Private Beaches

The French Riviera has long since been an area reminiscent of glamorous film sets, ports brimming with expensive yachts and rolling beaches. Indeed, there is some truth to these images, even if they are somewhat exaggerated. However, for the most mesmerizing views, clear blue waters and private beaches, you should head to the Calanques near Marseille.

The Calanques, rocky inlets across the south coast of France, are known in the region for their outstanding beauty and unparalleled scenery. For several miles between Marseille and the small town of Cassis, the Massif de Calanques offers over thirty of these isolated and idyllic slices of paradise, which attract plenty of locals throughout the year.

Far from your standard beach near a sleepy suburb, or the famed Promenade des Anglais in Nice, the Calanques make you work for your reward. Their location, away from main roads, and along a mountainous ridge on the coast, means that you are expected to trek for anywhere between half an hour and two hours to reach these private beaches. This could involve some tarmacked road, but more often than not, the trekking routes cut through forests, steep hill sides and some of the most untamed parts of nature in the south of France.

Visiting the Calanque d'en Vau

Indeed, friends of mine have fallen several times, or managed to cut open their feet due to inappropriate footwear. The Calanques are not for someone who likes to simply lay on a beach all die – the effort might prove overwhelming.

Hiking endurance, then, certainly pays off in the case of the Calanques. Over the past months, as the weather has improved (well gone from spring to summer, because winter never fully hits here), my friends and I have taken our time to enjoy and explore some of these great locations.

From the most visited Calanque de Sugiton, with its panoramic viewpoint, its small rocky beaches, and crags used as impromptu dive boards, to the remote Calanque d’en Vau, deep in a gorge, with light only overheard for four or five hours of the day, no two of these natural wonders are the same.

Overlooking the Calanque de Sugiton

Some of the Calanques have been made into make shift ports and harbours, such as the Calanque Port-Pin or Calanque de Morgiou, which means that you are able to appreciate the tiny fishing villages that have formed around the inlets, and also admire some of the gleaming vessels which are the pride of their owners.

From the centre of Marseille, you would have to take the metro to Rond Pont du Prado, and then the appropriate bus (19,21,22,23) and then subsequently hike the challenging terrain for a minimum of thirty minutes or take the train to Cassis, and approach the hike from the far end of the coast.

The only other way to visit these remote regions is by a boat tour, but these will only provide a brief glimpse of the beauty here and there are no stops to enjoy a beach or two.

Despite the difficulty in reaching these beaches, families still come with young children, and even carry babies on their backs. Such is the allure of these frigid, crystal waters, that should you have an afternoon off work or school, you are almost sure to head here as a local.

Calanque de Sormiou 

Stunning scenery, small beaches, exercise and golden memories are guaranteed with the Calanques.

Tongue Twisters

Sharing ideas with other language assistants can be a great source of inspiration and motivation. Not only do you brainstorm entire new lesson plans and ways in which to engage an audience, there is the satisfying reassurance that other teachers are experiencing similar difficulties. Together, growing your ideas and using these connections helps both teachers grow.

Such was the case this week when, over coffee, a friend and I noted how we were losing steam with our ideas for how to engage a class. We discussed our teaching methods and reminisced on some of the better lessons we had delivered over the course of the year so far.

As with chocolates and football, the key seems to be never to complicate matters more than necessary.

Tongue Twisters left the children with funny faces.

My friend suggested I try a lesson of tongue twisters to help my students hone in on their pronunciation, whilst having fun at the same time.

In Marseille, where teenage attitude favours rap and hip hop above all else, this seemed a perfect method to connect with the students. Many of my classes have certain pupils who try to avoid speaking each week, and this seemed like it would encourage an overall level of participation, whilst also nodding to some of the favourite hobbies of these would be rap stars.

Introducing the tongue twisters, the children were a little shocked and perturbed. I rattled off several different examples without pausing and when I got half way down my list to “How much wood would a wood-chuck chuck if a wood-chuck could chuck wood?”, I not only had stunned silence, but certain nervous glances shot around the room.

I explained that these were difficult for English people and gave a few examples where I had difficulty such as “Red lorry, yellow lorry”, (which one student later did perfectly to everyone’s amazement).

To start out, I had individuals pick one of the rhymes to practice. They would say it slowly and I would correct their pronunciation for everyone to repeat. Gradually they would say it quicker, until I told the student to keep going until they messed up, leaving several out of breath and red in the face, but smiling.

After, I split the teams into two groups and they had a rap-off battle, where a member from each team was sent up to face off in a tongue twister battle. I was later told that this led to one avid pupil rapping “Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair, Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he?” for the whole week much to the consternation of other teaching staff, who had no idea what the boy was talking about, or why the other children found it so highly amusing.

This teaching tip was a brilliant way to reinvigorate the classroom and match the mood of a number of my teenagers. Collaborating with others can be just as important as leading your own classroom.

