A basket of water?

This beautiful Friesian was one of the horses attending yesterday's Blessing of the Animals in the village of Gorbio. He's a horse trained in dressage but had great difficulty yesterday walking on the cobbles - slipping all the time. He (and a friend below) are taking a drink out of fountain, constructed in 1902 for the use of mules and donkeys. It's made in the form of a packsaddle, with the water containers - one on each side - reminding one of large paniers (baskets). You can see the entire fountain HERE.

The photo below shows the entrance to the Medieval village.

La Bénédiction des Animaux

Today is the Fête patronale de la St. Barthélémy in Gorbio. It will be a long day of festivities which started this morning with the blessing of the animals, followed by an important Mass in the Church. The blessing took place in the Place de la République in the village in front of the elm tree planted in the 1700s. There were three or four beautiful horses present and many dogs. Chatting to a lady from the village (she was there with her labrador, Jules, and her Golden retriever, Jim) she told me that in the old days the blessing used to be given outside the church and people would bring their donkeys and other farm animals. You will find photos of some of the dogs in attendance today, including reading the story of Bébé, the grey dog in the foreground, on my Riviera Dogs blog.

Ulysse

This sculpture of Ulysse is by Anna Chromy, the Czech artist, known for her 'sculptures in movement.' It stands on a promontory near to the Bastion.

Looking down on the living - 2

Let's get out of the heat of Menton today and up to Gorbio village. We are in the cemetery - the village of Gorbio is below us and to our left (the dead always look down on the living!) - way, way below is the autoroute and beyond, the sea - although you really can't see the Mediterranean today because of the haze. THIS LINK is also looking down on the autoroute but from a different angle.

Night market

During the months of July and August there is a night market located between the old market building at the base of the Old Town and the sea. More stalls can be found in front of the market building itself. Lights are hung between the palm trees and here you'll find jewellry, paintings, pottery, belts and bags, gifts to take home and much more. The stall holders begin to set up around 8 p.m. and stay open till late. All part of summer time in Menton.

McDonald's in Menton

Yes, we have a McDonald's in Menton - right next to the beautiful Moorish market building which you can see in this photograph, taken at dusk. I suppose this McDonald's is not as 'obvious' as some, with its small logo and installed in a rather nice building.

Can there be a city in the world without a McDonald's? Do you have one in your city?

Dinner time

Early evening and this street vendor is getting ready to eat his meal. He's set up by the beach, opposite the Old Town, where he hopes to sell his sunglasses, bags, hats, ornaments from north Africa. The strip of land you see in the distance is Cap Martin.

Love before food!

This scene made me laugh out loud! The two guys are waiters at a bar/restaurant located at the foot of the Old Town and each are carrying two plates of food. The restaurant is out of shot and to the left as you look at this photo. The tables are down steps to the right. The archway leading into the Old Town is up the slope. See HERE to get an idea of where we are.

Alors! They meet a girl they know and of course this involves much kissing, regardless of the food and whether it gets cold. This is one of the many, many reasons I just love France!

A gift for Aunt Mary?

Visiting Menton and want to take a gift home with you? No problem. In the pedestrian street you'll find soaps, candles in the form of fruit, Herbes de Provence, lavender - in bunches or wrapped in fabric sachets ready to hang in your wardrobe, tablescloths in a provençal pattern, olive oil containers, weird looking dolls made to cover a toilet roll (!) and much much more.

Boats at dusk

August.
Dusk.
Boats in the harbour below the Old Town.
Italy in the distance.
Wish you were here...

The Cool-down

This ice-cream parlour is in the middle of the walking street of Menton. Good ice-cream too! What's your favourite parfum (flavour)?

Pétanque or Boules? - 3

It's 8.30 in the evening and today we are in the Boules Club of Menton, which is directly opposite the market building (behind me) - the sea is beyond the palm trees. We are watching a lesson in throwing the boule. Are these two father and son? What do you think?

Pétanque or Boules? - 2

As promised, here's a photo of a man just after throwing the boule. It looks like some strange dance, doesn't it?

In the photo below, you see players discussing which boule is nearest to the small boule - look closely and you'll see a tiny orange ball, which, by the way, is called the 'pig.' The idea of the game is to get as close to the pig as possible. It sounds simple but there's great skill to it and a lot of money can be made in top level competition.

Many thanks to Fabrizio from Torino DP who kindly wrote this explanation as to the difference between pétanque and boules, in yesterday's comments:

"It was only in 1907 that pétanque as we know it was born. Its name comes from the provençal "pèd tanco", which means "feet together'. It is played on a shorter terrain and players throw their boule from a rough circle scratched in the dirt, taking no run-up at all." Fabrizio gave the following link too - click HERE. I had also found a good website on the subject, so anyone wanting even more information, try this link - HERE.

