The caves of Balzi Rossi - 4

Finally we've reached the entrance to the Grotta di Florestano - Florestano's Cave. Tomorrow we'll walk further inside and see what we see.

There are in fact seven caves at Balzi Rossi but only two can be visited, Florestan's Cave and Caviglioni's Cave. In another cave, the Barma Grande, the famous 'triple burial' -skeletons of a Cro-Magnon adult male, girl and young boy, were discovered. These are on display in a glass case in the museum.


As I mentioned yesterday, I've written a personal account of my visit to the Caves of Balzi Rossi on my writing blog.

...and on a completely different subject, if you fancy a Night Out in Monte Carlo - a series which starts today - please click on Monte Carlo Daily Photo.

The caves of Balzi Rossi - 3

Prehistoric man didn't have these steps to walk up, but I'm sure he was considerably more nimble of foot than us. No matter, we are nearly there and we'll be at the entrance to one of the caves soon.

The Balzi Rossi caves are at the southern limit of the hilly massif of the Alps, which extends to the sea along the coast, separating the Italian territory of Liguria to the east from Provence and the basin of the Rhône River in France to the west. This particular topography meant that the caves were en route - as well as a convenient stopping point - for those who travelled through or lived in this region over the millennia. During the Upper Paleolithic period, the obstacle of the Alpine glaciers made a stop at the caves obligatory. Man was present here from the time of the Riss glaciations (which began 240,000 years ago) until the Mesolithic.

The Grotta del Principe yielded a fragment of thin bone belonging to a pre-Neanderthal woman who walked erect. This is the oldest human fragment ever found in Italy.

(I need to say that almost all of the facts I'm giving you in these postings, I gleaned from material at the Museum. A few though are from the Internet. So if any scholar happens upon this blog and I'm in error, do please let me know and I'll be happy to correct it)

I mentioned yesterday I'd talk about the guides. Well, I decided to write a personal - and hopefully slightly humorous account - of my visit to the Balzi Rossi caves, including my take on the guides, and hope to get that up and published in my writing blog tomorrow. When it's done I'll give you the relevant link.

See you tomorrow.

The caves of Balzi Rossi - 2

We are still walking toward the caves. If you look at yesterday's post, you'll see we left the first museum building and walked up the ramp. At the top of the ramp, you saw a covered bridge. Well here is that bridge, taken from the other direction. As you see it runs over the railway lines linking the French and Italian Rivieras. At the beginning of the bridge there was a locked iron gate, which the guide opened (I'll explain about the guides tomorrow but you should know there were three guides for one solitary visitor - me! - talk about over-staffed). Once the gate was unlocked I was permitted to walk on and discover the caves alone.

Don't worry, I know that bridge looks rickety but I assure you it's fine.

Come back tomorrow. We are getting nearer...

The caves of Balzi Rossi - 1

As a photograph I appreciate this is rather messy, with bits of buildings left and right. However, it's the best way to show you how one gets to visit the limestone caves of Balzi Rossi. The caves (one of which you can clearly see) get their name (Red Rocks) from the colour of the cliffs that surround them.

We've now walked on a few yards from the restaurant you saw yesterday. On the left is a small museum (lower left painted in stripes). First you go into the museum, which was founded in 1898 by Sir Thomas Hanbury. (The Hanbury Gardens just a little further into Italy at La Mortola is one of the true wonders of this part of the world. A future treat, I promise you). Later you visit the caves themselves, and after that, you can see more displays in the second museum building which you see on the lower right.

The museum houses extraordinary displays of a prehistoric Mediterranean. Diggings began in the second half of the 19th century as well as in 1928 and during the post-war period fossils of great importance were discovered, including late Paleolithic human burials, fossils of elephants, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, reindeer, and groundhogs. All have provided precious information on the anthropological development of man (from Homoerectus to the man of Cro-magnon).

