Street Theatre - Blood

Nearly 700 children and adolescents took part in a day of street theatre recently. It was organised by the Service Education of Menton and called 'Rencontres Franco-Italiennes de Rue' and took place throughout the Old Town. The young actors came from Liguria, Piemont , the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes - which included, of course, Menton.

This young girl was part of an Italian group. I haven't a clue what it was all about but she was a good actress.

Note: the shop is the background is the Menton health shop for invalids - so she's in the right place!

Chuckeroon's Menton - Facade

Today is the last day of this Guest Photographer series and Chuckeroon shows us the facade of the Old Town taken from the beach - one photograph in black and white and one in colour.

Thank you so much to Peter, Nathalie, Richard and Chuckeroon for sending their photos and most of all for the good times we had together. It's been just fascinating seeing how these talented photographers see Menton, Roquebrune, Gorbio and Monte Carlo.

I learned so much - how to see the 'bigger' picture and not always focus on the detail. Seeing shadows and reflections. And also learning to remember when I've changed settings on my camera! Don't ask!

Thanks Guys, come back soon!

Tomorrow - normal service will be resumed...

Richard's Menton - the Old Town

This is a shot of the Old Town I just love - but I'd never thought of presenting it in black and white before. Of course, when the photograph is taken by Richard, then it's not a surprise. You can see all of Richard's Menton shots, (including Roquebrune, Gorbio and Monte Carlo) some taken on digital and some on film, by clicking on the link.

Nathalie's Menton - the Beetle

Photographed by Nathalie on the ancient donkey track to Gorbio village.

Peter's Menton - La Mer

Peter's photograph says it all really - the Mediterranean and palm trees. Click on the link to see a beautiful collage of photographs Peter took in the medieval village of Roquebrune.

Chuckeroon's Menton - Erigeron karvinskianus

A long name for this small daisy-like plant photographed by Chuckeroon. You see it everywhere in the south of France, tumbling out of walls and seeding very easily. It's a very useful plant to fill gaps in a garden but beware, it can take over.

Richard's Menton - the Parvis

In Richard's photo we are looking over a corner of the parvis (the square in front of the Basilica) down the rampes to the beach and the sea.

The mosaic decoration on the parvis was created in 1757 by Honoré III and is made of white and black stones formed in diamond shapes to depict the weapons of the princes. The rounded 'H' was the initial of the sovereign.

A few years ago - maybe seven, maybe more - we had terrible rains in November, just endless, and some of the rampes were badly damaged. Access was forbidden for months and eventually restoration was complete. It has been done well although one can tell the difference between the original stones and the new ones - perhaps not a suprise considering the difference in age and wear.

Of course you need none of this information to enjoy Richard's photograph.

Nathalie's Menton - Alyssa

On our last day, we went up to the medieval village of Gorbio to see the baptism of two village children, Alyssa and Kylian. Here you see Nathalie's beautiful portrait of little Alyssa before the ceremony.

Peter's Menton - Bougainvillea

A painted, cracked wall in the medieval village of Roquebrune by Peter. A perfect backdrop to bougainvillea.

Chuckeroon's Menton - Place Honoré II

This group of buildings form Place Honoré II, named in honour of the Prince of Monaco (1597-1662) who was responsible for the creation of many of the great buildings of Menton, including the beautiful Basilica. To the left of this 'place' you can walk up very (very!) steep steps to the Basilica, or you can choose to walk (more gently) through Porte St. Antoine, along Rue Longue and climb the rampes.

Bet you didn't know all this, Chuckeroon, when you took the photograph.

Richard's Menton - Life on the Côte d'Azur

Taken on Menton's rue Piétonne (pedestrian street) by Richard.

One of the many joys of life in Menton is sitting outside a bar watching the world go by...

Nathalie's Menton - Kir Pétillant

Look at the good things you find at the Beausejour, the beautiful restaurant in the square of Gorbio, a medieval village 7 kilometres above Menton.

In this photograph by Nathalie of Avignon, we are looking at Kir Pétillant - made with sparkling wine, as opposed to champagne, when it would be called Kir Royale. The flavours - lavande, coquelicot, rose and violette (lavender, poppy, rose and violet).

For lunch, we chose the restaurant's speciality, La Farandole, which you can see by clicking on the link.

