Musings

We went to bed early last night, thoroughly pooped. My eyes were closed by 8pm after a longlonglong travel day. We slept and slept. We finally got up just before 11am. [Have I slept that long since I was an infant?] We were thoroughly rejuvenated (no surprise!), especially after the pot of coffee the Guru made…coffee and milk thoughtfully stocked in our apartment!

We set off to explore the harbor. Marseille’s harbor is a rectangular U with the opening to the west. We live in the old town, on the north side. There’s a fort on each side of the harbor opening. This photo is from the north fort toward the south fort. Also, the southern skyline is dominated by the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, high on a rocky outcrop. Although it looks older, it was built in the late mid-1800s. If you get closer or have a big lens, you can see the glinting, gilded statue of the Virgin atop the belltower.

Down at the harbor, you can see that what was once a working harbor used by fisherman, traders, and pirates navies, there’s still a bit of evidence of fishing, but mostly the harbor is full of moored pleasure boats, both sailing and motoring.

I was quite interested in these boat supports/jacks, for the endlessly necessary work on hull cleaning and maintenance.

The many docks radiating out from the wide apron around the water are all protected by gates; this one even had barbed wire. As near as we could tell, each dock was controlled by a different group, usually named a Society of Somethingorother.

Tourists did the usual lots of phone checking, pictures, music, whatever….

Oddly, I noticed no selfie-sticks. Wha? Bring a friend instead?

The base of the U has an artistic high reflective…roof(?), creating probably highly appreciated shade in the summer heat. Today, not so much. Note winter coats.

We took the obligatory close-up shots. Here’s a fine one showing complex anchor engineering.

We also took, uhem, I took many mast-reflection shots. Here’s only one, Lucky You.

We finally got around to the south end of the U, and looked back across the harbor mouth at the northern harbor-protecting fort.

Along the way, we stopped for a big seafood lunch. Big. Mine was a bowl of mixed species. I could not identify the flavors in the broth, quite tasty, but I’m pretty sure it was thickened with bread crumbs. It was served with a small bowl of grated hard cheese, and a small bowl of mustard with garlic and I don’t know what else. I wasn’t sure what to do with them, so after I’d gotten some of the shells out of the way (mmmmm), I stirred them both in. The broth was good both before and after the additions.

The Guru had moules frites, which is mussels with a side of fries. The mussels had marsala (pretty sure) and garlic (definitely) in the steaming/boiling liquid/broth; also yummmmm.

After our lovely, sun-drenched walking tour of the harbor (we missed the cross-harbor pedestrian ferry (1€ for two people), and so walked around the east end of the harbor, then cut north and west finally getting into the narrow streets of our neighborhood. There’s plenty of elevation change, and some sections are all steps.

We had such fun, and took hundreds of photos; I only include the merest sample, chosen to include the highlights—boats, buildings, sunlight. Also, see the moon!? Time to head to the bakery for some take-home quiche for tonight and pain au chocolat for breakfast. Our world is pretty darned fine.

Oops. I almost forgot to add that out our kitchen window I can see this headless Barbie on the tile roof across the street. Abandoned art, or art by abandonment?

Posted at 2:42 PM | Comments Off on Harbor day

We landed in Paris’s airport, and, while taxiing, the pilot welcomed us with the info that it was 28°F out. Brrr! We walked through the terminal for the usual miles of corridors to Customs and baggage claim (no snags either place), finally reaching the area we sought. We watched the dawn light reach the train station just as we did. Handy to be able to switch from airplane to train under the same (extended) roof.

We saw that the fields were still flooded from winter/spring rains. Some bits of ice-glazing among the migratory waterfowl…brrr.

As always, with fast-train photography, trees hopped in front of the lens at the moment of capture.

We saw this bluff for some miles, seeming like it was urging us southward. We crossed many rivers, and this is before we began crossing the Rhône.

Thanks to geolocation by the Guru, we now know this was Éguilles. That accented e means say “eh,” and usually indicates that at some time long ago, there was a consonant following it that is now “gone.” Gone consonant. Language evolution.

Of course, trains must run along near-level routes, so we saw bridges and cuts.

