Toulouse: what if it were real?

It is called “the red city”; after a few steps you understand why: most of the buildings are in brick. During the morning, or even in the evening, when a soft light scrambles the walls, you have the impression that the air is pink. And you continue to walk, faster and faster, in order to inhale as much as possible from this color.

I arrived Friday evening and I couldn’t help myself not to go out for a tour. Whenever I’m walking at night I have the impression that the scenes in front of me are not my real life, that they are fragments from a film that I’m watching. Toulouse is different, I’m not afraid…I’m not afraid to turn left on a little street that is not that well illuminated, I’m not afraid to eat on a bench with 2 SDF/ homeless people standing on another bench next to me, I’m not afraid to take off my camera and take some pictures of the town centre. Even if you can see all types of people in the street, everybody is quiet and minds his own business. And you realize that it’s a wonderful thing not to be afraid.

Saturday morning I turn on the hot water to take a shower and…I realize that the buildings are not the only reason why one calls Toulouse the red city; because of the old pipes of a 2 stars hotel on the bank of “Canal du midi” the water is completely red!

Attractions of the week-end: the old churches spread all over the city, a “marché de dimanche”, a contemporary art exhibition in the old “Abatoires”, the bank of the Garone that hosts a lot of young couples and families who enjoy a sunny autumn day, “Jardin des plantes” and the fall of yellow little leaves on us, like in a secret ritual.

Bodeaux on European Patrimony Day

Bordeaux deserves its reputation of “wine capital”. On one of the sides of “Place de la Comédie” one can find an exquisite wine bar, with an amazing menu. If you don’t know much about wine, the waiter will surely know to advice you (the interior of this bar is also very beautiful). The wine comes in big glass, but in small portions. Since is the drinks of goods…First you blend it, then you feel it, then you take a sip, then you wait a moment to feel your mouth’s impression and only afterward you can swallow it (preferably with your eyes closed and a sob at the end).

Luckily we arrived here for the European Patrimony day, so the atmosphere was excellent. Plus, a great number of events were organized all over the city. Our first stop was at the Fine Arts Museum, where we discovered Chaval. He was a French cartoonist, born in Bordeaux. After seeing his work I can tell you that he was very intelligent also.

Other wonderful moments of the day: a classical concert in the yard of the Business School, an organ lesson at the top level of an old church, a photo exhibition in the central park, a nice dinner on the terrace of a coquettish restaurant, a romantic stroll on the bank of Garonne.

I have the feeling that Bordeaux is a “complete/absolute city”, where you can find everything you want: culture, wine, a well paid job, parks and a quality night life. Maybe we’ll move here someday…

"Tasting" Cognac

Cognac it’s a little town in the west of France, not far from Angouleme. As you could figure it out by its name, here you can find the most important French cognac producers. I only had time to visit one of them and it wasn’t easy to choose. So I picked up the oldest one: Martel

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With an imposing building as its headquarters, Martel rises at the bottom of the Cognac’s main street. All tours are guided and a prior signing up is needed. I took the English tour, because it was the only one available when I got there. Out guide was charming and at the same time he had something of old brandy refinement.

There were 5 major things that I discovered during the visit:

1) brandy is the distillation of wine from anywhere in the world. All cognac is brandy but not all brandy is cognac

2) you can smell cognac in each and every room

3) thy really care about their tourists, because ea whole setting was developed in order for us to understand how brandy is produced, deposited, packed and delivered to the final consumers

4) their packaging is extraordinary! Martel counts more than 100 labels since its release

5) for the cognac as well as for the wine, prices are increasing proportionally with the age of the drinks…and they can get astronomic (1850 euros)!

If not, Cognac is a small idyllic town, in the west of France…

Sète and the sea all around it:

Sete is one of my favorite places in the world and luckily for me, this year I’m not very far from it. Just image: a sort of hill surrounded by the sea, with wide beaches and a maritime cemetery, with oysters and sun. At the top of the hill you have a breathtaking view of the surroundings and of the Isle of Thau.

The town resembles a little bit with Venice, in the sense that it also has channels that cross it and that offer it a particular charm. Instead of gondolas people use small boats to travel around and a lot of them are fishermen.

I love the color and the smell of the sea here. I love the terrace next to “The Sea Theatre”. I like the idea that they have a sea theatre. I find it very touching that local people brought small objects in connection with the sea and deposed them on the graves of their beloved ones, buried in the maritime cemetery. I love the sea fruits. I love to see the Isle bathed into a red sunset…

Transition

Timp de o saptaman-doua voi scrie in engleza despre calatoriile mele prin Franta. Asta pentru ca profesorul de engleza ne-a cerut sa tinem un jurnal online si m-am gandit sa profit de ocazie ca sa updatez acest blog prafuit.

