Russian orthodox chapel

One of the delights of a Daily Photo blog is when you hear from people who have enjoyed the photographs, are taken with your town, and then they come and stay. That is what happened with James Arzente, the American artist. He had a trip planned to take photographs of Eze for his work, but chose to stay at Menton and it is who who took this photograph and is therefore Menton DP's second Guest Photographer. James is a well-known American artist who uses photography in his beautiful creations. To read more and see some of his amazing art, please click on the link above.

As you walk around the old cemetery of Menton, you'll find, alongside the tombs of the old Mentonnais families, many of those with British and Russian names on them. The Russian orthodox chapel in this photograph contains the remains of Prince Troubetzkoy (1822-1892). It was built in memory of Alexandrine de Tapliakoff, who died in Menton in 1884. No less than 6 princes of the Russian royal house are buried in Menton.

The Golden Apple

The Blessing of the Animals is over and the villagers, and of course the priests, are making their way through the archway and up into the medieval village for the sung mass in the Church of St. Barthélemy. During the ceremony, members of the comité des fêtes, accompanied by three musicians, made the traditional offering of la pomme d'or (the golden apple). This tradition started in medieval times when the nobles made an offering to the clergy and it's been continued ever since. After the mass, a procession, in which a statue of St. Barthélemy is carried aloft, goes from street to tiny street, throughout the village.

A basket of water?

This beautiful Friesian was one of the horses attending yesterday's Blessing of the Animals in the village of Gorbio. He's a horse trained in dressage but had great difficulty yesterday walking on the cobbles - slipping all the time. He (and a friend below) are taking a drink out of fountain, constructed in 1902 for the use of mules and donkeys. It's made in the form of a packsaddle, with the water containers - one on each side - reminding one of large paniers (baskets). You can see the entire fountain HERE.

The photo below shows the entrance to the Medieval village.

La Bénédiction des Animaux

Today is the Fête patronale de la St. Barthélémy in Gorbio. It will be a long day of festivities which started this morning with the blessing of the animals, followed by an important Mass in the Church. The blessing took place in the Place de la République in the village in front of the elm tree planted in the 1700s. There were three or four beautiful horses present and many dogs. Chatting to a lady from the village (she was there with her labrador, Jules, and her Golden retriever, Jim) she told me that in the old days the blessing used to be given outside the church and people would bring their donkeys and other farm animals. You will find photos of some of the dogs in attendance today, including reading the story of Bébé, the grey dog in the foreground, on my Riviera Dogs blog.

Ulysse

This sculpture of Ulysse is by Anna Chromy, the Czech artist, known for her 'sculptures in movement.' It stands on a promontory near to the Bastion.

Looking down on the living - 2

Let's get out of the heat of Menton today and up to Gorbio village. We are in the cemetery - the village of Gorbio is below us and to our left (the dead always look down on the living!) - way, way below is the autoroute and beyond, the sea - although you really can't see the Mediterranean today because of the haze. THIS LINK is also looking down on the autoroute but from a different angle.

Night market

During the months of July and August there is a night market located between the old market building at the base of the Old Town and the sea. More stalls can be found in front of the market building itself. Lights are hung between the palm trees and here you'll find jewellry, paintings, pottery, belts and bags, gifts to take home and much more. The stall holders begin to set up around 8 p.m. and stay open till late. All part of summer time in Menton.

McDonald's in Menton

Yes, we have a McDonald's in Menton - right next to the beautiful Moorish market building which you can see in this photograph, taken at dusk. I suppose this McDonald's is not as 'obvious' as some, with its small logo and installed in a rather nice building.

Can there be a city in the world without a McDonald's? Do you have one in your city?

Dinner time

Early evening and this street vendor is getting ready to eat his meal. He's set up by the beach, opposite the Old Town, where he hopes to sell his sunglasses, bags, hats, ornaments from north Africa. The strip of land you see in the distance is Cap Martin.

Love before food!

This scene made me laugh out loud! The two guys are waiters at a bar/restaurant located at the foot of the Old Town and each are carrying two plates of food. The restaurant is out of shot and to the left as you look at this photo. The tables are down steps to the right. The archway leading into the Old Town is up the slope. See HERE to get an idea of where we are.

Alors! They meet a girl they know and of course this involves much kissing, regardless of the food and whether it gets cold. This is one of the many, many reasons I just love France!

A gift for Aunt Mary?

