30 July 2007
29 July 2007
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.
Posted by Jilly at 14:56 7 comments
Labels: Restaurants and Bars
28 July 2007
Summer Nights
(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.)
Posted by Jilly at 11:55 9 comments
Labels: Restaurants and Bars
27 July 2007
Seafood at Le Lido
Posted by Jilly at 09:44 12 comments
Labels: Restaurants and Bars
26 July 2007
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.
Posted by Jilly at 16:06 7 comments
Labels: Miscellany
25 July 2007
A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 8
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.
Posted by Jilly at 10:46 9 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
24 July 2007
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.
Posted by Jilly at 16:32 5 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
23 July 2007
A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 6
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.
Posted by Jilly at 10:22 11 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
22 July 2007
A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 5
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.
Posted by Jilly at 10:14 11 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
21 July 2007
A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 4
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.
Posted by Jilly at 10:03 11 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
20 July 2007
A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 3
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.
Posted by Jilly at 08:37 9 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
19 July 2007
A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 2
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.
Posted by Jilly at 09:50 17 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
18 July 2007
A Walk to Chapel Saint Lazare - 1
Today we'll walk along Chemin du Doyen Pierre Rochard to the tiny XII century Chapel Saint Lazare. You'll not need proper walking shoes, but ladies - no heels - and for those that don't do hills, worry not, this walk is pretty much flat all the way although the track gets just a little rougher later - but it's easy. We've left the main square and the Mediterranean is to our right, way below. We are 7 kilometres from the sea at an altitude of 370 metres.
Posted by Jilly at 16:23 11 comments
Labels: Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
17 July 2007
Webb Ellis - Inventor of the game of Rugby
This is the grave of the Reverend William Webb Ellis, known as the inventor of the sport of Rugby. William Webb Ellis, as a schoolboy and....
with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played at his time first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the rugby game.'
Wlliam Webb Ellis eventually became Rector of St. Clement Danes Church in London and died in Menton in 1872. He lies in the beautiful old cemetery above the Old Town.
A plaque on his grave says 'To William Webb Ellis who gave rugby to his school and then to the world.'
It should be mentioned that this is apocryphal as there is little in the way of evidence to substantiate this view, it is however, the popular view. So much so in fact that the international committee named the Rugby world cup the "William Webb Ellis Trophy".
This year France plays host to the Rugby World Cup, and in honour of this, the town of Menton yesterday unveiled a statue to the Rev. William Webb Ellis (I'll be taking a photograph for you). In addition there is a series of 25 written and illustrated panels, dedicated to the sport of Rugby - these start at Menton railway station and finish at the cemetery.
The Mayor of Menton in his speech last night, said of his grave - 'He made a good choice for his eternal rest' - and so he did with the view of the Old Town and the Mediterranean.
Posted by Jilly at 13:35 6 comments
Labels: Cemeteries
16 July 2007
15 July 2007
Ma Ville est Tango
Each summer for four wondrous days, Argentinian Tango comes to Menton! There are concerts, displays, lessons and dancing in the streets. Each night between 6 and 8 p.m. at the Place du Cap aficionados can enjoy this sensuous dance. You can read more at the official website here. Here's how a few dancers spent a part of yesterday - Bastille Day.
Posted by Jilly at 17:17 11 comments
Labels: Fêtes
14 July 2007
Raza and the Tour Lascaris
In the photograph you see, sitting, the well-known Indian artist Raza, who has lived in Gorbio for thirty years. You can read more about him, one of India's most famous artists, at this link. Sadly, Raza's wife, herself a brilliant artist, died a few year's ago and many emotional tributes were paid to her last night. Last night, we heard that Raza, now 85, has generously donated many of his paintings and also some of his beautiful collection of Indian sculpture to the commune of Gorbio. These are displayed in this first exhibition to be held in the Tour Lascaris. To the right in the photograph, and about to grab the microphone, is our mayor, Monsieur Michel Isnard, himself an artist and art teacher, and to the left is the mayor of Roqubrune-cap-Martin, Monsieur Patrick Cesari. Dignitaries were there representing Prince Albert of Monaco and the Indian ambassador to France was there too.
Below you see Raza ascending the staircase to the first floor of the exhibition. There is also an entrance below. Later, from my friend's house above the village I looked across to the Tour and saw the balcony - see the third photo - full of celebrating villagers.
The beautiful cross, by the way, was a gift made by two artisans of the village who work in wrought iron.
Posted by Jilly at 10:12 12 comments
Labels: Museums, Villages near to Menton: Gorbio
13 July 2007
L'autoroute
Posted by Jilly at 12:21 7 comments
Labels: Miscellany
12 July 2007
A Painted House
Posted by Jilly at 15:40 14 comments
Labels: Architecture