The Village Wedding - 8 - the guitarists

You saw one of the guitarists yesterday. Here are the rest of them, warming up for the wedding - and presumably getting ready to ogle more pretty girls - of which there were many.

The Village Wedding - 7 - the look

Here's the wearer of yesterday's shoes. Just look at the young guy's eyes! He's one of the guitarists, by the way.

The Village Wedding - 6 - the shoes

Heels on cobbles. It surprised me to see so many women wearing high heels for the village wedding. The steep walk up to the church from the village square is daunting enough in flat shoes - forget heels... Come back tomorrow and meet the wearer of these glamorous shoes.

Nathalie features a wedding - always fabulous photographs from Nathalie - on Avignon Daily Photo today.

The Village Wedding - 5 - the broken foot

This little boy - perhaps he was a page boy at the wedding? - sits down to eat as he has a broken foot. You can see the crutches lying beside him. He sits outside the Restaurant Beau Sejour in the village. The owners and staff decorated the square so beautifully, provided comfortable seating and of course served the food and drink for the guests.

The climbing plant is Trachlospermum Jasminoides, by the way.

The Village Wedding - 4 - the reception

The reception in the village square. Actually this was simply a champagne and nibbly bits reception. Later everyone went down to La Pinede, the restaurant over the water in Cap d'Ail, for the reception proper.

See Sally from Sydney Daily Photo in Monte Carlo today! Please click on the link.

The Village Wedding - 3 - walking to the square

Here we see Patricia and Walter walking down through the village after the ceremony - you can just glimpse the Mairie on your left. There is a reception in the village square. Come back tomorrow and let's meet some of the guests.

Sally and family (Sydney Daily Photo) are still asleep....zzzzzzzzzz

The Village Wedding - 2 - the ceremony

The ceremony inside the village church, Eglise Saint Barthélémy. We'll take a closer look at this lovely church another time and when no one is in it.

Meanwhile, I'm off to Arma di Taggia's railway station in Italy to collect Sally (and family) from Sydney Daily Photo. That's about an hour and a half away. Why aren't I collecting them at Menton railway station? Well - they've found a 250 kilo bomb near to Ventimiglia station and this afternoon all roads in and out and of course all trains are disrupted from 1.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. so there are no through trains from Italy to Menton. 8000 residents nearby have been evacuated. Anyway it takes more than a 250 kilo World War II bomb to keep Sally away!

The Village Wedding - 1 - outside the church

The medieval village of Gorbio - and a wedding. Here the happy couple, Patricia and Walter, have just left the Eglise Saint Bathélémy. Come back over the next days - we'll go into the church, we'll meet some of the guests, we'll watch the kids play and we'll drink champagne - in fact, what most people do at weddings.

Snack

Snack time, snapped at the parade of old cars in April.

Wild garlic

Wild garlic growing in a planter on a balcony in Gorbio. What looks like old wood is in fact concrete. You often see fencing made to look like trees and branches.

Back from Spain last night and sick with fever and bronchitis, which is why I didn't comment on Theme Day on Monday or Tuesday. A visit to the doc this morning produced antibiotics, and a ton of other medication. French docs love to prescribe. It will surely sort me out before Sally (& famille) from Sydney DP arrives on Sunday. Spain has the same dreadful weather as much of southern Europe this year so I blame the weather and lots of work at the show.

Returned to no telephone or internet - again! A call this morning promised it would be done on the 11th June and then two hours ago - miracle! - two young France Telecom guys arrived and it's fixed. Rah, rah, rah. They said the line was damaged, bent and needed replacing and there was some other problem too. Thanks so much for all comments. Now, finally, with the Internet working at home, I'll start to catch up with you all.

House in the Hills - 3

Here's another house in the hills above Menton - you can see how the garden is terraced with retaining walls to prevent the soil falling. Essential on slopes like this.

House in the Hills - 2

Here you see the same house as shown yesterday, plus another one in front of it. I can't work out if it's built into the rock or there has been a rock fall at the side of the house?

