Let’s do some different stuff now! I would need to count on both hands and maybe some toes, the
number of times I’ve been in Villefranche. It’s cutesy and quaint but limited in the way you can spend
your afternoon there. Tom’s
brother was visiting this cruise and wanted to do something really awesome, so
we took the train to Monaco and visited their famous and highly rated
aquarium. It was a serious
highlight of the summer especially after diving in the Caribbean. I made several attempts to contact dive
shops in the Mediterranean but either didn’t receive a response back (maybe a
language thing?), or the shop was too far away from the port.
The actual aquarium tanks were down in the basement of
the building. And at the entry to the fish was a massive and impressive tank,
visible on several sides filled with a variety of sea life but most importantly
the sharks and rays. I wanted to
really blend into the background with this shovelnose ray as I demonstrate my
best mermaid pose. Thank you Fat
Amy.
There were displays of the prettiest and most colorful
fish, and the ugliest camouflaged fish, Tanks with somebody swimming solo and
tanks that make you think of that 50-lane highway in China. The Hot Glass Show team had a crew show
at the very end of my contract.
Jared and I wanted to collaborate on something sculptural together and
we used the inspiration of our aquarium visit, choosing this cute hermit crab. I made a conch shell and Jared made the
crab, and we magically attached them together. We both created these forms for the very first time and it
came out spectacular. I would have
snapped a photo but he had a very short life span because it was windy two days
later and a goblet blew over, smashing and taking out one of Mr. Crab’s
claws. Oh well- it was a crowd
pleaser anyways.
(Yeah that's a fish)
The rooftop was also open for an expansive view of
Monaco. And it was WINDY!
Moving onto the land of artsy and fartsy. On yet another stop in Villefranche,
two friends and I on recommendation took the train again, but this time in the
direction of Cannes and sought out a Picasso museum in the city of
Antibes. The trip was of course a
fun adventure, but we were super pressed for time and the museum rather
unimpressive- especially compared to the Picasso museum in Barcelona. But Antibes itself was a beautiful place
and now I know that I can ditch expensive Cannes and take the train 2 stops
down to hit the sandy beach.
Marseille was a great new port!! Joey and I had a lady date. The top of an old fort had been
renovated with sculptural installations.
By visiting the different levels, you could see views of the city, the
marina and the water. The rooftop
also had pathways through a native plant garden. The best part was that this old fort connected with the new
museum via “extremely awesome bridge”. It was a gradual progression from the old to modern, starting
with a few sculptures in the fort. As you approached closer to the museum there was a handmade
gift shop and an exhibition space still a part of the fort.
We were confused and unaware of what we had stumbled upon. It was difficult to understand the
signage, but it seemed that the fort and museum had free entry because it was
Sunday. Yippee!! Crossing the cool bridge the top of the
museum building was dedicated to a lounging café space where Joey and I grabbed
some espresso and busted out our adult coloring books. The free exhibit in the museum featured
sculptures and carvings of different deities from around the world. All in all it was a solid afternoon.
The second visit to Marseille, I had my mind set on trekking
out to a neighborhood of the city that supposedly was covered in murals. I read this on trip advisor and was
trying not to get my hopes up because I wasn’t sure how cool it would be. But it far exceeded my expectations and
the following photographs were several of my favorites. Artsy and fartsy indeed!
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