7.11.11

Sète, Georges Brassens...

Normally, this should be a blog about Paris, but before resuming my “normal” Paris posts, allow me to make a last exception – at least for a while.

To sum up our common experiences during the Transsiberian / Transmongolian trip, Alain invited me to his home in Montpellier and to do some sailing on his boat, berthed at Sète.
The weather couldn’t have been better, considering that we were in October. In addition to sailing, we could also do some bathing and in the very clear sky admire sunsets, the moon…
… and enjoy some nice seafood. (Just behind Sète is the lagoon, Etang de Thau, where some 12.000 tons of oysters are produced annually.)
I have already posted * about Georges Brassens, an icon in France, one of the most celebrated poets, singers-songwriters. He was born at Sète in October 80 years ago and died in October 20 years ago. One of his most famous songs is called “Supplique pour être enterré à la plage de Sète” (Petition to be buried on the beach of Sète).


You can see that this video has been partly filmed in a charming little fishing port on the Etang de Thau. Today Georges' name appears on one of the small streets in the little port.
Finally, Georges was never buried on the beach, but in an ordinary family grave, however still at Sète, but not at the more spectacular cemetery, overlooking the Mediterranean (where the tombs of Paul Valéry, Jean Vilar – who created the Avignon festival - … can be found).


We also took long walks along the road Via Domitia, created by the Romans and in use for centuries, but today visible “here and there”.
*/ If you go back to this post, you can read about the little house where he lived for 22 years, sharing the life of an old couple. I passed by again the other day and could see that several people had left flowers, words...

26 comments:

Olivier said...

une tres belle ville et le cimetiere a une superbe vue, ce qui doit faire plaisir a Brassens ;)

French Girl in Seattle said...

Great story, Peter. You took me back to the hunting grounds of my childhood. My grandmother lived in a small town named Mèze and we spent part of our summers there. Mèze is located by the Etang de Thau, directly across from Sète. Not only did we visit Sète a lot, but we saw the city every day when we went to the beach. My grandmother and other relatives worked for a while as oyster farmers. Georges Brassens, of couse, was popular at home. Thank you for the memories. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

[G@ttoGiallo] said...

Sète, an other pearl in Peter's Paris blog! He he, isn't it poetic, turned this way?!

Owen said...

Looks like you are simply enjoying life to the fullest these days... and that is a good thing. Seafood, sailing, walking in the south... I think you are making more than one person jealous... :-)

Virginia said...

I must agree with Owen. We are BOTH a little jealous ! I think after that long trek that you and Alain endured, this marvelous time on the sea was in order. Lovely photos . Thanks for taking us with you although the REAL thing was far better I'm sure!:)
V

Alain said...

En ce moment, sortir en bateau ou se baigner, c'est beaucoup plus sportif !

Pierre BOYER said...

Cela me rappelle mon enfance...
Très belle vidéo...
Merci !
Bonne journée,

Pierre

Ola said...

it's so prety there!!!

Paris Paul said...

Awesome job again, Peter! I really "digue" Brassens!

Thérèse said...

Quelles vues! Lucky you. Des vacances avant les vacances et des vacances apres les vacances: qui dit mieux?

Alison said...

Peter, you can blog about whatever you want, no apologies. :) That's a lovely picture of the moon; I've never been able to capture it.

I taught as an assistante at the Collège George Brassens in the 19th during my year in Paris. It's an interesting modern building, designed to evoke a steam- or cruise ship. I wonder if you're familar with it?

Maria O. Russell said...

Un lugar paradisiaco, sin duda alguna! So happy for you.

Lovely video, the sound of the waves at the end is delicious!

El plato de "fruits de mer" se ve muy ñam ñam.

Thank you Peter.

Cezar and Léia said...

Always a wonderful reportage, interesting details and information and terrific shots!Thanks for sharing!
Léia :)

Starman said...

One would think someone as famous as Georges Brassens would be in a very prestigious place.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Yes, the first thing I noticed was the good weather that these pictures so very well describe, along with, of course, the wonderful sights that are!

Shionge said...

I was there before!!!! Love this place...I wanna live there :D

claude said...

Tu y est allé au bon moment.
Brassens était un poète aux mots tranchants parfois. Je connais un peu ce coin, j'aime bien. Vivement l'année prochaine que j'y retourne !

arabesque said...

hi peter I still have to review your trip to mongolia yet again..
time is actually working against me these days. ^0^
an informative post and interesting.

btw, while you were on a break, i did ask for your email address, but didn't reply back, was hoping to ask you for some advice about Paris,
planning to visit cette hiver, anyways,maintenant, je ne suis pas sure, if i can still make it or not.:(

Synne said...

Looks lovely, especially now, concidering that this is the coldest Oslo day yet! Hope you had a great time, it definitely looks like it!

Ruth said...

Everything is charming here! Thanks for the introduction to Georges Brassens, and his seaside fishing village, Sète.

JMS* said...

Moi aussi j'ai rendu dernièrement sur une photo un hommage à ce grand poète de ma région (je suis Nimois) avec sa chanson : " Un petit coin de parapluie, contre un coin de paradis.
Bien à toi...

Parisbreakfasts said...

Idylic break from everything!
Especially the huitres..

lasiate said...

content de te suivre dans ton escapade hors -parisienne

Suzane Weck said...

Como sempre seguindo,e gostando cada vez mais.Grande abraço.

Jilly said...

What a beautiful place. It looks as if you had the best time. Great shots, Peter.

joanna said...

Thank you very much for your excellent work. I've been a fan of Brassens for a very long time, Your photo's, description and wonderful video have greatly added to my enjoyment of the great man's oeuvre.

From the photo's I can see why he wrote that song.

joanny