Tomorrow I'll take you on the walk you see - up that ramp and across the iron bridge (which, by the way, crosses the main railway line that runs along the Côte d'Azur and into Liguria) - and then we'll visit one of the caves. Do come back tomorrow - and tomorrow and tomorrow - this visit will take us a few days.

Ristorante Balzi Rossi

This is theRestaurant Balzi Rossi - it's on the way to the area of sea and rocks you saw yesterday and the day before. The view is wonderful, of course, because it looks back on Menton - the beautiful facade of the Old Town (see banner at top of page) and the port of Garavan - and the food is fabulous! Fortunately, I speak from experience...

Tomorrow, we'll visit the Balzi Rossi caves dating back to the Palaeolithic Era.

Near Balzi Rossi - 2

A closer look at one of those rocks you saw yesterday. I wonder what species of bird?

Near Balzi Rossi

We are in Italy today. I parked at the frontière and walked past the Balzi Rossi restaurant, past the Balzi Rossi Caves and Museum of Prehistory (will show you these wonders another day) and sat and enjoyed the sea crashing against the rocks. Don't you love the wildness of the coast on the Italian side of the border? I do.

Rooms with a view

Here's a villa on the hillside above the Old Town. This photo was taken from the cemetery. I love the setting, the terraced garden, with the hills behind and with what must be a wondrous view of the coastline. Whether it's good feng shui to look down on a cemetery - ah, there's the rub.

Would it bother you to look down over a cemetery?

Lilac time

'Warble me now, for joy of Lilac-time...' - Walt Whitman

This lilac car has been parked for several days now outside this seafood restaurant near to the sea and the market and it attracts quite a lot of attention. I wasn't the only one taking a photograph. I've seen other old cars in the same place so perhaps the restaurant owner collects them?

Sunday, Sunday in Menton

Taken last Sunday, when the street along the sea was closed to traffic, the world and his wife, not to mention his children, dogs and bicycles, were out in force.

A time and place for one man to sit and read his Sunday newspaper - oh and check his portable phone, bien sûr.

Plage aux Chiens

The beach between two rows of rocks is reserved for dogs. Here you see just one row. Plastic bins stand either side ready for the owners to drop in their dogs' crottes. This pebble beach is in front of the casino. Further along, in Garavan, there are some sandy beaches - imported sand.

Pink!

This little girl was one of many children rollerblading in Menton yesterday along the Bord de la Mer - and where the road is closed to traffic on the first Sunday of every month.

Yesterday I went to an exhibition of photos www.photomenton.com I'd expected all the photos to be of Menton, but not so - they were photographs depicting all sorts of subjects. I did talk briefly to a very nice guy called Maxime Peregrini who has taken some wonderful photos of Menton - some of which you can see at www.photoramique.com. At first I was daunted by the talent on display and this exhibition but later got inspired (!) so I thought I'd try the above photograph in black and white but with emphasis on the child herself.

Which photograph do you prefer?

Dimanche

It's the first Sunday of the month - and that means the road that runs along the sea is closed to traffic. As you see, it's a glorious autumn day. The street is full of walkers, cyclists, roller-bladers, runners, dogs and above all, children. The building on the right, by the way, is the Casino. I hung around for an hour taking photographs so do come back over the next few days and see more.

Street dogs

These three dogs were tied up whilst their owner was, presumably, inside the supermarket - the doors of which are open in the background. Later, I saw him begging on the street and with four dogs - these three dogs and one other. I have to say these dogs are in good condition and well fed. I've photographed street people before but on this occasion decided not to. Just a feeling - can't really explain it - but it seemed an invasion of privacy and I felt the dogs were happy with the young guy. It's possible that all the dogs didn't belong to him tho. I often see groups of street people and they take it in turns to care for their dogs. Happily I know of at least one local vet who treats these dogs at no charge. She told me one day that for many of the street people, their dogs are an emotional support they can't live without. And that's easy for all of us who love dogs, and are loved by dogs, to understand.

