Waking up to yet another day to authentic French cuisine, things slowed down a little bit, which is to be expected for any media.

We have our hits and misses, and in this instance we had a couple of misses.

I had confirmed with different people at the Perrier Water bottling plant in Vergeze, France through my office, and drove almost two hours excited about the prospect of doing a video report on a water bottling plant only to find out the contact person was not there, they had sent a new person. They tried finding more contacts related to our media tour of Perrier, and called the Paris office. They informed me that proper permission for doing a video feature on Perrier Water hadn’t come through.

Lost in translation?

My staff in DeafNation’s headquarters in Texas had to stay up from 2am to 4am making calls to Perrier, because of the time zone differences, it was 9am to 11am in France. In one of the several calls to Perrier, being lost in translation, my staff was told that we can show up there while authorization to do coverage on them was pending. We had no luck when we arrived, although.

It is so interesting learning more about Perrier water being bottled in France. France has so many sources for bottled water. In one of my early dialogues with the Evian water bottling company, they casually shared with us that “German media were concerned about the environment related to bottled water, resulting in negative press,” and I agreed, noting that during my previous visit to Nepal, I discovered that their worst pollution was plastic bottled water. It takes 1,000 years to dissolve one plastic bottle.

I was actually more interested, if granted a media tour, in seeing the water springing forth in all its freshness, and seeing how water is processed and bottled. That kind of thing is fascinating for millions of our viewers, because nearly everyone are walking around with at least a water bottle, to stay hydrated. If I travel to a third world country, a water bottle is my best friend, due to desert dryness or extreme humidity in remote places, and unfiltered tap water.

It was a morning wasted, but it couldn’t stop me from seeking other assignments, for none other reason than why our show is called “No Barriers with Joel Barish.”

Not even in France.

I found out that Marseille is the oldest city in France, with signs of human presence dating back to 30,000 years. While I am not sure about the timetable of thirty thousand years, I do know that people populated Marseille in the early medieval times, and before.

Marseille is also well known for making soap around the world, giving me a backdrop imagination of soapy bubbles rising to the surface.

Closer to smelling like a fresh bar of soap, the New Hotel of Marseille’s staff hooked me up with a local soap factory as they are regular customers purchasing the soap for their hotel guests amenities. As much we like modern amenities, soap always had done one thing — take the grease off.

In this case, it was not the grease I needed to wash off, but the sweat profusely poured trying to make the water bottling plant media tours happen. Now in the fragrance of scented soap, it had a mellowing effect on me as my day went on to different stories.

It is only a 15 minute drive from the hotel to the soap factory through the “maze” of port Vieux, which was a welcome change from the wasted two hour drive earlier this morning.

I met the manager of the soap factory, D. Boetto, I was surprised to see he gestured very well, puzzling me as I moved forward with his tour. He gave me the opportunity to stir the hot, bubbling liquid that makes soap. It had a quite powerful smell, but it smelled great, the aromatic soap has such a clean smell.

As fate would put it, one staff came forward signing in LSF, announcing that he has a Deaf son. It became clear why the manager gave us a very nice welcome and it explained his ability to gesture. We watched two workers stamping the soap bars. They have to dry the first batch of soap for 15 days before they can stamp them.

I was so thrilled about the soap factory tour because it is a true industry for Marseille, putting them on the map other than just being known for being populated as long mankind knows. I got authentic Marseille soap to take home, I might not even use it, but instead, perhaps place it along with other souvenirs I brought home from other countries for display. I wished to unwrap the soap bar but it’s too authentic to use it up, and I wasn’t ready to watch it whittle into a size small enough to go down the sink drain; but if I am coming back to France, I can take it off the display shelves and just bring back some more.

Curious about Marseille soap? Their website www.savon-leserail.com will open your nostrils breathing in the different frangrances — floral scents, fresh scents, citrusy scents, herbal scents, and musky scents.

The Marseille port is so perfect for ancient ships as a location, and now perfect for ancient buildings and cafes around the port. I decided to eat at one of the outdoor restaurants.

Marseille is recommended for eating good meals with a glass of wine, you can absorb the French way of life by just sitting in those outdoor cafes watching scores of people milling about, walking by.

Au Revoir!