House in the Hills - 1

A house in the hills way above the Old Town of Menton.

Theme Day: My Local Shop

The little shop in Gorbio, a Medieval perched village a few kilometres above Menton. As you see, it's not just a shop but a meeting place for the locals. When I took this photo, the old couple giggled, with the wife covering her face. Later, she posed but this was the best photo of the owner, Madame Filippi, who stands at the door. Her husband owns the bar/restaurant in the village.

Do click here to view thumbnails of all 174 participants to see their take on today's theme

I'm working at a dog show in Spain all day today (150 Old English Sheepdogs from around the world) but will spend tomorrow catching up and commenting. Meanwhile have a lovely Theme Day everyone!

On the prowl

Gorbio, like all the perched Medieval villages, has many cats. Here's one beauty prowling the old streets.

The Rose's Plea

This beautiful rose is on a bend a couple of kilometres below the village of Gorbio, en route from Menton. The sign says:

'Friends of Flowers. Don't pull on my branches - you will injure me. Thankyou. signed...the Rose.'

Chemin de la Colle Supérieure

This road ends right here and not far from the entrance to the cemetery of Trabuquet, which is to be found way above the old cemetery, which is located above the Old Town.

The blobs of concrete are typical, enabling small cars, bikes, small trucks - to get their owners home. The other end of this road is properly accessible tho and runs high and way over the hauteurs of Menton.

France Telecom paid another visit and it seems there are big-time problems - they will come back and install new cable from road to house. No matter, at the moment, I'm in Spain for a dog show and the hotel has internet access, so I've left my connection problems behind - for the moment.

Closed

Do you get the feeling this window is never opened?! (A house in Gorbio)

Internet & phone still down. Thanks so much for comments. My ability to comment is limited but am using neighbour's WiFi when poss. Will catch up with everyone eventually.

Trompe l'oeil

This is the same house we saw two days ago. You can just see the old boy's balcony on the front of the house - behind the tree - above the lamp.

Note the four windows - how many are real?!

Internet & phone still down. Thanks so much for comments. My ability to comment is limited but am using neighbour's WiFi when poss. Will catch up with everyone eventually.

Sit!

It wasn't till I saw it on the screen that I noticed the shadow of this Shar-pei puppy's owner telling the dog to 'sit' for me. He's four months old and just look at those wrinkles. As they grow and fill out their skin, the wrinkles diminish but I believe they are considered a better dog (show-wise) with more wrinkles. The folds need to be kept clean else they can get infected. The photo was taken at a Bring and Buy sale in Garavan, Menton.

You can see several more photos of this puppy by clicking on the link at Riviera Dogs.

(Still no Internet but posting from my neighbour's house now. Thankyou Agnès. Hopefully my connection will be back on by Wednesday.)

A View from the Balcony

Here's the old man we met yesterday - he lives on the top floor of this house. He doesn't walk easily and it always surprised me he can get up the stairs. I don't for one moment expect he has a lift. Perhaps he tends the balcony's flowers? Perhaps his wife?

(Internet & phone still down. Hopefully up by Wednesday. Am posting from a cyber cafe - very sorry but can't comment for the moment but thank you so much for your comments. Will catch up as soon as poss).

Ladies' Man?

He doesn't look too happy but in fact this old boy fancies himself a bit as a ladies' man. He can be charming. He's sitting at the base of the old Elm in Gorbio village. Written on the base - far left - words to show it was planted in 1713. Tomorrow, I'll show you where this gentleman lives. You might be suprised.

(Internet & phone still down. Hopefully up by Wednesday. Am posting from a cyber cafe - very sorry but can't comment for the moment but thank you so much for your comments. Will catch up as soon as poss).

Echium - Pride of Madeira

June is garden month in Menton. Menton has many famous gardens and I hope to feature some of them in the future. However, here we are in May and probably because we've had so much rain, many gardens are looking good.

