28 February 2012

Fête du Citron - Normandy & Poitue-Charentes


The crowds were massive on Sunday. 24,000 filled the circuit taken by the parade but as you can see the weather was glorious and no one seemed to mind the crush.

This year's theme is the Regions of France and in the main photo you see the float for Normandy: a pot of cream, charcuterie (rillettes and Andouillettes) and apples which are used to make Normandy's fabulous cider and liqueur, Calvados.

The smaller photo shows a donkey which represents the region of Poitou Charentes. The 'Baudet de Poitou' is an ancient breed that is now being revived. There is a shoe on this float (not so easy to see) - it's actually a type of slipper traditionally made in the Charentes.

Tomorrow: Pink!

~~~~~

Ce dimanche, il y a eu une foule énorme, 24000 personnes se trouvaient sur le circuit du défilé, mais comme vous pouvez voir le temps était magnifique et personne ne semblait se soucier de la cohue.

Le thème de cette année est les Régions de France et sur ​​la photo principale, vous voyez le char de la Normandie: un pot de crème, de la charcuterie (rillettes et Andouillettes) et des pommes qui sont utilisés pour la fabrication du cidre de Normandie et la fabuleuse liqueur, le Calvados.

La plus petite photo montre un âne qui représente la région de Poitou-Charentes. Le Baudet du Poitou est une race ancienne qui est en train de renaître. Il y a aussi une chaussure sur ce char (pas si facile à voir) - c'est en fait une charentaise, un type de pantoufle fabriquée traditionnellement dans les Charentes.

Demain: Rose!

6 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous day for a parade! No wonder people came in crowds. The sharp orange and lemon colours against the blue sky are stupendous.

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  2. You seem to have found a higher vantage point. Were you in the official stand?

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  3. I can't tell you how I look forward to this festival and your documentation of it each year, dear Jilly.

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  4. These photos of the Lemon Festival are wonderful, Jilly. I have been showing them to my grandsons and they are delighted, especially by the castles and knights. Thank you,again, for sharing Menton with us each day.

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  5. I knew they have charentaise in Poitou Charentes, but lemons? Anyway, as the donkey is the symbol animal for Catalunya (which leeds to a lot of jokes among the big french community here), welcome!

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  6. Thanks so much for taking us to the parade and for giving us background on the floats.

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