Visiting Menton and want to take a gift home with you? No problem. In the pedestrian street you'll find soaps, candles in the form of fruit, Herbes de Provence, lavender - in bunches or wrapped in fabric sachets ready to hang in your wardrobe, tablescloths in a provençal pattern, olive oil containers, weird looking dolls made to cover a toilet roll (!) and much much more.

Boats at dusk

August.
Dusk.
Boats in the harbour below the Old Town.
Italy in the distance.
Wish you were here...

The Cool-down

This ice-cream parlour is in the middle of the walking street of Menton. Good ice-cream too! What's your favourite parfum (flavour)?

Pétanque or Boules? - 3

It's 8.30 in the evening and today we are in the Boules Club of Menton, which is directly opposite the market building (behind me) - the sea is beyond the palm trees. We are watching a lesson in throwing the boule. Are these two father and son? What do you think?

Pétanque or Boules? - 2

As promised, here's a photo of a man just after throwing the boule. It looks like some strange dance, doesn't it?

In the photo below, you see players discussing which boule is nearest to the small boule - look closely and you'll see a tiny orange ball, which, by the way, is called the 'pig.' The idea of the game is to get as close to the pig as possible. It sounds simple but there's great skill to it and a lot of money can be made in top level competition.

Many thanks to Fabrizio from Torino DP who kindly wrote this explanation as to the difference between pétanque and boules, in yesterday's comments:

"It was only in 1907 that pétanque as we know it was born. Its name comes from the provençal "pèd tanco", which means "feet together'. It is played on a shorter terrain and players throw their boule from a rough circle scratched in the dirt, taking no run-up at all." Fabrizio gave the following link too - click HERE. I had also found a good website on the subject, so anyone wanting even more information, try this link - HERE.

Do come back tomorrow and you'll see a photograph of a father teaching his son how to throw.

Pétanque or Boules? - 1

Forget the sterotype of an old man with a beret playing boules. Boules players come in all shapes and sizes - men and women, young and old. There was a pétanque contest in Gorbio on Fête day last Sunday - here's one of the competitors.

Perhaps one of our French contributors can tell me the difference between boules and pétanque. This contest was advertised as pétanque.

Dusk

Dusk. Says it all really - OR - you could write a novel about this scene, couldn't you? Who are they? What's their relationship? Where do they come from? What are their lives? Are they happy, sad? ... and on and on and on...

Boo!

Today it's the Fête Populaire in Gorbio village. And what do children who live in a medieval village do for fun? Why they play peek-a-boo through a gap in the village fountain.

There's a lot going on in the village today - first a free glass of kir for everyone, later petanque, chansons, a demonstration of French boxing, soupe au pistou, political debate - and tonight a rock concert.

L'Exocet

A metre or so to the left of this row of restaurant tables is the alligator you saw yesterday. L'Exocet is one of many restaurants by the beach. The main restaurants, of course, are the other side of the road, so waiters take chances running across the road with the food. However, the waiters and waitresses who work at this particular restaurant are lucky with the convenient zebra crossing. Others, further along are not so lucky.

I took this photo around 9 in the morning - the waiter and waitress are preparing for the day. The wind had some up so at this moment, there's a bit of a rush to fix down the tablecloths.

If you'd like to see what this area (but a little further along) looks like in February - click HERE.

An alligator in Menton?

An alligator in Menton? Silly! We don't have alligators in Menton. Can't you see this is a crocodile...she said confidently, not at all sure if this is an alligator or a crocodile...

So for Isabella, an allicroc or perhaps a crocogator, but enough to remind us of her beautiful Naples Daily Photo blog, where you'll find lots of real alligators. Go check it out today for the fishing and the pelicans - click HERE. Hmmmm...not seen any of those around here? Perhaps I'll take a look in the Vieille Ville - you never know what you'll find up there.

This sand sculpture was built next to the Christ figure. Remember him - see HERE? And he's still here, 7 weeks later! No rain for over a couple of months, so he's not washed away although perhaps someone keeps rebuilding him. And if you'd enjoy seeing really amazing sand sculptures go to Port Angeles Daily Photo HERE.

An alternative view

This is a view of Menton I've not shown before. You've seen the beautiful facade of the Old Town with its jumble of houses HERE. This photograph is taken from the other side - the steeples will give you your bearings. The long double-roofed building in the foreground is the Moorish style market - again, you can see details of that HERE.

