ITER Organization

Fusion PHD - Treasure hunt !

Hey everyone!

This is a brief explanation of what you’ll have to do today in the evening during the so called “Treasure hunt”.
(Side remarks: First, there’ll be no treasures, only a small prize for everyone who survives till the end. Second, we hope that there will be no victims of the hunt... thank you, famous great weather of Provence!)

You are divided into 20 teams, 7-8 people each. Each team will be given a selfie stick, and guess what… You’ll be hunting for selfies. The locations where the selfies have to be taken will be provided to each team individually. All of the locations are in the city center or in its immediate proximity, so no long walks for you tonight, we promise. All locations are famous/popular/important places of Aix, so we would like to introduce this charming city with its hidden secrets to you through this exercise.

Your task during the hunt will be to:

Assign a “group leader”, a person whose phone will be your camera tonight. He will also be named a proud selfie-stick-bearer.
Get to each of the locations on the list.
Take a selfie according to instructions provided.
While doing that, do not get sick.
Keep in mind that this is not a competition. We want you to have fun and meet people from other labs. Well, learn a tiny bit of info about Aix and Provence too maybe. And we understand that weather conditions can be in the way, but please try to do your best anyway. :)
Get back to Mairie when you’re done.
If you’re lost anywhere on the way or need any other help, please contact Sabina at +33627961482 or Anastasia at +33651725632.

Your task after the hunt will be to:

Check that your group leader is kind enough to send the selfies to phdevent2018@gmail.com with a group number mentioned. Keep in mind that we will use these photos afterwards. ;)
Upload the selfies to the Facebook group here: Fusion PhD Event ITER 2018.
You all are very welcome to like the photos, and the photo with most likes will get a prize from us. :)
Organizers do not promise that no physical damage will be done to the groups who forget to do that.

Good luck and have fun!

