within the Luberon, most marked on the map.
From the farm the path is marked across a rough scrubby area to the plateau edge. Here a view over the Durance valley and a steep winding path take your down through the forest on sandy paths and then back to the car.
It was a pleasant walk and good to stretch my legs. Back to Marseille is a 1.5-2 hour drive from here through scenic wine country. A young French lad benefited from a lift to Aix-en-Provence too.
So Saturday morning saw me heading off into the wild driving a car on the right side of the road for the first time in 18 months and the first time outside of a little Greek island. My goal was the Foret du Luberon between Avignon and Pertuis in Provence. More specifically I had identified a nice region for walking and this was the second goal of the weekend after practising my driving. One hour or main and secondary roads, umpteen roundabouts and no near misses I arrived at the parking area.The Gorge de Regalon (here) is quite a popular destination, but was previously unknown to me. I just picked somewhere nice looking from the map i had bought the evening before!
Maps:
Carte de Randonee IGN 3142OT - Cavaillon (1:25k)
or Carte de loisirs de plein air IGN 'Balades en Foret du Luberon' (1:20k)
Time: 3-3.5 hours
Moderate walking, rough underfoot and a need for boots and to use your hands. Don't go after heavy rain as the gorge is likely to be impassable!
 |
| Water flow |
 |
| This IS the path, with 5cm of water on the ground, but stones to step on. |
The path continues along a narrow passageway which isn't actually dark, but gloomy and open to the sky. Claustophobic people who can't cope with something just over shoulder width wouldn't be happy, but I didn't have to take off my bag or go sideways at all. Gradually the file opened up and went back to wide gorge, large caves and scrabbles up rocky steps.
Eventually the path splits at a sign post. I took the left side heading for Vallon de la Galerie (top of the google map). Ten minutes later a wide forest track is joined (turning left again) and the path is followed up the twists and turns of this valley to the Galerie.
 |
| From Vallon de la Galerie |
At the northern tip of the Vallon the track doubles back on itself and climbs up to reveal the view. A signpost at the top for 'Le Mayorques' shows the southerly path back over the top of the plateau. The farm at La Mayorques itself appears to be a centre for groups to come and learn about traditional farming, but also has a room for hikers to spend the night. There are several places like this within the Luberon, most marked on the map.
From the farm the path is marked across a rough scrubby area to the plateau edge. Here a view over the Durance valley and a steep winding path take your down through the forest on sandy paths and then back to the car.
 |
| Across the Durance Valley with a break in the clouds |
It was a pleasant walk and good to stretch my legs. Back to Marseille is a 1.5-2 hour drive from here through scenic wine country. A young French lad benefited from a lift to Aix-en-Provence too.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Tartiflette
For some time now I have been lacking inspiration to take photographs. One of the reasons may be the backlog that has built up of photos I have taken but not actually done anything with - 900+ at this mornings count. Anyway I am spending part of today getting to grips with this and as a result decided to post some of them here.
First of all though, I made my first Tartiflette on Friday. Tartiflette is a French dish which was actually launched to promote the use of the Reblochon cheese!! It is now a firm favourite in the winter and cold conditions such as after a day in the Alps. I took three recipes from the internet and made my own version.
~ 750g of waxy potatoes.
2 good sized onions.
1 clove of garlic
100-150g of Lardons (chopped bacon with the fat still on)
Half a Reblochon cheese (although I used a little more than this)
Creme Fraiche
White wine - for drinking
Seasoning
Green salad
Serves 3-4
I boiled the potatoes whole until just soft enough. In the meantime I chopped and sweated the onions and finely chopped garlic down until close to soft but not brown. Add the lardons for five minutes or so to the hot pan and seasoning. Once the bacon /lardons are starting to look cooked too slosh in half a glass of white wine, but keep the rest of the bottle for drinking with the meal. Add seasoning, but no salt as there is plenty in the cheese and bacon.
In a large shallow pyrex dish most recipes tell you to start with the potatoes, but I placed some cheese slices on the bottom of the dish as an added touch. Then peel (if you want) the potatoes and cut about half into thick slices, creating a layer in the bottom of the dish. Then add the onion/garlic/bacon mixture, spreading evenly across the potato layer. Add another potato layer on top of this.
Finally I added several dollops of creme fraiche and smoothed that down before adding strips of Reblochon to cover the top. It is this top layer that will use about half a cheese.
Cook for 20-30 minutes in a moderately hot oven (Gas 5, 190C) until the cheese has browned. Serve hot with a green salad and dry white wine. Bread is also good for mopping the plates. The remains, if there are any, are good either hot or cold over the next few days should you need any further insulation.
 |
| Tartiflette after leaving the oven |
~ 750g of waxy potatoes.
2 good sized onions.
1 clove of garlic
100-150g of Lardons (chopped bacon with the fat still on)
Half a Reblochon cheese (although I used a little more than this)
Creme Fraiche
White wine - for drinking
Seasoning
Green salad
Serves 3-4
I boiled the potatoes whole until just soft enough. In the meantime I chopped and sweated the onions and finely chopped garlic down until close to soft but not brown. Add the lardons for five minutes or so to the hot pan and seasoning. Once the bacon /lardons are starting to look cooked too slosh in half a glass of white wine, but keep the rest of the bottle for drinking with the meal. Add seasoning, but no salt as there is plenty in the cheese and bacon.