In front of the market building - amongst all those palm trees is where the Menton Boules Club have their premises. There is much consternation at the moment because this area is where the Mairie plan to build a Museum to Jean Cocteau following a generous bequest by (I believe) an American collector. The Boules club is waiting to hear of an alternative site for their club.

Come back tomorrow when you'll see a gift I have for Isabella from Naples Daily Photo. Don't forget!

Daily Photo Theme Day: A Typical Breakfast

First buy your croissant! This lady runs my favourite bakery in Menton. Not only is the bread great but she never stops smiling. Below you'll find a photograph of breakfast possibles - personally I love the brioches sucrés. (You can buy cheaper elsewhere but not as good!) I've never been sure that the French really do eat croissants every day, so do visit Eric in Paris where you'll get confirmation of this and can also click on a link to read all about croissants.

Today is Daily Photo Theme Day. 99 Daily Photo bloggers from cities all around the world will be presenting their Typical Breakfasts today. Do click on their blogs and enjoy their offerings:

Saint Paul (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - New York City (NY), USA - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hyde, UK - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Stockholm, Sweden - Paderborn, Germany - Singapore, Singapore - Haninge, Sweden - Nottingham, UK - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Manila, Philippines - Boston (MA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Singapore, Singapore - Joplin (MO), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Paris, France - Sequim (WA), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Boston (MA), USA - Chennai, India - Madison (WI), USA - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Toulouse, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - La Antigua, Guatemala - Selma (AL), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Sheki, Azerbaijan - Sydney, Australia - Mumbai, India - Seoul, South Korea - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - New Orleans (LA), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Villigen, Switzerland - Montréal (QC), Canada - Stayton (OR), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Moscow, Russia - Springfield (MO), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Arlington (VA), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Manila, Philippines - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Stavanger, Norway - Bastia, France - Hong Kong, China - Wailea (HI), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Sydney, Australia - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Kansas City (MO), USA - Grenoble, France - Paris, France - Evry, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Prague, Czech Republic - Cape Town, South Africa - Brookville (OH), USA - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Wellington, New Zealand - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Shanghai, China - Zurich, Switzerland - North Bay (ON), Canada - Lyon, France - Naples (FL), USA

Danger!

After shopping this morning, I walked along the sea as I wanted to photograph a particular statue for you - one I'll show you another day. It's really windy today which is no bad thing in the current heat of summer. So I thought you'd like to see the danger flag going up on the beach. Not that I noticed the life guard, you understand - just the flag! This is on the beach opposite the main market - the beautiful Old Town rises up above it. The coast line you see in the background is Cap Martin. Beyond it, you come to Monaco.

John Wayne?

This silver Roy Rogers, or whoever he is, doesn't seem to be getting much interest and his silver dish is empty. Perhaps the ladies on the left have seen it all before?

Auberge Provençale

Looks like I'm on an 'eating out in Menton, summer holidays' sort of roll. The truth is I don't often get out in summer but since taking photographs for Menton DP and Monte Carlo DP, I've re-arranged things a little so I can get out for a few hours a little more often - leaving dogs at home to await my return.

Many locals complain about summer - they shop very early before the visitors are up - and then you don't see them again. I have to say I'm loving this - every time I go down to Menton and mill about with all the tourists, I feel as if I'm on holiday. And of course I am...

This is the Auberge Provençale - I've never eaten here but have good friends who eat here regularly and say it's very good. So that's one for the future.

See the curved archway just beyond the last umbrella on the right? Well you can see that doorway here.

Summer Nights

High summer in Menton. It's 11.00 p.m. and the streets are crowded, as are the bars and restaurants. This was taken in a pretty square in the middle of the walking street.

(I changed the camera setting from 800 ISO to 1600 - to allow for a night shot, but it's come out grainy so perhaps that wasn't such a good idea.)

Seafood at Le Lido

Early evening and this restaurant, Le Lido in La Place aux Herbes is almost full. This used to be simply a bar/tabac and slowly over the years it's evolved into a successful seafood restaurant. See the couple of the foreground? - the man with the hat and the lady in red - well if you'd like to see what is hidden behind them, please click on this link - you won't regret it!

Portrait of a Lady

It's high summer in Menton. The streets are crowded, the restaurants packed, shops are open till late, there are night markets. This was taken just before 8 p.m. I hope the artist doesn't make this pretty lady look like one of his caricatures. Take a look below - looks good so far.