Aha! Welcome to Marseille. No “s” at the end as in the Midwest. Another case of missing consonants? Perhaps, no, ADDED consonants. The breaks in the letters are deliberate, to look like marble, perhaps?

We walked west from the train station, and by this major architectural feature. In western architecture history, whence comes the arch? The Romans surely loved them. Didn’t the much earlier Sumerians use them, too?

See that corner balcony? That’s off our main living floor. Yes, our apartment has two living floors, the main one, and a sleeping loft. AND above that is a terrace, surrounded by potted plants and incredibly lovely. Let me say that the stairs and ladders are interesting terrain for a recovering foot. [Yes, I holler down to the Guru, I am being VERY careful!

Settled in our apartment, we head out to enjoy the final light of the day, highlighting the facade of the cathedral…

…and backlighting the Giant Ferris Wheel so many cities consider de rigour these days. Curious cultural juxtaposition to have the cathedral and wheel face each other (as it were).

A final stop at our neighborhood bakery for quiche and several dough (dough and cheese—like pizza, tasty sauce; dough and veg and sardine bits—surprisingly salty and yummy) combos. This one is for with coffee tomorrow.

About tomorrow, late post because we have been up since ATL, except for short train naps. My fitness device shows steps for all hours since midnight, except for one on the plane when I was watching “Three Billboards…,” and one when I napped on the train. At days’ end, we managed to download the photos and quickly flip through them, but no dice on the brain-power to get them posted and compose words. So, these words come from tomorrow….

Posted at 4:22 PM | 1 Comment »

We coffee’d up and got going, finding this local fog-bank somewhere inland—it’s not a marine layer!

After several hours, we left the Spanish Moss State (or so it seemed)…

…and entered the Peanut State.

Then, closer to home, we saw several almost-Vs of sandhill cranes (pretty sure about that ID).

Posted at 7:16 PM | Comments Off on Interstate views

The title is apt for our day; we did cover some ground. We also kinda went underground through this tunnel. I could not even read the last line of the sign “No trucks except standard height…” because, irony of ironies, truck-roofs had so damaged it that the letters have been bashed to near-oblivion.

We also went through tunnels of trees. The green is beginning to pop. (Apologies for the insect grease.)

Then we made it to the ocean! Yay, Atlantic! Substantial marine layer for after noon…. Thanks, K!

Southbound, we dodged some serious traffic, as the Day-tone-uh race (rrrrrrrr) was underway as we slipped south past it, keeping thousands of vehicles in actual parking lots and not out on the roads. Above we could see the Wingfoot One, but without the customary Goodyear name…and instead a hashtag advertising a Goodyear ad-video that will premier tomorrow.

Safely past the motor mecca, we headed for a place that advertised it’s fine view. Walking through the parking lot, we were glad we found a regular space, as apparently handicapped vehicles get special avian…attention…the kind that can damage the paint job.

Turns out the restaurant gave us seats to a terrific sunset show, and decent enough food. Won’t go back, but it was perfect for this evening.

Tired, we reached our destination. Yawn. G’night.

Posted at 9:08 PM | Comments Off on Covered some ground

Rural small towns in the Deep South: you will find churches, but not usually this large and fancy.

You will also find evidence that there used to be more buildings.

Go far enough south, and you will see Spanish moss (not a moss at all) festooning the trees, often oaks.

Monocropping trends towards trees and…

…cotton (decorative sample). Also pecans and sometimes peanuts (neither pictured).

The soils tend to be sandy, sometimes nearly white. You may see horse hoofprints.

And you know you’re in a small town when the restaurant puts the game to keep the kids occupied out in the street.

* (Chinese) Happy New Year!

Posted at 9:05 PM | Comments Off on Gung Hei Fat Choi!

We went to O4W Park for our steps-and-flights today. Those two big cranes are attending the apartments-and-Kroger construction I mentioned on the 25th. I wonder how close this neighborhood is to housing saturation, with all these new apartment buildings opening.

Scotch broom bloom. Say it three times fast, I dare ya!

