Dawn over Menton

The first sign of winter is often an amazing dawn. Normally a massive orange ball in the sky - blinding and impossible to photograph. This one, with cloud, was easier. Taken from my terrace a week or so ago.

Market produce: Bread

Here you see bread rolls but bread rolls with a difference. These are called grisettes provençales. How about anchovy rolls, fig rolls, rolls with Roquefort cheese and nuts, rolls with goat cheese, pine nuts and mint. There are tomato and pistou rolls, rolls with tapenade, rolls with bacon and gruyère, or with onion or with olives. Are you feeling hungry? How about we order half a dozen - mixed? Take them home with a soft goat's cheese, sun dried tomatoes in oil and a good bottle of rosé - say a Bandol? What do you think?

Market produce: Mushrooms

It's autumn - and autumn means mushrooms! Glorious wondrous mushrooms. Not cheap, as you see, but so good. Actually I've girolles in my garden but I put my life in danger clambering down the steep hillside to get them so this year they might just have to stay there. What's your favourite mushroom?

Those steeples

You'll have seen other photos I've posted of these two steeples and you know, they look different each time - depends on angle, light, weather. So here they are again, rising from the Old Town. Click HERE for another view.

Market building

You saw some of the food on sale last week. Now, here's part of the beautiful market building where you'll find stalls inside and out.

One Man and his Dog

Man and dog under the old elm in the village square of Gorbio. The elm was planted in 1713.

Glory

Let's look at something glorious!

(Back home from Germany - thanks so much for all the comments whilst I was away).

Market produce: fish

This lady has a small fish stall outside the market. Fish ranges from the large tuna to the tiniest prawns and always so fresh. I've lived here 16 years and I still don't know half the fish that appear in the markets. My favourites are rouget (red mullet) and loup sauvage (sea bass) - note the word sauvage, as opposed to 'farmed' fish. There is a world of difference!

Each spring, we see tiny, tiny fish for sale - these are poutines and are cooked into a local speciality: l'omelette de poutines.

What's your favourite fish?

Market produce: preserved fruits

If it's fruit, it can be preserved. Here you'll find preserved pineapple, ginger, kumquats, cherries, oranges, lemons, angelica and more - as well as dates and nuts.

Tomorrow? Come meet the fish lady.

Market produce: olives

So many olives to delight your palate. You can choose olives with basil, garlic, pimentos, herbes. Some are stuffed, some not. Perhaps the tiny but oh so tasty Niçoise olive. Which would you choose?

The olives are in the middle section of this stall - on the left he sells prepared food like pickled onions, seafood salads, sundried tomatoes in oil, grilled slices of aubergines in oil, pickled cloves of garlic, anchovies - the choice is endless. At the other end, he sells fruit confit. Come back tomorrow and I'll show you the fruit.

Market produce: cheese

Let's have a few days of Menton market's wonderful food. Today: cheeses - made from the milk of goat, sheep or cow. Top left, look at the round cheese in the centre foreground. This is a Banon from Provence, and is wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with rafia. Delicious. How many cheeses do you recognise?

Come back tomorrow - we'll be buying some olives.

(I'm in Germany to judge the Old English Sheepdogs at the Bundesseiger show so forgive me, but I won't be able to comment much before getting home on Monday evening. )

Caged

At the Fête de la Branda last Sunday, there were, as always, many stalls selling food: olive oil, olives, goat and sheep cheeses, wonderful breads, honey, charcuterie and so on. The man on the right with the cap on his head is the olive oil man - he lives just below village and produces excellent olive oil and his wife makes home-made jams.

The cages you see on the wall were for sale. I asked him what they were for and he told me for wild birds. 'Why would you keep a wild bird in a cage,' I asked. His reply: 'We keep them there until we're ready to eat them.' I didn't ask how he caught them but presumably with traps - obviously not by shooting, else you'd hardly need a cage, would you?

Later, when I bought some olive oil, he told me he'd sold the cages...oh dear.

Velo Club de Menton

At the Fête de la Branda in Gorbio, there is always much more going on than the actual distillation of the Branda. This year, cyclists from the Velo Club de Menton were out in force. Here you see them gathered around the old elm tree (planted in 1713) along with a couple of old men watching the proceedings.

Fête de la Branda

On Sunday we had the Fête de la Branda in the village. Probably my favourite Gorbio fête day and always held in October. Branda is the Provençal word for marc, the marc de Provence, which actually has two meanings: either the fermented grape pulp, seeds, and stems that remain after the grapes are pressed for their juice, or the actual potent distilled alcohol. The word comes from the Old French marchier, to trample. I've written at length on my Postcards blog about last year's Fete de la Branda with many more photographs and a detailed explanation of the process.