Route #1

1. Fountain Of Preachers Place des prêcheurs, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
This fountain features an eagle standing on top of a high obelisk. The eagle symbolizes justice, which is located so high we can barely see it (thanks, myopia…) and probably won’t easily achieve it (even though the City Court is located in the same square). The eagle (which does not seem to have myopia) is looking at the place where the town scaffold used to stand, where criminals would take their last breath. Your task here will be to jump as high as you can trying to reach justice while a member of the group takes a picture.
2. Fontaine Du Roi René Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence - At the very end of the Cours, in front of Papèterie Michel and Café du Roi René
Rene of Anjou, aka Good King Rene, is probably the most beloved Count and patron of Provence. An important guy in his days, he had more titles than you could shake a stick at: he was the Count of Provence, Bar, Piedmont, and Guise; the Duke of Calabria, Lorraine, and Anjou; and the King of Hungary, Sicily, Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia, and Jerusalem. A cousin and a good friend of the King of France Charles VII, he is attributed with the prosperity brought by him to Aix, the capital of Provence. A man of Renaissance, he is known for: stopping wars and plagues in Provence; recovery of the regions’ economics; giving to Christopher Columbus his first commissions as a captain; inspiring Cosimo de’ Medici to collect manuscripts from around the world and to open the first public library, San Marco, in Florence; being a patron of arts and science; restoring Marseille and creating a special court for merchants there -- Commercial court; ordering one of the first dams in France and an irrigation system for the Luberon valley; according to legend, inventing calissons, the specialty of Aix. And, of course, most importantly: look at the statue, he’s holding grapes in the hands. The good Roi Rene brought the Muscat grapes to Provence. For the selfie, kneel down to pay respects to the Good Roy René (no need to press X).
3. Fontaine Moussue Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence - Towards the top of the cours, in front of the bars Le Grillon and Giovanni
The mossy fountain is famous for its warm thermal water, which was a reason for the fountain to be used for cleaning the streets and doing the laundry. Legends say that at some point there were sculptures of 4 cute angels, but the hot water helped the nature to take over them. Your selfie task here will be to pretend to be Greenpeace activists protecting a nice piece of nature in the middle of the street.
4. Cours Mirabeau Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
With its many cafés, terrasses and fountains, Cours Mirabeau is one of the most popular places in Aix. It was built during the seventeenth century in order to create a new spot for chilling, as a replacement for the Place des Prêcheurs. It totally worked since you will see that the street is still very lively, almost 400 years after it was built. Little known fact, the opening ceremony of the Cours attracted people from the whole civilised world and the famous English rock band The Beatles played on that occasion. The famous song “Come Together” was initially written on Cours Mirabeau (which was its original title - Cours Mirabeau, right now, over me). It turns out that most of these facts are completely wrong and that The Beatles were created in Liverpool in the 60s. However, nothing prevents you to pay a tribute to one of the most popular rock bands in history on one of the most popular places in Aix. Why not achieving that through an Abbey Road-like street crossing selfie?
5. Mur d'eau d'Aix en Provence 380 Avenue Max Juvénal, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
Can you hear the rumble? In front of you is the biggest water wall in Europe! A little surprise welcoming everyone coming to Aix by car, the water wall is reminding the visitors that Aix is a city of art and fountains. The lights and the water reminded us of a final scene of the Ocean’s eleven movie. For your selfie, think of classical scenes from other movies, you can use several in one picture
6. Paul Cezanne Statue Couronne urbaine, 13100 Aix-en-Provence - Next to La Rotonde, on the side opposite to Cours Mirabeau
Paul Cezanne is one of the most famous French painters, and was considered by both Picasso and Matisse as “the father of us all”. He was born in Aix in 1839 and died there in 1906. For the celebration of the centenary of his death, the statue was offered to the city of Aix and Paul Cezanne has been standing fiercely in front of La Rotonde since 2006. Just as mankind did, Cezanne’s style of painting has evolved over the years. Indeed, what was mainly dominated by violent scenes and dark colours became colorful landscapes as Cezanne entered his Impressionist period. As he was going towards the end of his life, Cezanne’s life was filled with troubling events and as a result his paintings grew colder again, as the Pyramid of skulls (1901) suggests. Just as Cezanne’s work evolved, recreate the story of human evolution, from monkey to Cezanne.
7. Place d'Albertas 11 rue Espariat, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
One of the most famous and recognizable squares of Aix, and a great example of the Baroque style. We should thank the d’Albertas family, Italian merchants who came to Aix in the middle of the 18th century, for commissioning this square. Jean-Baptiste d’Albertas, head of the family, bought a block of houses and demolished some of them to create this open square right in the middle of Aix, an architectural trick which was very popular in Paris at that time. According to the legend, he didn’t take into account that one of the houses was a popular brothel, and simply copied the style of the balconies of it. Hence, we still can enjoy the beauty of the quite clearly visible phallic shaped metal-work on all the balconies around the square. On this note, we are a bit afraid to propose anything place-related for your selfie here… Let’s switch the topic. Zombie apocalypse and the “normal” half of you are running away from another zombie-half?
8. Le Roy René patisserie 11 rue Gaston de Saporta, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
Aix is not just a city of art and water, but certainly a city of food too! For example, the calissons, famous candies consisting of grounded almonds and candied fruits, are believed to have been invented by Roy René. However, the first known reference to calissons comes from Italy in the 13th century. If you have already tried calissons, you know that they taste almost exactly like marzipan (= they don’t have any taste at all), and next time you will probably buy macarons, chocolates, or crepes (French pancakes) instead. If you haven’t tried them, lucky you are! We hope you’re sharing our dislike for the calissons, and show the disgust in your selfie.

