Quentin Guibaud was our AFS exchange student during the school year, 2004-2005. Mary and I had a chance to visit to visit him and his family in Marseille during November, 2006 with a side trip to the island of Corsica to visit some of Quentin's other relatives. Our travels took us to Marseille from Minneapolis, via connections in Amsterdam.
Marseille
Quentin lives with mother, Jacqueline, and older brother, Bertrand (not pictured),in an apartment at Le Corbusier in Marseille.
Le CorbusierDesigned by the famous French Architect, Le Corbusier,
the landmark building is a city within itself. It has 1,500 apartments,
a hotel, restaurant, school, nursery, stores, and shops. It was considered
to be the model of futuristic living.
Roof of Le Corbusier with pool, gym, children's play area, and spectacular views.
Apartment hallway at Le Corbusier.Touring Marseille
These are like little fiords or bays with steep white rock sides going down
to blue Mediterranean waters.
to blue Mediterranean waters.
On the mountains overlooking Marseille.
Mary and Quentin.
Marseille harbor with Chateau d'If on center island.
Chateau d'If made famous by the Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo,my most liked adventure novel.
With Quentin at Notre-Dame de la Garde
The old port, now a marina, with the basilica of Notre-Dame de la Gardeabove the entire city built on Marseille's highest point.
A fantastic lunch with Quentin's maternal grandparents in the coastal town of La Ciotat.
Quentin with his dog, Gam, and constant companion.
Playing ping pong with Quentin's 80 year old grandfather.He is really good!
Mary with Jacqueline in Arles, France, a major artist colony,Van Gogh being one of the most famous.
Jacqueline at the school where she teaches in Marseille.Corsica
At Corsica's main city, Ajaccio, with the overnight ferry we tookfrom Marseille in the background.
We agreed the woman in Ajaccio were the most stylish we have yet to see anywhere.
A small Corsican town.
We loved Corsica, truly beautiful,the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean
A small harbor at the town of Porto.Back to Marseille
With Quentin's paternal grandparents.His grandfather, Viktor, still paints and gave us one of his pictures.
His grandmother, Charlotte, is very active.
It was nice to be with them which helped to heal some of the wounds they suffered after Americans bombed Marseille near the end of World War II, killing some of their friends at a nearby school.
Dinner at the home of Quentin's father, Jean, and his girlfriend, Francoise.They prepared a fantastic meal of authentic Marseille bouillabaisse.
Marseille bouillabaisse, considered to be the original and the best has various specific fish and shellfish served on one platter, the broth is served in a bowl with rounds of bread spread with rouille.A great way to end our visit with Quentin.
