Faïence et Randonneurs

After receiving some encouraging emails from some of you who are also trying to get the most out of where you are living now, I thought I would share some of our recent mini-adventures in and around Marseille.

As I’ve mentioned before, Marseille is surrounded by amazingly rugged mountains, and after living in southern Ontario for seven years we are oh so happy to be back in some serious hiking country. Now that we are in possession of a map that marks all of the various possible hikes which connect the Marseille and Cassis via mountains and calanques (coves), we are on a mission. Before the weather turns too hot we hope to have explored most of the terrain within a day’s walk from us. There are a lot of options and since the weather was so nice the first couple of weeks of January we were able to get out a couple of times. Below are some of the pictures including one of what used to be terraced land. It is interesting to think about how long this land has been used to sustain human societies.

Can you believe that there are flowers blooming here still. I have to remind myself that it is January. Even now that it is going down to -1°C or -2°C at night, there still seem to be buds that pop up and surprise me.

Since the weather has turned a bit colder this past week we opted to do a bit of museuming instead of hiking. This lead us to the Musée Faïence or Pottery/Porcelain Museum. As many of you know, I really do love pottery and one of these days when I’m finally settled somewhere where I can store a bunch of stuff, I plan on learning the trade. In the meantime I have settled for just looking and buying other people pottery. Before I start discussing the actual contents of museum, I must admit that the museum building itself is almost as interesting as the subject matter it holds. It is in an old chateau which still contain ornate wall paintings and decorations throughout the main floor. From the various paintings you can clearly see which room was used as a receiving room and sitting room, while the wall paintings of limp pheasants, turkeys and sword skewered ducks surrounded by grapes and squash indicated the dinning room. Also of interest was the central staircase closed away for the servants, so that they could easily enter and exit every room with food and drink from the kitchens which we assume would have been below us. It was really amazing what good condition the building was in and again more questions arise. Who used to live here? When did the government take it over? The lack of historical information readily available in this city is atrocious. 

The main marble staircase. Does it get any more decadent?

The museum exhibits themselves provided us with some information but we were still left asking some questions there too. The curator of this museum was obviously into facts. Who made it, when was it made, what was it made out of and of course who donated it were all clearly labelled on each peice. I would have enjoyed a few more stories behind some of the pieces. The artefacts ranged from modern pottery and glass, to pieces found in Marseille from the Neolithic period. It is amusing to think of the contrast between pottery as a means of food storage, and pottery and porcelain that is so highly decorative it is inlaid with gold.  Can you imagine what the ancient Phoenicians who occupied Marseille for centuries B.C. would have thought if they had been dropped into the dining room of a wealthy aristocrat of the 18^th century?

Here are a couple of the more interesting pieces we saw. This first one was picture worthy according to Keith because it reminded him of “Planet of the Apes.”

Quiz time! If you can tell me what the uses are of the various pieces below, I’ll send you a post card.

Now for the bonus question! There is obviously a message on this plate. If your French is up to the task, try to decipher it. We could figure out that the last word was prudence but besides that we were pretty lost.

Bonne Chance!