Castellar cat

Cat in Castellar.

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Chat à Castellar. 

Hillside gardening

This is how many of us garden in this part of the world.  If you live on a hillside, your land will be terraced like this.  Mine is.  This land though is in Castellar, a hill village above Menton, and the owner is tending to his vines.

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C'est ainsi que sont beaucoup de nos jardins dans cette partie du monde. Si vous vivez sur le versant d'une  colline, votre terrain sera en terrasses comme celui-ci. C'est mon cas. Ce terrain se trouve à Castellar, un village sur une colline au-dessus de Menton et le propriétaire est en train de s'occuper de  ses vignes.

Des Res - in need of TLC

In need of a little work, don't you think? This old house is in one of the main streets of Castellar, an old village above Menton.

The Dryer

The village of Castellar - and how to dry your clothes in the rain.

A Courtyard in Castellar

Castellar is an ancient perched village 6 kilometres above Menton. It sits on a narrow ridge with steep valleys on all sides.

Here's a pretty courtyard on the main street - on the right is the entrance to a small atelier selling pottery.

Jean-Paul Lascaris

Castellar is a beautiful medieval perched village 6 kilometres north of Menton. I'll show you more photographs of this lovely village in future postings but wanted to post today as it's the 350th anniversary of the death of Jean-Paul Lascaris. You can see part of the baroque-style Lascaris palace , formerly the residence of the Counts of Lascaris, which dates back to the early 17th century. Jean-Paul Lascaris was born in Castellar in 1560 and died at the age of 97. He is particularly known for his contribution to the military history of Malta. This weekend Castellar has many celebrations in his honour.