Fishy Food

To say that France is known for its food would be somewhat of an understatement. As a gastronomy capital of Europe, and indeed the world, there is nothing the French enjoy more than a great cuisine and local specialities, be it wine, bread, cheese, meat, or, more wine.

So over the past couple of months I have sampled a couple of the well-known dishes in the area.

Marseille food is very much embedded in its fishing culture. Fresh produce is on sale nearly every day down at the Old Port in the centre of the city, where the smell of fish is now a permanent fixture. 

Consequently, the restaurants serve up a number of tasty meals from the catch of the day.

Firstly, snails – or rather sea snails. As stereotypical as snails are in France, I had never tried them before so this was a culinary adventure. Although I wasn’t completely convinced by the idea, nor was I too impressed when I had to remove the snails from their shells, overall they are quite delicious, if not a little plain. They are for all intents and purposes a more squidgy and chewy mushroom, and when served with accompanying dips and sauces are quite light but satisfying starters.

I also tasted some Tartare de Saumon, which is raw salmon that has been seasoned and garnished, alongside a small salad and some toast. Think sushi a la francaise.

Bouillabaisse

Finally, one of the most infamous dishes in Marseille, and certainly one of the tastiest I have sampled since living here, is Bouillabaisse, which is a fish stew. However, this is no ordinary concoction – no the brew is brimming with just about every fish fresh from the sea. The soup itself is made up of several different fish that have been boiled down and mixed together, and then extra fish are cooked whole and chunks are liberally spread throughout. The stew comes with small pieces of toast and a garlic/mustard sauce called Alioli and is surprisingly filling. I found it difficult to finish my (huge) portion, but the challenge was worth it.

Recipes can be found online for those with kitchen know-how, but to give you a flavour of the fish that could be found, here is a sample ingredient list for a traditional Bouillabaisse.

Ingrédients:

1,8 kg rouget (Red Mullet) 1 congre, en 4 tranches (4 Slices of eel) 10 petits crabes (10 little crabs) 1,3 kg rascasse (Scorpion Fish) 1,3 kg baudroie (Monkfish) 1,3 kg grondin rouge (Searobin) 1,3 kg Saint-Pierre (John Dory) 900 g tomates, coupées en 4 (Tomatoes cut into 4 slices) 4 oignons, en tranche (Sliced Onion) 2 gousses d’ail, haché (Chopped Garlic Cloves) 2 c. à s. concentré de tomate (Tomato Purée) Huile d’olive (Olive Oil) Bouquet d’herbes: aneth – Dill (2 brins – Sprig/A touch of); laurier – bay leaf (1 feuille – Leaf); persil – Parsley (1 brin – a little/a touch of); Pelure d’orange – Orange peel Sel, poivre – Salt, Pepper 2 c. à c. safran – Saffron

Arriba, Arriba

The South of France has many hidden treasures to explore; sleepy towns and villages that almost seem forgotten by time and tourist. Yet, these are some of the most interesting places for day trips.

The Bull Run

Along with a couple of friends, I spent the Easter weekend visiting the old town of Arles, about an hour away from Marseille by train. The town had been described as quaint and traditional, with small streets, uneven pavements, Roman ruins and amphitheatres and the haunt of Van Gogh.

Imagine our surprise then, when arriving in the town we were met with an endless row of police cars lining the street from the train station down to the town itself. Slightly perturbed, we walked down to Arles, only to head into an ongoing bull run in the street.

Bull runs, we later discovered, are a continuing tradition in the city and there are lots of monuments, engravings, and even graffiti dedicated to bulls around the town. The amphitheatre itself was hosting a sold out bull fight, more commonly associated with Spain.

Roman Ruins in Arles

Proving popular, the bull run in the street had been designed with fences wide enough for spectators to fit through – an open invitation for people to test their nerve against the cattle that were let loose along the street. Inhabitants were not shy of entering the “arena” either, with many enticing and antagonising the animals before running back through or climbing up the fences when charged upon.

The Rhone Delta

Away from the chaotic scenes, the small town was what we expected – a quiet place that makes for a perfect day exploring away from Marseille. The history of the town was felt through the ruins of old Roman temples that have been carefully preserved along with parts of a forum. The Vincent Van Gogh Foundation, whilst disappointing for its lack of Van Gogh exhibits, offers visitors an interesting collection of modern art that has been inspired by the famous artist, as well as a roof top terrace across the uneven small roofs of this town.

Horseback exploration

Arles is also the gateway to the stunning Camarques, a special wetland delta of the Rhone River, which extends from the city for approximately 50 kilometres until France meets the Mediterranean Sea. I had the chance to explore the delta on horseback, through a three hour ride. There are lots of fauna and flowers that are unique to the region and hundreds of species of birds use the area as a home, breeding ground and lay over during migration seasons. The Camargues are particularly known for their white horses, and dazzlingly pink flamingos.

A horse tour took my friends and I along the river delta, through mud plains and fields, and along the golden beaches of the Mediterranean – but be warned, mosquitos are also common.

Visiting the Camargue beaches