Here is a plant that does well in this climate and on the poor, free draining soil we have here. It's called Echium candicans (sometimes called Echium fastuosum) - 'Pride of Madeira.' It loves our long dry summers and needs no watering. The bees and butterflies just love it. Apparently it's a member of the borage family (remember borage in Pimm's? - a long delicious drink decorated with young leaves of borage - mint was an alternative) My mother always used to serve Pimm's No 1 Cup before lunch on Sundays - in the summer.

The green plant you see in the foreground with the sprays of tiny flowers about to bloom is a young avocado. If you click on the smaller photo to the left you can see that an echium can fill quite a space. I love how it tumbles over the walls, don't you?

Note: care is needed when cutting back an echium - or even brushing past its hairy leaves. It can set up a skin irritation. I always forget...

(I've had no telephone or internet connection for two days - France Telecom tell me it'll not be up for a few days. Some problem between my house and the road. Grrrrrrr. Am posting from a cyber cafe - very sorry but can't comment for the moment but thank you so much for your comments. Will catch up as soon as poss).

Admiration

An old lady admiring a baby - it's universal, isn't it? Village, town, city - anywhere in the world. It happens to be in the Medieval village of Gorbio. I did crop the village noticeboard but thought it better left in - gives a feel of the village.

If you'd like to see the three German Short-haired Pointers who live at one of the olive mills in the village, please click on the link.

Bird's eye view

Gorbio village taken from above. I live two and a half kilometres below the village (by road) or a ten minute walk up the donkey track when I'm feeling energetic!

Donkey above Gorbio

THE DONKEY by G.K.Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked

And figs grew upon thorn,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil's walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,

I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet.

You've Got Mail

When houses are remote (see yesterday's post) - then mail gets delivered to a central grouping of mail boxes.

The wooden signs are for walkers - Gorbio is great walking territory. The red sign on the right says the road is a dead end and is only open to locals whose houses are reached via this road.

Cloud over Gorbio

We've had rain for days - and it's forecast for several more. However, this morning, suddenly the sun appeared so my dog, Beau, took me for a walk above the village of Gorbio. The village is roughly 370 metres above sea level and is 7 .5 kilometres from Menton. It's easy to think of the French Riviera as being beach, sea and a hedonistic lifestyle, but drive 10 minutes into the hinterland and this is what you find.

Here you see one or two houses built into the hills - they overlook the perched village. Clouds hang low over the hills - it was these clouds that made me want to take the photograph.

Love in the Piazza

No, it's not Menton - it's Turin - (just for one day) - but as it's Spring and love is everywhere, it could be Menton! Not sure what it is about those Italians tho - you can hardly turn a corner in Turin without young love manifesting itself.

This photo is for Fabrizio. He has been showing several 'love in the Spring' photos recently and I couldn't resist this one. It was taken in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the largest piazza in Europe. If you click on the link you can see the whole square on Torino Daily Photo.

I spent four wonderful days in the beautiful city of Turin and on one evening Fabrizio was my guide - and what a guide! He so adores his city, his enthusiasm is infectious, his knowledge is phenomenal. A fabulous evening - thank you so much, dear Fabrizio.

Cave a Vin

Rue des Marins

Pale shutters, a niche, a sign - just around the corner from Place aux Herbes.

Brocante - Le Renard

.Watch out, Monsieur! There's a fox behind you...

Brocante - The Scrapbook

How many of these film stars do you know?

(Thankyou so much for everyone who has visited. Apologies for not commenting over the last few days. I'm in Turin - which is fabulous! - home by the weekend)

Brocante - The Stolen Lick

If you want to know why the boy on the right is looking fed up - look at the photo below which was taken one lick before...

Brocante - Slot machine

Roll up, roll up - put your 1 franc piece in the slot - except there are no 1 franc pieces any more!

Brocante - The Thankyou

Jetée Impératrice Eugénie

The Brocante took place on the 1st May, the day Lily of the Valley is given for good luck. Read more HERE. This young man is receiving a kiss of thanks for the flower he's just given the girl.

You can see another photo of this lovely and rather wet Bearded Collie, Bianca on Riviera Dogs.