Route #2

1. Musée Granet Place Saint-Jean de Malte, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
You are now in front of the one of the most important art museums of the region -- Museum Granet, where more than 750 pieces of art are exhibited, amongst which one can find works of Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck, Paul Cézanne, Alberto Giacometti and Nicolas de Staël. Btw, Cezanne, a big fan of Provence, took his art classes here. Can you remember any famous paintings or other pieces of art? Try to reproduce one or several of them in your selfie.
2. Brasserie Les Deux Garçons 53 Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
The Brasserie des Deux Garçons was founded in 1840 when two garçons de café (which is a fancy way to say waiters in French) bought the Café Julien and gave the place the name it has today. This brasserie is famous for hosting celebrities such as Picasso, Cezanne, Cocteau, Churchill, Jean-Paul Sartre, Sophie Marceau, Hugh Grant and George Clooney. When visiting Aix, this brasserie is definitely not to be missed. In the face of such pretentiousness, your challenge is to take a selfie of your whole group with your eyes closed. Obviously, selfie sticks are forbidden for this one as it would be too easy otherwise.
3. Fontaine des Neuf-Canons 22 Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
In the old times, the flocks of sheep walking from Arles to the Alps were passing right by Cours Mirabeau. The sheep were thirsty, but the fountains of Aix didn’t have enough water for all of the them. Then specially for the poor animals struggling in the hot Provencal sun a new fountain was erected, with its 9 cannons, which was supposed to be enough for all of them to drink. For the selfie, pretend to be the animals fighting for the water in the hot summer.
4. Pavillon Noir 530 Avenue Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 13627 Aix-en-Provence
We are now in the new quarter of Aix, facing one of its key buildings -- Pavillon Noir. Contemporary art made its way into the town in this quarter of Aix, and one of the best examples of it you see in front of you -- Pavillon Noir. The name has 2 meanings: 1) Black Pavilion, 2) In French this also means the pirates’ flag, Jolly Roger, which underlines its maverick anarchic mood. The building hosts famous Ballet Preljocaj -- a famous dance group, noted for its contemporary often controversial style. Have you ever seen a modern dance performance? We hope yes, it can help you with the next selfie: Imagine you’re modern dancers
5. Rotonde fountain Place du Général de Gaulle, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
This is the biggest one of a ~100 fountains in Aix, officially called a city of art and water. Three statues (Law, Agriculture and Fine Arts) adorn the fountain and recall the main activities of this town. At the time of the construction (1850--1860) the fountain was a symbol at the entrance to the modern town, which had neither ramparts nor gates and was open to the world. The city has significantly grown since, but the fountain remains its heart. If you were a tourist visiting the city for just 10 minutes, the only must photo you would have taken would have been right here! How about asking someone to take a photo of all of you? Or maybe better ask someone to be in the photo with you instead?
6. Fontaine des Bagniers 9 rue Espariat, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
One of the cozy corners of Aix -- square of the Hatters! At some point in time there were more than 450 hat ateliers in Aix, and the father of Cezanne (his medallion is at the top of the little fountain) was working in one of them. There are also two faces of the bathers after whom the fountain was originally called because it was one of a few sources of warm thermal water for the citizens. Your selfie task is to repeat the facial expression of the trio of Cezanne and 2 bathers.
7. Place Richelme Place Richelme, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
Is it one of the oldest squares in town, which actually consists of 2 sub-squares: the main one which is usually jammed with chairs from neighbouring cafes in the evening and with market counters in the morning, and a smaller one where you can find a statue of a boar often found in the areas around Aix (actually, you probably will see them during your trip to CEA Cadarache!). This statue is actually a copy, and the original one is located near famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Look at how relaxed the boar is… For your selfie, you should certainly join it. Have a rest, sit down around/on the statue, but be careful to not to sit on other fauna creatures located at the base of the statue.
8. Town Hall of Aix-en-Provence Place de l’Hôtel de ville, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, Aix-en-Provence is arguably one of Provence’s most famous squares with a great array of architectural styles, from the most simple to elaborate baroque styles. A few famous monuments are located here: the Town Hall, the Corn Exchange Hall (where the main Post Office is now located), the fountain, and the Clock Tower. Try to catch all of them in one selfie!