In a large shallow pyrex dish most recipes tell you to start with the potatoes, but I placed some cheese slices on the bottom of the dish as an added touch. Then peel (if you want) the potatoes and cut about half into thick slices, creating a layer in the bottom of the dish. Then add the onion/garlic/bacon mixture, spreading evenly across the potato layer. Add another potato layer on top of this.
Finally I added several dollops of creme fraiche and smoothed that down before adding strips of Reblochon to cover the top. It is this top layer that will use about half a cheese.
 |
| My Tartiflette before cooking and with the remaining cheese |
Cook for 20-30 minutes in a moderately hot oven (Gas 5, 190C) until the cheese has browned. Serve hot with a green salad and dry white wine. Bread is also good for mopping the plates. The remains, if there are any, are good either hot or cold over the next few days should you need any further insulation.
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Habituation
Sat in the laboratory, petri dish under the microscope and another sample is now ready to count. The dish has a 1mm square grid on it. Music playing, counter in hand ready to record the essential details in the next five minutes. The only decisions to make are whether to go to the top or bottom first and to scan from left to right and back again, or up and down likewise.
So why have I never scanned up and down? I always, as far as I am aware have gone horizontally. Is this a thought-out decision or just a habit?
The same situation faces us in many situations in our daily lives, but for the most part we probably aren't conscious of the decisions because they have become habits or we don't make a definite decision, but go with the flow. But at what point does something become a habituation? And was there ever a logical reason for the decision in the first place?
To give a few examples: Why do you shop in that supermarket, buy that brand of soap or tin of beans? In some situations such as going to the cinema on a particular day of the week this may be a matter of cost and owning a particular brand of telephone and the rest of the routine develops around this.
All I am driving at is the suggestion that maybe you should question some of your actions sometimes. Things change, one brand becomes cheaper or more ethical. For others you may not know why you do something but it is simply the way it has always been done. Make your life easier and figure out the most efficient way of doing things. Change your driving habits to save fuel rather than driving to the speed limit. The time difference is probably minimal, or maybe it is worth the extra cost and environmental pollution that the exponential fuel use causes.
The classic story is the family that always cut the end off of the ham bone before roasting it in the oven. Many years later someone thought to question why they always did this difficult task..... and discovered that it was simply to fit it in the oven that was available in grandmother's house and there was no advantage otherwise!
Question, question, keep your mind moving and enjoy your life.
To misquote: Take care of the seconds and the minutes of free time will add up by themselves. After a while there will be a nice half hour to enjoy a book chapter or a glass of wine (or both).
And so the scientific logical mind takes another turn to the obscure, back to my counting!
So why have I never scanned up and down? I always, as far as I am aware have gone horizontally. Is this a thought-out decision or just a habit?
The same situation faces us in many situations in our daily lives, but for the most part we probably aren't conscious of the decisions because they have become habits or we don't make a definite decision, but go with the flow. But at what point does something become a habituation? And was there ever a logical reason for the decision in the first place?
To give a few examples: Why do you shop in that supermarket, buy that brand of soap or tin of beans? In some situations such as going to the cinema on a particular day of the week this may be a matter of cost and owning a particular brand of telephone and the rest of the routine develops around this.
All I am driving at is the suggestion that maybe you should question some of your actions sometimes. Things change, one brand becomes cheaper or more ethical. For others you may not know why you do something but it is simply the way it has always been done. Make your life easier and figure out the most efficient way of doing things. Change your driving habits to save fuel rather than driving to the speed limit. The time difference is probably minimal, or maybe it is worth the extra cost and environmental pollution that the exponential fuel use causes.
The classic story is the family that always cut the end off of the ham bone before roasting it in the oven. Many years later someone thought to question why they always did this difficult task..... and discovered that it was simply to fit it in the oven that was available in grandmother's house and there was no advantage otherwise!
Question, question, keep your mind moving and enjoy your life.
To misquote: Take care of the seconds and the minutes of free time will add up by themselves. After a while there will be a nice half hour to enjoy a book chapter or a glass of wine (or both).
And so the scientific logical mind takes another turn to the obscure, back to my counting!
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Ouvrir la Creativite
As regular readers with know i have been lacking the blog-writing spark recently. The same has also applied to my photography. I haven't taken many photographs in the last six months. I haven't done anything with those I have taken, bar the few posted in here, and I haven't known why. Phases, lack of inspiration, other things taking your attention, call it what you will. I don't want to force what will come naturally given time. Maybe I have been being all scientific and not needing my arty side... or the art is focused on learning a language. Je ne sais pas!Today there was a spark of life, wandering along the quayside this morning I spotted several potential 'kodak-moments' to coin a strawberry (frais, phrase....!) from a friend. Not having my camera with me I could do little at the time, but had the opportunity to come back later and with a little pushing decided to head back into town after lunch and see if anything caught my eye. It wasn't going to cost me anything other than time and was worth a wander.
 |
| Cathedral major, the sight greeting everyone entering the docks, but not the grandest cathedral in the city |
 |
| What have you done to my city? |
 |
| Three statues inside the main arch of Cathedral major |
Finally the Mistral is blowing strongly at the moment, preventing the planning diving, so I may have a poddle (pottering-wandering-toddle) tomorrow and see if i can find some moody seas and pretty scenes. Maybe the spark is back for a bit. If I can just shift the backlog of images too.....