Brocante - The WC

So far as I know, Menton doesn't have any public conveniences, as such - no purpose-built toilets. You find individual cabins here and there for which you put 30 centimes in a slot, or you go into a bar and buy a coffee and then use their loo. Or find one in a public building such as the Palais de l'Europe.

If you use one of the private beaches, of course, you can use their facilities but on public beaches, like the Sablettes Beach, you'll find what you see in this photograph. You can shower here too. The friendly lady who runs the place, makes it very personal, with flowers and the birdcage outside. You'll find her two chihuahuas, one very old who sleeps under her table and this younger one. There are two very comfortable dog beds under her table. You can see both dogs, America and Banjo, on Riviera Dogs today.

Brocante - Tools

This stallholder is selling wooden tools, electric plugs, bit of this and that. He's got an interesting face, hasn't he? Wonder what work he does? Presumably because of his interest in tools, he works with his hands. Maybe he works on boats?

Aren't people endlessly fascinating...

Brocante - The War Magazine

'Lilli Marlene'

Underneath the lantern by the barrack gate,
Darling I remember the way you used to wait;
'Twas there that you whispered tenderly,
That you lov'd me, you'd always be,
My Lilli of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Time would come for roll call time for us to part
Darling I'd carress you and press you to my heart.
And there 'neath that far off lantern light
I'd hold you tight we'd kiss goodnight,
My Lillie of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Orders came for sailing somewhere over there,
All confined to barracks was more than I could bear;
I knew you were waiting in the street,
I heard your feet, but could not meet,
My Lillie of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Resting in a billet just behind the line
Even tho' we're parted your lips are close to mine,
You wait where that lantern softly gleams
Your sweet face seems to haunt my dreams,
My Lillie of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Hans Leip and Norbert Shultz and Tommie Connor

To hear Marlene Dietrich singing Lilli Marlene please click on the link. And if you love Lilli Marlene you'll not want to miss Chuckeroon's beautiful photo and hommage on Richmond Daily Photo last February.

Brocante - Hooked

A homemade set of hooks, mounted on a frame, plus mirror = 20 euros. Expensive, I'd have thought.

But what price the view?

Brocante - The Stallholder's Dog

So many of the stallholders have dogs. When I asked this lady if I could take a photograph she was delighted, but as you see, she looked down, eyes almost closed: if she couldn't see me, I couldn't see her. She wanted the concentration to be on her adored dog. The dog is old - notice the growth on his head - the lady assured me it's just a 'fatty lump' not serious. He's a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and something else - she didn't know what. Certainly he's bigger than a Cavalier. You can see another photograph of this lovely dog on Riviera Dogs.

Brocante - The Photograph

She walks in beauty like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies.
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to the tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

- Lord Bryon

Brocante - Sanglier!

A wild boar's head for sale. Look at the teeth in the smaller photo (click to enlarge)

Wild boar are everywhere around here. When I arrive home late at night, I always cast a wary eye before I get out of the car! They are often below the house where they find water in the creek - and of course the dogs think it's great fun to rush out and chase them away. Note: there is strong fencing between the two!

I've been told, because there is a market for wild boar meat, that they were bred with pigs and some escaped - so now instead of having just a couple of babies, they produce many. No idea if this is true or not. Menton organises wild boar hunts in the season - to keep the numbers down, of course, and I suppose for the hunters to ask their wives to make sanglier stew.

Stew is fine - long slow cooking - but one year several people ended up very seriously ill in hospital as they'd eaten sanglier steaks - cooked rare - and ingested some horrible parasites.

Brocante

In Menton, May 1st doesn't only mean the day we give Lily of the Valley for luck (see yesterday's post) - it's also the day of the big Brocante organised by the Lions Club of Menton. Each year it gets bigger and bigger with more and more stalls, not just here - by the Bastion - but throughout the town. By the port, in the side streets, outside the market - hundreds of stalls and thousands of visitors.

Come and spend a few days with me as we explore the wonders to be found as we search the stalls and meet some of the characters. Don't you just love flea markets?