A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 8

Here are two photographs, peering thru the windows of the chapel. Unfortunately the light reflected back and half of each photograph showed the country outside - so I had to trim that off. Such a simple little chapel but I hope you like it. Thanks so much to everyone who came on this walk with me. Meanwhile, back to the village and a drink and right, something to eat. I forgot the food! All on me!

There are a few more photographs taken on this walk (the mill, another old gate and so on) - I'll show them in the future but for tomorrow - back to Menton.

A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 7

We've reached the chapel. It's taken a long time. In reality, of course, this walk is really quite short - about 15 or so minutes - but we stopped and looked and absorbed and chatted, didn't we? If we continued past the chapel, (which we won't) we'd come to the Cime du Baudon, which is where climbers spent happy hours with their crampons climbing that mountain in the background. If you walk below and look up, they appears as tiny dots way above but sometimes you hear the climbers calling to each other. And it looks very dangerous. Before climbing, they have to go to the Mairie in the village to get a licence. And if we walked even further, we'd end up in St. Agnes, which is the highest village in the whole of the Côte d'Azur with a view of the sea. We'll be visiting St. Agnes one day in the future. There are so many hill villages I'd love to show you... Castellar, Roquebrune, La Turbie, Sospel, Castillon, St. Agnes...

So before us stands the chapel and on the left, a cross - we pass it and walk through the arches of the chapel - and we look up. You can see the ancient stonework has much-needed metal supports - hardly surprising as it was built in the XIIth century.

Tomorrow, we'll take a peek inside and then it's time to head back to the village for that cold drink.

A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 6

At last we can see the little chapel. The track gets a bit bumpy here but don't worry we're not on the edge of the track anymore. Tomorrow I'll show you some details of this XII century chapel.

Each year there is a procession of the Pénitents Blancs of Gorbio to the Chapelle St. Lazare, giving thanks that the village escaped the Great Plague of Middle Ages.

A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 5

Here's our dragon but somewhat rustier than he used to be, as is the horse. And take a look at the gate posts. On the left you see a skeleton and on the right, why - it's our teacup tit lady! You can see a closer version of her below. The third photograph shows the decorated house.

I started taking this walk about 8 years with my dog Milou (you can read about Milou here). We used to walk way past the chapel, down to the stream, cut back along the base of the mountain and come back down past the derelict mill. (Fear not, we are only going as far as the chapel on this trip). When I first saw this house, the dragon and the horse and the decorated gateposts looked fairly new. Now they've deteriorated but they still delight me - nothing is what you'd expect to see so near to a medieval village. Don't you love the unexpected?

Tomorrow, onward to the chapel with perhaps a glance back at the old village as we go.

A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 4

I promised you a knight in shining armour - and a horse. Here they are on a gate just past the mausoleum you saw yesterday. I'd love to know who lives in this house, wouldn't you?

Tomorrow, we'll meet a dragon and I'll introduce you to the tea-cup tit lady. After that, we really must get on - the chapel awaits and there's much to show you.

A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 3

Just to the left of our walk, there's a tiny track that runs steeply uphill. On one corner is an old mill, currently undergoing restoration - and opposite is this rusty gate. Peer through and what you see is in the photograph below. It looks like a very small mausoleum, don't you think? There is no sign, nothing to indicate who is buried here, if indeed anyone is. I'd think it too small for a chapel and if it's a mausoleum, why isn't it in the cemetery which is at the other end of the village? The third photograph shows this tiny building from a different angle. What do you think it is?

You'd perhaps like to see the old mill? We will, we will. But tomorrow you'll see a knight in shining armour - on a horse, bien sûr.

A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 2

We continue walking and once we get past a few houses on the right of the chemin, (they sit below the track, of course) - we look to our right and see this view. If we look slightly further to our right, we see the beautiful medieval village rising on its hill. I'll post that view another day. The motorway is so far below us that there is no sound - at least not today. Occasionally, depending on the weather, you might hear the slightest buzz - but normally, in the village, you simply don't hear it.

Watch your step! Someone is working on a house below the track and there is no barrier where we are standing. We don't want anyone falling into the garden below.

Note: I found a photograph today of the actual beginning of this walk and have posted it (second photo) on yesterday's posting - click here.

Tomorrow I'll show what lies behind an almost hidden rusty gate.