Route #3

1. Le Roy René patisserie 11 rue Gaston de Saporta, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
Aix is not just a city of art and water, but certainly a city of food too! For example, the calissons, famous candies consisting of grounded almonds and candied fruits, are believed to have been invented by Roy René. However, the first known reference to calissons comes from Italy in the 13th century. If you have already tried calissons, you know that they taste almost exactly like marzipan (= they don’t have any taste at all), and next time you will probably buy macarons, chocolates, or crepes (French pancakes) instead. If you haven’t tried them, lucky you are! We hope you’re sharing our dislike for the calissons, and show the disgust in your selfie.
2. Paul Cezanne Statue Couronne urbaine, 13100 Aix-en-Provence - Next to La Rotonde, on the side opposite to Cours Mirabeau
Paul Cezanne is one of the most famous French painters, and was considered by both Picasso and Matisse as “the father of us all”. He was born in Aix in 1839 and died there in 1906. For the celebration of the centenary of his death, the statue was offered to the city of Aix and Paul Cezanne has been standing fiercely in front of La Rotonde since 2006. Just as mankind did, Cezanne’s style of painting has evolved over the years. Indeed, what was mainly dominated by violent scenes and dark colours became colorful landscapes as Cezanne entered his Impressionist period. As he was going towards the end of his life, Cezanne’s life was filled with troubling events and as a result his paintings grew colder again, as the Pyramid of skulls (1901) suggests. Just as Cezanne’s work evolved, recreate the story of human evolution, from monkey to Cezanne.
3. Bibliothèque Méjanes 8 rue des Allumettes, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
City library had a rough past. Originally located in the City Hall, it was used as a stockroom during the French revolution, and hardly had enough money to repair the broken windows in the inter-war period in the 20th century. Almost 30 years ago it finally found a peaceful spot in the old match factory, where it resides now. You certainly noticed its striking architectural frontage made of 3 giant books. We guess that the glass surface of one of them means that readers can only often find a reflection of themselves in the books… How about doing that for the selfie?
4. Cours Mirabeau Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
With its many cafés, terrasses and fountains, Cours Mirabeau is one of the most popular places in Aix. It was built during the seventeenth century in order to create a new spot for chilling, as a replacement for the Place des Prêcheurs. It totally worked since you will see that the street is still very lively, almost 400 years after it was built. Little known fact, the opening ceremony of the Cours attracted people from the whole civilised world and the famous English rock band The Beatles played on that occasion. The famous song “Come Together” was initially written on Cours Mirabeau (which was its original title - Cours Mirabeau, right now, over me). It turns out that most of these facts are completely wrong and that The Beatles were created in Liverpool in the 60s. However, nothing prevents you to pay a tribute to one of the most popular rock bands in history on one of the most popular places in Aix. Why not achieving that through an Abbey Road-like street crossing selfie?
5. Place des 4 Dauphins Place des quatre dauphins, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
You might feel a difference in the mood and architecture between here and the city center. Straight spacious streets, nice houses in harmony with each other, little squares at the cross-sections of the streets -- seems like the concept of “proper city planning” finally appeared in Aix, and it started here, in quartier Mazarin in the 17th century. The top of the obelisk was vandalised a couple of times, last time in the 80s, so… for the photo, pretend to be the bodyguards protecting the fountain’s obelisk.
6. Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce 38 Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
This building was one of the first ones built to the South of the Cours Mirabeau as a townhouse for one of the French aristocratic families. Now, the Commercial Court is located in the building, with its facade with 2 atlantes who are obviously sharing the struggle of the hard working judges inside the building. For your selfie, let’s be nice and help the guys supporting the balcony.
7. Place d'Albertas 11 rue Espariat, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
One of the most famous and recognisable squares of Aix, and a great example of the Baroque style. We should thank the d’Albertas family, Italian merchants who came to Aix in the middle of the 18th century, for commissioning this square. Jean-Baptiste d’Albertas, head of the family, bought a block of houses and demolished some of them to create this open square right in the middle of Aix, an architectural trick which was very popular in Paris at that time. According to the legend, he didn’t take into account that one of the houses was a popular brothel, and simply copied the style of the balconies of it. Hence, we still can enjoy the beauty of the quite clearly visible phallic shaped metal-work on all the balconies around the square. On this note, we are a bit afraid to propose anything place-related for your selfie here… Let’s switch the topic. Zombie apocalypse, and the “normal” half of you are running away from another zombie-half?
8. Place Richelme Place Richelme, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
Is it one of the oldest squares in town, which actually consists of 2 sub-squares: the main one which is usually jammed with chairs from neighbouring cafes in the evening and with market counters in the morning, and a smaller one where you can find a statue of a boar often found in the areas around Aix (actually, you probably will see them during your trip to CEA Cadarache!). This statue is actually a copy, and the original one is located near famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Look at how relaxed the boar is… For your selfie, you should certainly join it. Have a rest, sit down around/on the statue, but be careful to not to sit on other fauna creatures located at the base of the statue.

