Reminders of Corsica in Nice

[Fèvier]

Umm... Yeah... I think you (or a mod) should remove Karla's link. I'm pretty sure that it isn't AAm appropriate. (although I'm pretty sure lots of stuff has flown by before ). Gotta keep in mind the younger folks here.

[SaintÀlizee]

I wish I could travel the world My life feels like one big cage.

[FanDeAliFee]

I have also visited southern France, including Nice. But, alas, I never could testify to the veracity of the allegation made in the following song. Nonetheless, your cultural education will not be complete until you learn this number - even if you have to temporarily lower your IQ to listen to it. By the way, I read that half a century ago the Pieds-Noirs brought back a rude song from Algeria using the same melody, called Travadja La Moukère.
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And whether or not you are disappointed with what you see in France, be sure that when you book your transportation you go "both ways" via America's favorite carrier, Air Rotica. (BTW, Alizée loves Bob Fosse!)
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[Scruffydog777]

I went on another trip to Europe a couple of weeks ago. I flew on Lufthansa to Frankfurt then on to Prague. On the way over I heard the couple sitting next to me ask the flight attendant where she was from. Later on when she came by again, I just happened to be watching some of En Concert. I asked her if she recognized the singer. She said she did but couldn't quite remember the name. I told her the singer's name was Alizee and she remembered it. She then added that she is the one who's first song was a very sexual one.

Maybe this is why Alizee has trouble selling cds in France. They have her typecast possibly as a sexpot and and dont realize how many other beautiful songs she has.

She told me later she had been living in Germany for the past 15 years and it's probable that she only saw the songs that got the most press like ML and JAM.

[Monro]

Alizee is pretty.

[Scruffydog777]

Originally Posted by Monro

In (Summer) 3 years from now I'm going to make the southern route: Nice, Saint-Tropez, Ajaccio, Rome, and then on through Greece, including Santorini. Just added Corsica to my list to see from where such a beautiful lady came from. Hey, maybe I'll bump into her on the beach. Nahhh.. she'll be in Paris.

Well she still has family there and I'm sure she goes there on a regular basis, so you never know.

[Roman]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

Well she still has family there and I'm sure she goes there on a regular basis, so you never know.

Well, at one time she claimed to go there 'at least once a month', though that particular time was a few years ago. But one must wonder, what does she do now? If she/they can still afford the plane flights, I wouldn't doubt that she's there frequently. It's cool that she has things like Facebook (or to be fair, various such sites) with which to stay current and in-touch with family and friends.

[Shocking, I know, that Roman ever shows up with little comments here anymore. Well, it was Annily's birthday that made me think of it. It's on my calendar.]

[Rev]

Originally Posted by Roman

Well, at one time she claimed to go there 'at least once a month', though that particular time was a few years ago. But one must wonder, what does she do now? If she/they can still afford the plane flights, I wouldn't doubt that she's there frequently. It's cool that she has things like Facebook (or to be fair, various such sites) with which to stay current and in-touch with family and friends.

[Shocking, I know, that Roman ever shows up with little comments here anymore. Well, it was Annily's birthday that made me think of it. It's on my calendar.]

Yeah. What hapened to you?


I think she can still affort plane flights. In addition to her own finances, I now think Jeremy has more of a financial base than I used to (perhaps much more).

[FanDeAliFee]

Originally Posted by Monro

In (Summer) 3 years from now I'm going to make the southern route: Nice, Saint-Tropez, Ajaccio, Rome, and then on through Greece, including Santorini. Just added Corsica to my list to see from where such a beautiful lady came from. Hey, maybe I'll bump into her on the beach. Nahhh.. she'll be in Paris.

You might not have to wish for a lucky break. Last year, Alizée and fellow MM dance-theater school alum Patrick Fiori hosted the annual Saint Erasmus festival in Ajaccio at the start of June. Read the details in my old post here. These days, there are only about four dozen fishermen left in Ajaccio. (Did you know Alizée's grandma was among the first women to enter this trade?) But Saint Erasmus, patron saint of fishermen, has traditionally cast a big cultural shadow over all of maritime Corsica. There are multiple churches on the island named for him, including one in Ajaccio itself. I suppose the biggest is the cathedral (i.e. bishop's seat) in Cervione, which overlooks Corsica's extensive oriental plain. (I am coming close to completing a historical essay on this part of Corsica - stay tuned.) There is also at least one hotel named after him - and who knows how much other stuff! A limited sense of the pageantry of the festival can be sampled here, which recalls events last year in Ile Rousse, in the north of Corsica.

<center><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0u-V9dKpj1w" frameborder="0"></iframe><br>Traditional Georgian polyphony at Eglise St Erasme, Ajaccio</center>
BTW, Erasmus is one of the 14 so-called Holy Helpers, which also includes St. Denis, patron saint of all France, executed a short walk away from Institubes, as I have previously explained here. But the Holy Helper you probably know best is St. George. The venerable Gibbon, rightly celebrated as the first modern objective historian, writes memorably about him, including these words:<blockquote><i>He accumulated wealth by the basest arts of fraud and corruption; but his malversations were so notorious, that George was compelled to escape from the pursuits of justice... Soon the prevailing faction promoted George of Cappadocia to the throne of Athanasius. The entrance of the new archbishop was that of a Barbarian conqueror; and each moment of his reign was polluted by cruelty and avarice... he oppressed with an impartial hand the various inhabitants of his extensive diocese... The odious stranger, disguising every circumstance of time and place, assumed the mask of a martyr, a saint, and a Christian hero; and the infamous George of Cappadocia has been transformed into the renowned St. George of England, the patron of arms, of chivalry, and of the garter.</i></blockquote>A defense of sorts is offered by the (1913 edition of) the Catholic Encyclopedia, which pleads a case of mistaken identity.

Another churchman who made himself quite rich was Ajaccio-born Cardinal Fesch, who gave his name to the college which Alizée briefly attended and bequeathed to his native city a splendid art museum, featuring the best collection of Italian painting in France after the Louvre itself.

Of the three posters I've seen for the big annual Gala of the Mufraggi school at which Alizée studied for a decade, two of them placed the event at the end of June, while the one for last year named mid-June. MM has just announced the date of this year's Gala as 28 June 2011.

It might be cool if the Festival and the Gala were close enough together in the future that one might take them both in during a single stay in Corsica.

[Monro]

Alizee is pretty.