Halloween in Menton

Maybe 10 years ago, perhaps less, Halloween wasn't the big thing in France that it is now - certainly in Menton, anyway. Now it's very popular as you can see - with children and also with adults in the clubs and bars of Monte Carlo.

These photos were taken in the walking street of Menton and in the bottom three, you'll see children queueing up in Jeff de Bruges, (window display just above) a very expensive hand-made chocolate shop. The children weren't given chocolates though but handfuls of boiled sweets. Click on the link if you want to drool over chocolate!

I had mistakenly thought that Trick or Treating only took place when children visited neighbourhood houses or apartments. Do shops hand out sweets in your city?

Daily Photo Theme Day: Blue

Blue. Blue umbrellas, blue chairs, blue sea, blue sky. Doubtless stating the obvious for Menton. Never mind, when you've had enough blue, take a beach shower and then join me for a long cool drink on one of those loungers.

And if you'd like to stay in today's blue mood, please check out all the other Daily Photo bloggers around the world for their take on today's Theme:

Boston (MA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Portland (OR), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Arradon, France - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Stockholm, Sweden - Singapore, Singapore - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Toulouse, France - The Hague, Netherlands - Moscow, Russia - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Stayton (OR), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Detroit (MI), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Greenville (SC), USA - Hyde, UK - Radonvilliers, France - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Manila, Philippines - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Saarbrücken, Germany - New Orleans (LA), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Forks (WA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Barton (VT), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Joplin (MO), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Quincy (MA), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Inverness (IL), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - Toruń, Poland - North Bay (ON), Canada - Le Guilvinec, France - Chateaubriant, France - London, England - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Sydney, Australia - Austin (TX), USA - Mumbai, India - Boston (MA), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Paderborn, Germany - Montréal (QC), Canada - Jackson (MS), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Orlando (FL), USA - Grenoble, France - Cheltenham, UK - Forks (WA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Weston (FL), USA - London, UK - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Belgrade, Serbia - Paris, France - Shanghai, China - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Montpellier, France - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Auckland, New Zealand - Evry, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Oslo, Norway - Minneapolis (MN), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Trujillo, Peru - Trujillo, Peru - Melbourne (VIC), Australia - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Durban, South Africa - Brussels, Belgium - Anderson (SC), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Wellington, New Zealand - Prague, Czech Republic - Saigon,

Juxtaposition

A cemetery scene. I liked the juxtaposition of the soldier and the soaring cypress, back to back, minding their own business.

Bare wood and Ivy

Another pretty corner in the Old Town.

Boy with football

Out of shot is another little boy waiting to receive the ball. Taken near to the Bastion - Italy in the background.

Potter-mania

Yesterday was a big day in France for Harry Potter fans. The 7th and final volume was available in the shops...la magie continue. You can read more - in French - HERE.

I took this photograph in the summer - a boy, in the centre of Menton, entranced.

Show-off shutters

A pretty window tucked away in a small street near to the market.

Rain!

Rain! Apart from two days of rain about three weeks ago, this is the first since March or April. How we need it! And how grey and oppressive the village looks in the rain - not that Gorbio has the soft pinks and apricots and terracottas of Menton but there's a gloom to it in the rain, isn't there? I still love it tho!

Blue door

An unused doorway in the Old Town and a good place to show off a few plants.

Passing the time

In all the villages and towns around here and across the border in Italy, you'll see older men in groups, chatting and passing the time. You'll see fewer older women because they are at home cooking lunch. Wasn't it ever thus?! These men are sitting at the entrance to the old village of Gorbio.

Do the old men gather in your city or village to chat?

Stripes

Autumn days on the Côte d'Azur - here we are on a pebble beach in Roquebrune-cap-Martin looking towards Menton and Italy. This was taken a month ago. To see the sea two days ago please take a look at Monte Carlo Daily Photo.

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