Route #4

1. Bibliothèque Méjanes 8 rue des Allumettes, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
City library had a rough past. Originally located in the City Hall, it was used as a stockroom during the French revolution, and hardly had enough money to repair the broken windows in the inter-war period in the 20th century. Almost 30 years ago it finally found a peaceful spot in the old match factory, where it resides now. You certainly noticed its striking architectural frontage made of 3 giant books. We guess that the glass surface of one of them means that readers can only often find a reflection of themselves in the books… How about doing that for the selfie?
2. Fontaine des Neuf-Canons 22 Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
In the old times, the flocks of sheep walking from Arles to the Alps were passing right by Cours Mirabeau. The sheep were thirsty, but the fountains of Aix didn’t have enough water for all of the them. Then specially for the poor animals struggling in the hot Provencal sun a new fountain was erected, with its 9 cannons, which was supposed to be enough for all of them to drink. For the selfie, pretend to be the animals fighting for the water in the hot summer.
3. Place des 4 Dauphins Place des quatre dauphins, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
You might feel a difference in the mood and architecture between here and the city center. Straight spacious streets, nice houses in harmony with each other, little squares at the cross-sections of the streets -- seems like the concept of “proper city planning” finally appeared in Aix, and it started here, in quartier Mazarin in the 17th century. The top of the obelisk was vandalised a couple of times, last time in the 80s, so… for the photo, pretend to be the bodyguards protecting the fountain’s obelisk.
4. Brasserie Les Deux Garçons 53 Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
The Brasserie des Deux Garçons was founded in 1840 when two garçons de café (which is a fancy way to say waiters in French) bought the Café Julien and gave the place the name it has today. This brasserie is famous for hosting celebrities such as Picasso, Cezanne, Cocteau, Churchill, Jean-Paul Sartre, Sophie Marceau, Hugh Grant and George Clooney. When visiting Aix, this brasserie is definitely not to be missed. In the face of such pretentiousness, your challenge is to take a selfie of your whole group with your eyes closed. Obviously, selfie sticks are forbidden for this one as it would be too easy otherwise.
5. Fontaine Du Roi René Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence - At the very end of the Cours, in front of Papèterie Michel and Café du Roi René
Rene of Anjou, aka Good King Rene, is probably the most beloved Count and patron of Provence. An important guy in his days, he had more titles than you could shake a stick at: he was the Count of Provence, Bar, Piedmont, and Guise; the Duke of Calabria, Lorraine, and Anjou; and the King of Hungary, Sicily, Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia, and Jerusalem. A cousin and a good friend of the King of France Charles VII, he is attributed with the prosperity brought by him to Aix, the capital of Provence. A man of Renaissance, he is known for: stopping wars and plagues in Provence; recovery of the regions’ economics; giving to Christopher Columbus his first commissions as a captain; inspiring Cosimo de’ Medici to collect manuscripts from around the world and to open the first public library, San Marco, in Florence; being a patron of arts and science; restoring Marseille and creating a special court for merchants there -- Commercial court; ordering one of the first dams in France and an irrigation system for the Luberon valley; according to legend, inventing calissons, the specialty of Aix. And, of course, most importantly: look at the statue, he’s holding grapes in the hands. The good Roi Rene brought the Muscat grapes to Provence. For the selfie, kneel down to pay respects to the Good Roy René (no need to press X).
6. Fontaine des Bagniers 9 rue Espariat, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
One of the cozy corners of Aix -- square of the Hatters! At some point in time there were more than 450 hat ateliers in Aix, and the father of Cezanne (his medallion is at the top of the little fountain) was working in one of them. There are also two faces of the bathers after whom the fountain was originally called because it was one of a few sources of warm thermal water for the citizens. Your selfie task is to repeat the facial expression of the trio of Cezanne and 2 bathers.
7. Fountain Of Preachers Place des prêcheurs, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
This fountain features an eagle standing on top of a high obelisk. The eagle symbolizes justice, which is located so high we can barely see it (thanks, myopia…) and probably won’t easily achieve it (even though the City Court is located in the same square). The eagle (which does not seem to have myopia) is looking at the place where the town scaffold used to stand, where criminals would take their last breath. Your task here will be to jump as high as you can trying to reach justice while a member of the group takes a picture.
8. Town Hall of Aix-en-Provence Place de l’Hôtel de ville, 13100 Aix-en-Provence
Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, Aix-en-Provence is arguably one of Provence’s most famous squares with a great array of architectural styles, from the most simple to elaborate baroque styles. A few famous monuments are located here: the Town Hall, the Corn Exchange Hall (where the main Post Office is now located), the fountain, and the Clock Tower. Try to catch all of them in one selfie!

Route #5