General Information

Wanted to wish everyone here or on their way here or there in Marseille a happy 4th. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Democrats Abroad July 4th party yesterday at Pamela's beautiful home in Roucas Blanc. I have no idea how she pulled off hosting a large event feeding/inebriating the expat/local/curious crowd with such grace. I finally had the opportunity to try my baked beans recipe from scratch and test it out. Was definitely pleased to find a few home-cooked recipes that I would like to scavenge from the group.

Simultaneously the grand opening of the American Gallery took place and I was able to chat with one of the artists Patrick Guns, a wide-eyed Belgian whose photography documents the finality of a prisoner's last meal.

Going through some of the lastest upcoming events has been my goal at the beginning of the week, but where to begin? There is so much to do! I could literally be occupied all day long with going here and there, but having a life outside exploring Marseille I am going to have to do some weeding and am "broad stroking" some of the major festivals. Help yourself  and poke around a little bit more on the respective websites. Here so far are some of the big cultural festivals to visit this month of June in Marseille.

Terroir13

Check out this article from the NYTimes article  from last month. It reviews Éric Zemmour's best-selling book "French Melancholy" on the decline of French within the "French elite".  NYTs points out that it actually is becoming more prevalent in other countries and of the 200 million present -day French speakers, only 65 million are actually French.

So a bit of slacker day since the weather was on again off again and decided to bus it into Aix (I am Le Tholonet now house-sitting) on La Victorine all along Route Cezanne a road with spectacular views of St Victoire. My kids were especially impressed with the ride,  while everyone else leaned out to see this historic mountain featured in so many Impressionistic artworks, they found there interest  being able to close the neatly-pleated blue curtains on the bus windows.

Ok testing out this blog option which I have moved to its own separate section....I am finding that keeping the site fresh on a daily basis is impossible if the articles take so much work. I still write old school....long and too winded but I really want something useful to other people coming into Marseille and find myself doing more research than a simple plug...

At times my brain doesn't translate quickly when I am in a stressful situation, so I have created a PDF list of vital phone numbers in english that can be of great use in emergency situations. Click and print Marseille's logo to the right.  I have it printed out and stuck to my refrigerator alongside my french version.  I have included the corresponding french list also and some useful web references if you simply have questions about the services.

Over the years I have accumulated a pile of publications on Marseille entertainment, culture and general happenings in the city. Finally I am getting it all together and putting them up on the site...also cleaning out all the dust-bunnies that have accumulated around them. I stayed up til 2 checking on all the pubs making sure they were current and confirming their websites. Most of them can be found easily in and around the city, others you can telecharge from the site themselves...geeez wish I had figured that out before I wasted my shoe leather on tracking the hard copies down.

Eurocircus.com Marseille is an interactive website/blog offering first-hand insight on France's oldest city, a place to discover and post information. Blog about living in Marseille and/or post upcoming events on the interactive calendar, or just look. Marseille info and events can be sent directly to content@eurocircus.com or sign up to post them directly. This site is a work in progress and comments or recommendations are appreciated.