The right to distil passes through a family, and in Gorbio, this right is held by two brothers. I only saw one of them this year, so I hope the other one is alright as they are both getting on in age. Don't you think this brother looks rather like Popeye! He loves having his photograph taken and has appeared in magazines and television programmes that cover this annual event. He's holding a plate of socca which he'll eat for his lunch. You can read about socca on the above link too.

Do come back over the next few days and I'll show you more photographs taken at the Fête de la Branda.

Villa Sans Nom

This intrigued me. The House With No Name! An old boy walked out of the front door just after I took this photo but he couldn't enlighten me. Just said the house is very old. It's located in a small street just across from the Museum of Regional Pre-history which I'll show you another time.

Got me thinking about house names and why we choose them? My house is called Lou Milou. Lou is Provençal for 'the' or 'le.' And Milou - well Milou was the dog of my life, an American cocker spaniel, who is now running around in doggy heaven, chasing his ball. What's your house - or apartment building? - called - and why?

About turn

After yesterday's 'dark and stormy' photo, let's turn around and look in the opposite direction. I'm still standing by Le Bastion, but here you see Cap Martin in the distance, low cloud hangs over the hills.

In yesterday's photo, by showing you only rough rocks, sea and fort it was all rather foreboding. Now this is a little more cheerful, isn't it? The thing is, the two photos were taken exactly one minute apart yet give a completely different atmosphere, don't they?

Le Bastion, musée Jean Cocteau - 2

The view across to Italy, with a corner of Le Bastion, built in 1619, on the left. You can see another view of this building, now a museum dedicated to Jean Cocteau, at THIS LINK.

The Ruins of the Château

So here we are at the ruins of the Château. I was surprised, when I got here, to see a man selling entrance tickets. I don't mean I was surprised that tickets were on sale, but that someone should be way up here, all day long, waiting for the few visitors who come here. Perhaps it's a way of guarding artifacts.

The first record of Sainte Agnès (Sancta Agneta) was in 1150, when it was ruled by the Counts of Ventimiglia - in 1258 it passed to the Counts of Provence.

THIS WEBSITE gives the full history of the village, right back to Neolithic times - but you need to read French. If you don't speak French, it really is worth looking at tho just for the photographs as you go through the various centuries.

Walk to the Château ruins

Here's a collage of the walk to the Château. It's quite a hike and we'll need to stop for a rest every few minutes - at least I did. Start at 'top left' with the sign. The second photo shows a quite gentle walk, but then it gets steeper (bottom left) and we finish at cross. Thank goodness for the iron railings! Tomorrow: the ruins. Phew...time for a rest I think.

Bird's eye view

Here we are looking down on the village of Sainte Agnès. I'm about half way up the track to the ruins of the château. To the right of the photo, you can see the cemetery. That in itself is higher than the village. Come back tomorrow and share the walk with me. It's steep!

Renovation

Renovating a house in a hill village is no easy task. All the materials need to be brought up from Menton or Nice. All rubble needs to be removed and taken down the valley. In the old days, of course, donkeys were used. See the donkey track from Sainte Agnès to Menton - a two-hour journey.

Nowadays, renovation means the workmen need to walk up and down the narrow, steep streets, moving materials, little by little. In addition, if scaffolding is used, then inevitably you'll need your neighbour's house to provide some of the support. Hopefully you get on with your neighbour!

And the cost of all this - well, it's not cheap - and it's slow.

Daily Photo Theme Day: Cemeteries/Tombstones

Readers of this blog will know how much I love Menton's beautiful cemetery, located above the Old Town and with a view of the sea, the mountains and Italy. Many Russian and British aristocracy have found their final resting place here.

Menton, with its micro-climate, was a popular destination for sufferers of tuberculosis who now lie in this graveyard, all dying far too young. It's a fascinating place to explore especially in this year of the Rugby World Cup as you'll find, at this link, the grave of William Webb-Ellis, inventor of Rugby.

Today, being the 1st of the month, is Daily Photo Theme Day. Do please take time to visit the other cities in the Daily Photo family taking part in today's theme:

St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Evry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Zurich, Switzerland - Budapest, Hungary - Paris, France - Saigon, Vietnam

Église Notre-Dame-des-Neiges - 2

Churches in most of the Mentonnais hill villages, have a simple exterior, but surprise us when we go inside. Here you see three views of the interior of the 16th century church in Sainte Agnès.

Église Notre-Dame-des-Neiges

The parish church of Sainte Agnès, near to the entrance to the village, is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows. You can see the entrance on the right of the photo. Do come back tomorrow and I'll take you inside this beautiful little church and show you the wonders therein.

Donkey Track

This is the old donkey track from Saint Agnès to the centre of Menton. The sign indicates it takes two hours. There are donkey tracks leading from all the hill villages around Menton to the town itself and at one time, this was the only method of getting supplies to and from a village.

