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Published: September 7th 2007
French Riviera
Calanque de Port-MiouI love the feeling when heat strikes you just as you leave the dry-cooled aircraft. Also, the exciting feeling of taking the first steps on new grounds. Your curiosity is totally awaken and eyes register as much as the brain capacity allows them. Time stops! Have-to's cease! World news become boring. Only things in your immediate presence is of value. Questions like "What to see?", "Where and what to eat?" become essential and the quest to answer them is a daily never ending obligation. That is travelling - and so much more!
I was invited by Philipe, a friend of
kassra, to stay at his family's house in South France. The plan was to spend our time there together with a bunch their other. Kassra and Phillipe picked me up at the airport in
Toulon. They had come with Philipe's nice antique Citroën that fitted perfectly in the context. The highway turned into serpentine roads as we came closer to Meounes, the village nearest to the house. Picturesque villages and wineyards were passing my back-seat window of the 4-gear vehicle in a surprising speed.
The first encounter with the house was very positive and one of the first things
that I noticed was the ivy on the house wall. The house and its surroundings seemed perfect for the creation of good memories. An observation that in retrospective became a fact.
Accompanied by the rest of the gang; that is Marjane, Dieter, Jay, Marie, Alex, Benny and Fari; I spent the days with small trips to surrounding must-sees. Beaches, lagoons, islands and VIP clubs with pricy champagne bottles were all part of the attractions. Since I love sailing boats and keep the dream of sailing around the world I especially loved a place called
Port Grimaud also known as Little Venice. I'd love to park my catamaran there while not sailing 😉 Added with lively house parties by the pool and some unforgettable dancing nights in Meounes as the yearly local festival was held, our crew had lots of fun. Not to mention the night we had to flee by car from Méounes because of French arrogance and German provocation. Just another silly example of when people seek conflict instead of resolution. Doesn't history teach us anything?
At times, my German newly found friends showed other culinary taste than mine as we several times seemed to end up in
McDonald's or similar places. I took some photos of them as proof but tried to hold my own gourmet principals by finding other nutrition sources. For example, the Arabique areas of
Marseille offered fine food experiences and I fell for the local merguez in baguette - mouth watering. Marseille was as urban as it gets. Dirty, graphitied, crowded and beautiful. Probably, if you scrape the surface you will find France's second largest city to be a true metropol.
After a full week, Kassra and I headed towards Barcelona. Now Barcelona for me was just one of those cities that you hear so much about that it would be ridiculous to never go there. I had simply been fed up with hearing about it so I had to see it. There, we were accomodated by
Julian and his flatmates in a true
L'auberge Espagnole.
Not only did we share roof, but also ideals, opinions, experiences, cultures and fine food with Aléjandra, Alex, Paula and Thomas.
What I love about Spanish culture is daytime siestas and late night fiestas. Great food has a central roll when people socialise - like in many other human cultures. Serrano, patatas braves, gambas al ajillo
and pan con aioli together with a rioja or cerveza are true ingredients for any perfect night. Mix that with a good climate that allows spectacular outdoor clubs and vivid night life around La Rambla and you get a nice cocktail Barcelona style. Guided by Julian we were privileged to make the most of our 4 day visit in Barcelona. Some highlights were Kubik Barcelona, bar hopping in old town areas, daywalks around the city and of course those times when our ironic sense of humor culminated in "that was not-funny" laugh bursts (internal joke). Unforgettable!
As I landed back in Stockholm I was hit by the late summer heat. With a luggage full of dirty clothes and beautiful memories I am fully satisfied with my trip. My choice of cooking for the following weeks is of course heavily influenced by Spain and France - as a way of reminisce.
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