Monday, 12 September 2011
French Food continued
As you may know in my move to France I have been exploring aspects of the culture and the nature of food that is available. One of these ways has been to indulge my love of all things dairy and sample some of the available cheeses. When faced with a considerable choice it is hard to know where to begin, but well some methods just work rather nicely. In my case at present I am picking up one or two cheeses a week that are on offer or a block of it is reduced. One could argue that this means the cheese won't be at its best, but then there is always a risk that I won't like said cheese and so I'd also be wasting money. In this way I waste less.
Reportedly the cheese that gets exported from France must have a certain level of pasteurisation to normalise it. This has an impact on its flavour, but in France some cheeses are not pasteurised. Equally the level of mould on a cheese seems to be part of its character and not all moulds actually taste 'bad'. So the quote of the day has to be that "French cheeses only become good when they start to move by themselves". This was in response to a variety of Brie with which I had populated my sandwich... I could smell it through the plastic bag and the waft as I ate it worked its way across the office. The taste was fantastic, but very 'unBritish'!
Cheeses of note: (updated Nov 2011)
Goats cheeses (chevre) are popular down here and are usually very tasty. There is one particular one from the Carmargue region which starts very pungent and then grows a skin after two weeks and changes flavour, assuming you have tolerated it that long!
Emmenthal - a generally boring cheese to just eat, slightly rubbery, but very popular as a grated cheese for cooking and can be bought in huge quantities
Brie - Not just one type of Brie but a whole family of soft cheeses from tasty to very tasty and mellow to pungent. Brie de Maubert appears to be particularly fine ;)
Comte - medium Cheddar with a little extra
Reblochon - THE cheese for Tartiflette, see other post. Slightly salty, sticky and meltable.
Boursin - Creamy and tasty, for spreading on bread
Camembert - actually a type of Brie, this needs a little time to mature into a real stinker. Strong flavour and very good on stuffed mushrooms if you have little nublettes left.
Colomniers - similar to Camembert, not quite as strong flavoured.
Munster/St Auban - Sticky outer shell, matured for several months. Pungent sticky cheese that is quite salty. Not a strong flavour despite its smell.
Anyway I expect I shall return and add further varieties to this as and when I discover them. I frequently return to the Brie and Goats cheese areas.
The cheese course is also a rather good invention and comes either before or after dessert as a little enjoyment. The end of a baguette or a few little biscuits and a choice of tasty morsels is really a lovely way to end a meal. Not every day of course, but I appreciate it all the more when I do.
Well, A beintot and I shall go back to my slab of Frangipane I am munching this evening. :)
Reportedly the cheese that gets exported from France must have a certain level of pasteurisation to normalise it. This has an impact on its flavour, but in France some cheeses are not pasteurised. Equally the level of mould on a cheese seems to be part of its character and not all moulds actually taste 'bad'. So the quote of the day has to be that "French cheeses only become good when they start to move by themselves". This was in response to a variety of Brie with which I had populated my sandwich... I could smell it through the plastic bag and the waft as I ate it worked its way across the office. The taste was fantastic, but very 'unBritish'!
Cheeses of note: (updated Nov 2011)
Goats cheeses (chevre) are popular down here and are usually very tasty. There is one particular one from the Carmargue region which starts very pungent and then grows a skin after two weeks and changes flavour, assuming you have tolerated it that long!
Emmenthal - a generally boring cheese to just eat, slightly rubbery, but very popular as a grated cheese for cooking and can be bought in huge quantities
Brie - Not just one type of Brie but a whole family of soft cheeses from tasty to very tasty and mellow to pungent. Brie de Maubert appears to be particularly fine ;)
Comte - medium Cheddar with a little extra
Reblochon - THE cheese for Tartiflette, see other post. Slightly salty, sticky and meltable.
Boursin - Creamy and tasty, for spreading on bread
Camembert - actually a type of Brie, this needs a little time to mature into a real stinker. Strong flavour and very good on stuffed mushrooms if you have little nublettes left.
Colomniers - similar to Camembert, not quite as strong flavoured.
Munster/St Auban - Sticky outer shell, matured for several months. Pungent sticky cheese that is quite salty. Not a strong flavour despite its smell.
Anyway I expect I shall return and add further varieties to this as and when I discover them. I frequently return to the Brie and Goats cheese areas.
The cheese course is also a rather good invention and comes either before or after dessert as a little enjoyment. The end of a baguette or a few little biscuits and a choice of tasty morsels is really a lovely way to end a meal. Not every day of course, but I appreciate it all the more when I do.
Well, A beintot and I shall go back to my slab of Frangipane I am munching this evening. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)