Now these donkey tracks are used by hikers and it's one of the most glorious ways to see this part of the Côte d'Azur. I've walked the track from Gorbio to Sainte Agnès with my best buddy, Candy, and I suspect when she next comes to stay, we'll be walking this track. I'd better get in shape because if you walk down - guess what? - you've got to walk back up again for your car!

Note the viewing platform in the middle distance and below you'll see a better view of it. If you click on THIS LINK and scroll down to the second photograph, you'll see just how far we are from the sea and why it takes 2 hours to walk this track.

Le Saint-Yves

Mid-morning and time for coffee at Le Saint-Yves. On the terrace (see below) the tables are ready for lunch. Good, simple, cheap food (there's a 16 euros menu, for instance) and with a view that's worth a good deal more. Pasta is excellent - friends approve of the braised rabbit. You can also stay at this hotel and at a very reasonable tarif too.

Sainte Agnès - 4

In his plastic bag: a baguette and a bottle of wine. What more could anyone want? I'd like a nice fresh goat cheese to go with them. What would you choose?

Sainte Agnès - 3

Entrance to the village with its ubiquitous postcard shop. Come back tomorrow and we'll take a walk through the narrow streets which are glorious at the moment but can become wind tunnels on chilly winter days.

Sainte Agnès - 2

Not a pretty picture, but the promised Fort which is part of the Maginot Line. The Maginot Fort in Sainte Agnès was built in 1932. Solidly built, the fort sits on the edge of the village overlooking the sea, serving today as a popular tourist attraction. I found THIS LINK on the Internet which describes a visit by a group interested in all the forts of the Maginot line.

Tomorrow we'll have far prettier photos of the village.

Sainte Agnès - 1

Let me introduce you to the perched village of Ste. Agnès: at more than 800 metres above sea-level, it is the highest village, with a view of the sea, in the whole of Europe. And what a spectacular panoramic view it provides. Below you can see the view from a platform at one end of the village. (The camera faced the sun this morning, but another time I'll take better photos of the view).

Legend has it that an Italian princess named Agnès was trapped in these hills by a sudden violent storm . She prayed to her patron saint and found shelter in one of the four grottoes in the area. Agnès then built a sanctuary in the rocks which quickly attracted local inhabitants and so the village got its name.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you the fort that is part of the Maginot Line.

Wash down time

Early morning and time to wash down the decking of the restaurants and clean the streets ready for another hot day. This is one of the beach/restaurants in Garavan.

I know you don't want to hear me grumble about lack of rain this summer and now early autumn, but I wish it would RAIN for my poor dried up garden. I know the visitors don't want this tho, so you didn't hear me say it!

Through a restaurant darkly...

An enticing view through the restaurant, tables set up ready. Let's eat! And then - let's take a swim. This is one of the beach restaurants in Garavan.

Randonée

Many people come to the Côte d'Azur, not to lie on the beaches but to go walking or rambling in the hills and mountains. After all, our départment is called the Alpes-Maritimes. Here you see a sign in the village of Gorbio showing various randonée and giving the length of time any particular hike will take.

Le patron

This is Franck, the 'boss man' - patron of Le Balico, my favourite Mentonnais restaurant.

Note: since posting this, sadly Franck has sold Le Balico and it's now under new management.

Scouts' honour

Lunctime for a group of scouts on the steps of the Eglise St. Michel in the Old Town.

Memories in the making - 2

Following on from yesterday's post, here's the little girl with her siblings. Below the eldest brother ensures the precious catch gets into the bucket.

Memories in the making

Fishing below the Old Town. A few minutes after I took this photograph, the little girl caught a fish. I think a lot of us have happy memories of fishing as a child. Do you?

(Thank you so much to everyone who has kindly posted comments whilst I've been away in England. I hope to catch up with your blogs today and tomorrow.)

17th Journées Méditerranéennes du Jardin - 3

Fun with a watering can in one of the fountains that were for sale at the recent plant fair in Menton.

17th Journées Méditerranéennes du Jardin - 2

Seller and buyer amidst a sea of colour at the recent plant fair in Menton.

Border town

This is the border between France and Italy, taken from the Italian side. The flat grey-roofed building is Italian - and just beyond, you can just see the top of a white-roofed building - the French one. These days cars generally go through without being stopped but much depends on your number plate and also if it's a Friday or not. On Fridays - market day in Ventimiglia - the police often stop cars to confiscate any 'copy handbags' or 'copy' anything else, come to that. Sometimes a holidaymaker will buy a pair of sunglasses from a street trader or a stall in Ventimiglia, not even realising they are perhaps a Gucci copy - and then, at the border, will find they have to pay a massive fine as well as having their new purchase taken away.

In the distance you see the port of Garavan and Menton Old Town.