Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight

Thoughts on Montpellier and Marseille, and a new mixtape

Last Thursday afternoon, Kyle and Scooter and Olly and I set off for France for a month long stay in Marseille. First, I have to say how nice is it to hop on a train and head off to another part of Europe, no real energy or stress required. Living in California for 40 years, I’m very used to driving when I go on vacation, usually Palm Springs or the Santa Ynez Valley, and sadly there are really no other options, especially bringing dogs along. In a train you laze about until you end up where you belong, the biggest stress is hoisting your bag from the train to the platform and then rolling along uneven cobblestone sidewalks with your rolly suitcase.

Our first stop was Montpellier to visit a friend, though unfortunately plans fell through, nonetheless I was excited to visit a new town in France. I found Montpellier to be a charming city full of culture, with great restaurants, a charming contemporary museum, and unique architecture everywhere. Highlights include Ikonka, which served amazing pastries (and made a perfect Americano glace), the restaurant Rosemarie, where the vibe of the terrace is unmatched, as well as the MO.CO., the Montpellier Contemporary museum, who has a fascinating exhibit by Kader Attia.

The funniest and wildest parts of the trip happened when four bats flew into our Airbnb! No idea why or how but I was filled with a mix of hilarity and horror as Kyle and I used records to swat them out of the apartment. Honestly, they were quite cute! But this trip has no extra time for a potential case of rabies. Also, wild that in the TikTok comments how people told me to turn off the lights in the apartment. Are you insane?! Like I’m going to sit around in the dark with bats flying around me!

Next I was off to Marseille, a quick two and a half hour journey from Montpellier. Of course, it was an older train, and the air conditioning wasn’t quite working so it was sweaty the whole way, AND I sat next to a baby and toddler, but that’s all ok! I had a book and noise cancelling headphones and in no time at all the train pulled into the station. It’s been almost 5 years since I last visited and obviously the city made enough of an impact to warrant a second visit. That, and an afternoon of research that seemed to indicate that Marseille was both cooler and less humid than Barcelona. Sold.

So far (a whopping 5 days in lol) the trip has been great. The thing I’ve appreciated the most so far is the food. I’m tired of Spanish food at this point and it’s been wonderful having fresh fish and sandwiches with great bread and creativity in cooking. I went to IPPON the other night, which combines Japanese and French food, and I was so impressed, one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. There’s also great coffee shops literally everywhere (I highly recommend Deep!) and today I went to the port and bought fresh fish from a local seller. How cute is that? Plus, I visited a museum yesterday (the MUCEM, which is incredibly well-designed) and I already went to the beach and got some sun. I will have more share to next week, hope you have a nice week, and I hope you enjoy the photos!

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Download the mixtape here →

I’m a little late with this month’s mixtape, apologies! My excuse is traveling and getting settled in, haha… This month, as it’s my birthday month, is a mix inspired by lounging on a beach. This mix has a very tropical flavor and it’s best enjoyed laying on a lounge chair near a body of water with a blue or orange drink close by! Like last month’s mix, the August mix is very chill, spanning a whole lot of decades, and peppered with a lot of recent gems from folks like Onra and Khruangbin. I hope you enjoy it!

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The Trend Report™

by my partner, Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick, is a sharp and insightful look at all the things going on in the world, arriving every Sunday to your inbox. Highly recommended, obviously.