Please visit Richmond-upon-Thames for Chuckeroon's photo of this drink. I think it went down rather well with the visitors!

Peter's Menton - the Postman

In the Old Town of Menton, Peter from Paris found the postman. Please click on Peter's link to see a marvellous collage and reportage of his time in Menton - so many marvellous photographs.

Some of you may remember the same postman last Christmas, when Rue Longue was still undergoing renovation. As you can see, in both photographs, he has the time of day for everyone - a good kind man.

Bloggers who climb Trees

What do bloggers do when they meet on the French Riviera? Why, they climb a 2000 year old olive tree in the medieval village of Roquebrune, of course!

In this ancient olive tree, meet, from left to right - Richard from Zurich, Nathalie from Avignon, Chuckeroon from Richmond-upon-Thames and Peter from Paris.

(Smaller photo: Richard, Nathalie, Peter, Chuckeroon)

For other views of this amazing tree and to read its history, please click on the link.

From tomorrow on this blog - and for the next couple of weeks - you'll be able to see photographs of Menton through the eyes of these talented photographers. Today, on Monte Carlo Daily Photo see Nathalie's vision of the casino.

Fabrizio from Turin was to have been here too but sadly, at the last minute, he couldn't make it. We missed you, Fabrizio and do hope you can make it next time.

May in Menton - Echium

Every year I show you this amazing plant so here is some of this year's growth for anyone who hasn't yet seen it. It grows wild in the south of France, seeds easily and is loved by bees and butterflies. It's called Echium 'Pride of Madeira.' It can get a bit leggy after a few years and sometimes gets so heavy it falls over. Time then to take cuttings for the next year.

May in Menton - the Deckchair

First choose your place. Next organise your deckchair. Now lean back and enjoy...

It's 8.45 h. Menton is in the distance with Italy beyond.

Apologies for lack of comments. It's a Blogger's Weekend at Menton with much photography, eating, drinking and laughter going on - with Nathalie from Avignon, Peter from Paris, Richard from Zurich and Chuckeroon from Richmond upon Thames. News and photos of a great weekend - which still continues...will appear from Tuesday. Wish you were all here...

May in Menton - Love by Guess

The Place du Cap. High stools. Pretty girls. Summer is a comin' in...

May in Menton - Cistus

Cistus is such a good Mediterranean plant. Flowers like paper, petals falling, more flowers arrive.

May in Menton - Let's go Shopping!

If you live on a boat, the only way to travel is by bike.

May in Menton - the Knitter

We're in Roquebrune now. On the beach near to Cap Martin. No sand here.

This lady is well organised with her music and her knitting. You wouldn't want to be mixing sun oil with knitting, would you?

May in Menton - Moules...with Concentration

Steaming bowls of mussels, by the sea. Is there anything better? Look at the faces of those men, one on each table. Pure concentration. You'd better believe it - the French concentrate on their food. Me too!

May in Menton - the Biker

We're leaving Rue Longue for a short while because suddenly summer has arrived in Menton - at least for the moment...

I didn't know bikers looked like this. Did you?

Rue Longue - Arch beneath an Arch

Throughout the Old Town you find signs giving historical information on where you are. Very helpful it is too.

On the left you see part of one of these signs, showing an old arched doorway under an archway that stretches across the street to the other side. In the main photograph, you see the same viewpoint. Not much in the way of a change here..thank goodness.

The sign, by the way, was dirty from all the rain we had last month - next I'll walk around with a bucket.

Notice the beautiful old cobbles in the drawing and compare to the new road surface which really doesn't enhance the beauty of this ancient street.

Rue Longue -Singers Wanted!

There are three old posters stuck on doors along Rue Longue - all wanting singers. Here are two of them.

Interesting how the English word 'wanted' is yet another that has entered the French language.

Theme Day: Shadows...on Promenade le Corbusier

There is a magical walk from the point of Cap Martin to Monaco that used to be called le Sentier des Douaniers, but was later renamed Promenade le Corbusier in honour of the famous architect who lived in the cabanon he built along by the sea. He later drowned whilst swimming off the rocks. We will be featuring this most beautiful of walks (see small photo) and visiting Corbusier's cabanon on Menton Daily Photo later in the year.