Posted at 7:35 PM | Comments Off on Overcast can be…okay

As I headed out on my walk, I discovered this crew with their big crane prepared to lift a new AC unit that’s on the sidewalk by the crane to the roof of the Y. When I returned about 50 minutes later, the crane arm was folded and the crew was letting the leveling jacks down and putting away the jack-stuff (plywood pieces, etc.). I think the installation crew was still working on the roof.

On my loop between crane inspections, I found this purple gate on a little-used alley. I remember the gate, but not the purple.

Things do change….

Posted at 4:55 PM | Comments Off on Neighborly notes

We got exuberant today in the sunshine, and headed over to the BeltLine. Since we were there last, the powers-that-be have put a new set of public art along the right-of-way. I liked the asymmetry of this one.

We headed farther than I expected to (over-exuberance?), to check out the Kroger apartment building across from Ponce City Market. Many crews working, with two cranes, one at each end of the complex, including this load of supplies being elevated to the upper level. I think there’ll be at least two more floors added to this end of the building. Note the old roof-top water tower on the old, neighboring building.

Okay, I am cribbing the title phrase from the redesigned label of our favorite Georgia cheese….

Posted at 6:45 PM | Comments Off on Barn-free

We’re looping today…I’m posting a few pictures from the last few days that I didn’t have access to on each day…you see, it gets complicated to remember charging cables and downloading cables…you know, the Stuff that goes with the Things you choose to take on your trip. Or that we did. Sooooo, we neglected a certain download cable, so these are harvested from the camera that I didn’t have access to each day.

This is a log version of one of those square-footprint buildings that we saw in, was it Virginia?

And this is a view from the east side of the National Gallery across an interesting art-inhabited plaza toward what the Goo indicates is the library of the Art Research for the NG. Which I assume is correct. Anyway…I really liked the juxtaposition of the circle of bollard-stubs around the glittering triangle-shapes. And water-features.

In the Air and Space Museum, this was the reflection on a nose-cone? Not sure…but fascinating.

And a fine view of the capitol atop Capitol Hill, showing how builders carved into the hill to make the building’s lower tiers. Kinda like the remaining parts of Nero’s Domus Aurea and various constructions along the lower flanks of the Palatine Hill in Rome. Well, many other places, too, and not only in Rome. Maybe it’s just an obvious engineering solution to occupying a steep slope if there’s plenty of labor and building stone. Maybe.

Sunshine means shadows. And I loved these fence-lines flanking our route across rural Maryland horse-country. Expensive horse-flesh gets expensive fences that are protective, but unlikely to mar or scar that flesh. And safe fences make good shadows.

This pair of water towers once stood over an industrial factory zone. I’m pretty sure. This was in NC, not far from the SC border, if I remember correctly.

We’re glad to be home, but today was a chores day, and limited in the visual capture department…so I rely on a few recent days to…entertain(?) you, Gentle Reader….

Posted at 9:21 PM | 1 Comment »

We loaded up and when The Guru fired up the beastie (complete with a full electrical charge (yay!)), it gave us this temp. Time to head south, we agreed. It even dropped another degree by the time we crossed the Potomac one last time east of Harpers Ferry. The water sparkled in the sun; we were southbound; life is good, we also agreed.

The landscape was mostly open and we saw a few “fancy” houses. I tried not to think about the ugly history of slavery in this former(?) tobacco-farming region. (We saw very few (surviving?) tobacco barns, unlike this latitude on our northbound leg.)

It was Sunday and perhaps that is partly why this was the only active farm vehicle we saw….

All the horses I remember seeing on the many mini-farms had lovely jackets. I don’t think they’re anything like the old-fashioned “horse blankets.” I suspect these are high-tech and perhaps even Goretex.

I loved the low sun angle at this, our last rest area of the journey.

Proof that home is not far ahead…the Gaffney peach. And attendant power lines….

Such a great trip; such a diversity of experiences! We especially enjoyed last night’s socializing with our friends from Venezuela* (presently in northern Maryland). Still smiling!

* And, yes, the terrible things you have heard about people starving to death, lack/absence of medicines (including for malaria), and brutality by…well, you get the idea of what’s happening in Venezuela…yes, what you’ve heard: true, true, true. Soooo, so sad. We are glad they are safe. For now….

Posted at 9:14 PM | Comments Off on Winter tour concludes