Do come back tomorrow and you'll see a photograph of a father teaching his son how to throw.

Pétanque or Boules? - 1

Forget the sterotype of an old man with a beret playing boules. Boules players come in all shapes and sizes - men and women, young and old. There was a pétanque contest in Gorbio on Fête day last Sunday - here's one of the competitors.

Perhaps one of our French contributors can tell me the difference between boules and pétanque. This contest was advertised as pétanque.

Dusk

Dusk. Says it all really - OR - you could write a novel about this scene, couldn't you? Who are they? What's their relationship? Where do they come from? What are their lives? Are they happy, sad? ... and on and on and on...

Boo!

Today it's the Fête Populaire in Gorbio village. And what do children who live in a medieval village do for fun? Why they play peek-a-boo through a gap in the village fountain.

There's a lot going on in the village today - first a free glass of kir for everyone, later petanque, chansons, a demonstration of French boxing, soupe au pistou, political debate - and tonight a rock concert.

L'Exocet

A metre or so to the left of this row of restaurant tables is the alligator you saw yesterday. L'Exocet is one of many restaurants by the beach. The main restaurants, of course, are the other side of the road, so waiters take chances running across the road with the food. However, the waiters and waitresses who work at this particular restaurant are lucky with the convenient zebra crossing. Others, further along are not so lucky.

I took this photo around 9 in the morning - the waiter and waitress are preparing for the day. The wind had some up so at this moment, there's a bit of a rush to fix down the tablecloths.

If you'd like to see what this area (but a little further along) looks like in February - click HERE.

An alligator in Menton?

An alligator in Menton? Silly! We don't have alligators in Menton. Can't you see this is a crocodile...she said confidently, not at all sure if this is an alligator or a crocodile...

So for Isabella, an allicroc or perhaps a crocogator, but enough to remind us of her beautiful Naples Daily Photo blog, where you'll find lots of real alligators. Go check it out today for the fishing and the pelicans - click HERE. Hmmmm...not seen any of those around here? Perhaps I'll take a look in the Vieille Ville - you never know what you'll find up there.

This sand sculpture was built next to the Christ figure. Remember him - see HERE? And he's still here, 7 weeks later! No rain for over a couple of months, so he's not washed away although perhaps someone keeps rebuilding him. And if you'd enjoy seeing really amazing sand sculptures go to Port Angeles Daily Photo HERE.

An alternative view

This is a view of Menton I've not shown before. You've seen the beautiful facade of the Old Town with its jumble of houses HERE. This photograph is taken from the other side - the steeples will give you your bearings. The long double-roofed building in the foreground is the Moorish style market - again, you can see details of that HERE.

In front of the market building - amongst all those palm trees is where the Menton Boules Club have their premises. There is much consternation at the moment because this area is where the Mairie plan to build a Museum to Jean Cocteau following a generous bequest by (I believe) an American collector. The Boules club is waiting to hear of an alternative site for their club.

Come back tomorrow when you'll see a gift I have for Isabella from Naples Daily Photo. Don't forget!

Daily Photo Theme Day: A Typical Breakfast

First buy your croissant! This lady runs my favourite bakery in Menton. Not only is the bread great but she never stops smiling. Below you'll find a photograph of breakfast possibles - personally I love the brioches sucrés. (You can buy cheaper elsewhere but not as good!) I've never been sure that the French really do eat croissants every day, so do visit Eric in Paris where you'll get confirmation of this and can also click on a link to read all about croissants.

Today is Daily Photo Theme Day. 99 Daily Photo bloggers from cities all around the world will be presenting their Typical Breakfasts today. Do click on their blogs and enjoy their offerings:

Saint Paul (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - New York City (NY), USA - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hyde, UK - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Stockholm, Sweden - Paderborn, Germany - Singapore, Singapore - Haninge, Sweden - Nottingham, UK - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Manila, Philippines - Boston (MA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Singapore, Singapore - Joplin (MO), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Paris, France - Sequim (WA), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Boston (MA), USA - Chennai, India - Madison (WI), USA - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Toulouse, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - La Antigua, Guatemala - Selma (AL), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Sheki, Azerbaijan - Sydney, Australia - Mumbai, India - Seoul, South Korea - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - New Orleans (LA), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Villigen, Switzerland - Montréal (QC), Canada - Stayton (OR), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Moscow, Russia - Springfield (MO), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Arlington (VA), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Manila, Philippines - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Stavanger, Norway - Bastia, France - Hong Kong, China - Wailea (HI), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Sydney, Australia - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Kansas City (MO), USA - Grenoble, France - Paris, France - Evry, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Prague, Czech Republic - Cape Town, South Africa - Brookville (OH), USA - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Wellington, New Zealand - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Shanghai, China - Zurich, Switzerland - North Bay (ON), Canada - Lyon, France - Naples (FL), USA