Here is one of my dogs, Beau, enjoying the walk. He's a Bruno de Jura, one of six hunting breeds in Switzerland and ancestor of the Bloodhound - look at those long ears!

Today is Theme Day on CDP and the theme is Shadows. To see how over a hundred fellow-bloggers from around the world have interpreted this theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants. You will be surprised and delighted and entranced.

Rue Longue - Porte Saint-Julien

Rue Longue has two medieval portes, one at each end. Here we see Porte Saint-Julien at the eastern end of the street - ie nearest to Italy. The original name was Porta Julia. With both entrances closed, the town was protected from invaders.

Later, in 1687, a chain barred the entrance and a tax had to be paid to the Count of Ventimiglia by merchants who wanted to sell their wares in Menton. This import duty was known as the 'droit de chaîne.'

Rue Longue - Number 56

Two signs, and three decidedly different periods in the history of this house in Rue Longue.

The red and white sign, and the most recent, is of a now defunct Halal grocery shop. Alongside, an inscription on the wall. This is the most interesting inscription in all of Rue Longue - even considering Gaspard de Bottini's house at no. 129.

There are three parts to this inscription: the first being the monogram of Christ which is in the centre. The second, the initials of the proprietor (B.T.) in 1542 and the third, the initials of another proprietor (M.M.) in 1855.

As you can see this building is in desperate need of some T.L.C.

For those of you interested in the history of Menton, do take a look at Eddy's blog, D'Hier a Aujourd'hui. Eddy is the husband of Catherine, who many know from her lovely Just the Five of Us blog. Eddy and Catherine have an apartment in Menton that they visit during most school holidays. Their absolute love of Menton shows in all their postings about the town. Eddy's blog features old postcards alongside a photograph of that same place today and commentary giving us the history. Fascinating it is. Do take a look.

Wisteria in Place aux Herbes

The last day of this short 'wisteria in Menton' series. We're in Place aux Herbes looking at the signs above this charming little bar.

Le Clos du Peyronnet - Wisteria 3

Another pergola at the beautiful Clos du Peyronnet. This glorious garden is in Garavan and just 200 metres from the Italian frontier.

A cup of tea with William, sitting at this table is heaven - looking (to the left of this photo) over beautiful pools (plus ducks) and beyond to the Mediterranean - it is absolutely my favourite Menton garden.

This wisteria - click to enlarge the smaller photo - is called 'Black Dragon.'

This is the last photo of the Clos for the moment but we will return for a series on this beautiful garden later in the year. Tomorrow, the last in the 'wisteria' series, and this time at Place des Herbes in the Old Town.

Le Clos du Peyronnet - Wisteria 2

Here we see the enormous size of these wisteria plants, the trunks almost as wide as the columns. There is more than one variety planted along this pergola. Some years back one of the pillars was broken in two by the strength of the wisteria - but again, it was its very strength that prevented the pillar actually falling. Recently William had it replaced - an exceedingly delicate operation.

In the past, William has given 'wisteria parties' in April - a wonderful way to admire these ancient plants in bloom.

Le Clos du Peyronnet - Wisteria

Indulge me! I know we are supposed to be continuing our visit to Rue Longue - and we will, we will, but I just wanted to show you some of Menton's wisteria before it disappears.

The Clos du Peyronnet is one of Menton's famous gardens, in this case, one of the very few private gardens in Menton that is open for garden tours and to the general public on certain days in June. It's owned by William Waterfield and I plan a series on the Clos - we have a treat ahead - but over the next few days, we'll just look at various wisterias. Then back to Rue Longue.

I took this yesterday afternoon. This particular wisteria is almost over - William said it was at its best two weeks ago. These few fronds tho, high up, still show their long, narrow form and beautiful delicacy.

Easter Monday People - the Chefs

They were sitting on a bench in front of the sea, their restaurant, Coté Sud, behind them. Four guys, one girl. The girl didn't want to be photographed. Here are four smiling Italians. Need I say more. Che bello!

Easter Monday People - Roller Bat and Ball

Don't kids wear the greatest gear? Pink for a little girl.

These two were playing, one on blades, one not, near to the old port of Menton.

Do take a look at Catherine's blog today to see a wonderfully ORANGE view of Menton.