In loc de tranzitie, am sa va fac o demostratie rapida si amuzanta a cunostintelor de engleza pe care le detin colegii mei. Asta ca sa va asigur ca voi veti intelege cu siguranta tot ceea ce voi povesti.

E-mail de la una dintre colegele mele :

J'ai envoyé un mail à Charlie [profesorul nostru de engleza] pour des questions concernant notre projet d'anglais et dans la réponse il a rajouté ceci:

"Please tell the students I'm going to be about 20 minutes late tomorrow morning."

J'ai l'impression que ça veut dire qu'il sera un peu en retard demain matin, mais j'ai peur de dire des bêtises donc je vous ai remis sa phrase directement!

Et in Arles ego

Sunt « arlesiene », adica locuiesc la Arles. Intr-un studio de 18 metri patrati pt care platesc 400 euro. Cred ca odata cu aceasta chirie am depasit un prag psihologic masurat prin raportul euro/m2…Oricum, am o pozitionare foarte buna: in centrul orasului, la poalele Arenelor romane. Si am un pat enorm.

Pentru cei care au uitat, masterul pe care il fac se numeste « Administrarea instututiilor culturale », iar facultatea e situata in vechiul spital unde a fost ingrijit Van Gogh dupa ce si-a taiat urechea. Drept urmare tot orasul e impanzit de reproduceri ieftine ale tablourilor sale, de calendare cu el pe coperta, de case cu inscriptia « masion jaune ».

Spre deosebire de Dijon aici nu sunt romani. Decat un cuplu de tigani cersetori, plasati in fata unei boulangerii. Cersesc in liniste si in mod democratic : o zi ea, o zi el. Prin urmare mi-am reintrat in rol, rolul de a vorbi despre Romania, despre cultura si traditiile noastre, despre probleme si schimbare. La facultateam deja programata o prezentare a politicilor culturale de la noi, iar pt cursul de internet am hotarat impreuna cu celelalte 3 fete din echipa mea sa facem un site despre turismul cultural in Romania.

Dar lucrul cel mai minuant este ca ceea ce spun e nou : nou pt cei care ma asculta, nou pentru mine. Cand traim intr-un anumit context cu care ne impegnam zi de zi, nu avem prea des ocazia sa ne detasam si sa facem o analiza « la rece ». Insa aici, la cateva sute de km distanta, imi pun tot mai des intrebari despre ce rerprezinta « specificul romanesc », despre ce ar trebui sa alegem atunci cand ne facem un autoportret si despre o multime de alte lucruri care ma definesc, dar pe care nu le-am verbalizat niciodata.

Tauromachie

Iata un cuvant care mi-a placut si pe care l-am retinut repede, unul din primele pe care le-am auzit la Arles. Imi suna a magie, a mister, a stiinta.

In centrul orasului comerciantii vand tot felul de obiecte pe care sunt desenati tauri: de la prosoape de baie la jucarii, animalele negre te privesc de peste tot. Un afis lipit in graba pe unul din peretii Arnelelor te lamureste: in week-end vor avea loc coride. Se apropie feria!

Initierea mea in “cultura taurina” a fost consistenta: fotografii, povesti, desene, “la course camarguaise” si “la tienta”. Se pare ca o corida e mai mult decat un spectacol: e o pasiune, e o manifestare culturala, e un joc, e o arta. Asta o cred mai putin cei care sunt impotriva coridelor; pt ca…apropo…stiati ca in timpul coridelor taurii sunt ucisi?

Cred ca rosul e o culoare puternica, expresiva, dar nu imi place sa vad sange. Pe de alta parte admir tot ceea ce se transforma in pasiune. Asa ca am decis sa asist vineri la corida. Daca imi place, urmatorul pas va fi o alta la Madrid.

Voc pt incepatori:

1) Course camarguaise/ course a cocardes= o corida in timpul careia elevi ai scolilor de toreadori incearca sa ia dintre coarnele taurilor niste foite de hartie care simbolizeaza puncte; ei tb sa stie sa alerge repede

2) Tienta= o corida cu vaci tinere si tineri care aspira sa devina toreadori
3) Banderillos= la inceputul coridei pe spatele taurilor sunt infipte un fel de ghirlande insirate pe o tija, care il orneaza, dar care fac sa curga si primele picaturi de sange
4) Chorale= locul unde sunt tinuti taurii inainte de coride; in general sunt amenajate in afara orasului si acolo au locprimele 2 evenimente descrise.