Look left, look right, you'll see something to surprise you on market days in Menton. Here we have two almost life-sized figures, made of papier maché, I presume.
I'd love to know their history. Yes I know, I should have asked but the market was closing and the owner of this stall was busy packing up her van.
They'd not been sold.
Tiny balls made of wood and perfumed and for sale in the pedestrian street of Menton. Perfect to put in your wardrobe, chest of drawers or in the car. When the aroma disappears, you simply douse them with a few more drops of perfume.
Note the bowls - these are a typical design and colour of this region.
Sit at a bar in France, order a pastis (anisette is a sweeter version) and it will be served with one of these bottles filled with water.
Pastis is the great aperitif of the south, a delicious - and strong - aniseed flavoured drink, which when mixed with water goes cloudy.
Pastis was first commercialised by Paul Ricard in 1932, 17 years after the ban on absinthe.
At any vide-grenier or bric a brac fair, you'll find these water bottles which are now collector's items.
Yes, I know it's a rather grainy photo, but I want to tell you its story. I was sitting in a bar at Place du Cap, with a glass of rosé and taking the odd photograph. This man came up to me and asked if I'd taken his picture. I hadn't. I'd noticed him, that's all. I assured him, 'No, I've not taken your photograph, I was photographing something behind you.' And I told him about this blog. Then he said, really rather aggressively, 'If you want to take my photo, then you must ask.' No, no, that's OK, I don't want to take your photo, ' I said.
He went away.
Five minutes later he came back and said, 'You should ask if you want to take my photo,' so we went through it again, I reiterated I hadn't taken it and I didn't want to take it. Then he said, 'Well you can take my photograph if you want.' I nearly fell over and would have done so had I not been sitting down. 'You mean you'd like me to take your photograph?' I said. 'Okay, then,' he said.
And so I did.
I was sitting down, he was standing up leaning over me, the table was shaded by an umbrella and anyway it was dusk - hence a rather grainy photo.
Apologies for lack of comments. I am going thru a lousy bout of flu that seems to be going on forever - and have only been up to posting the blogs. Hope to be back on track soon. Meanwhile, thankyou so much for your comments.
When a horse is being presented to the judges, there is always a handler outside the ring with a plastic bag on the end of a flexible pole. This gets whipped about to get the horse's attention and perk him up. It makes quite a noise too. Some handlers bang on the bars of the tents.
This is the filly that slipped her halter - please read yesterday's post. It took a while for her handler and others to get a halter onto her and for me to regain composure and take a photograph!
As you can see in the last photo (the first I took after she galloped to where I stood) her handler very gently - and from the side - puts a temporary halter on her. After about five minutes, when she'd settled a bit, this was changed to the gold show halter you see in the smaller photograph.
It's no surprise this filly is treated so carefully. Her name is Layan Al Khalediah and she was World Champion Filly in 2007, she won the 2007/2008 Dubai Gold Cup and is the 2009 Las Vegas World Cup Supreme Champion Filly. She is bred at the Al Khalediah Stables in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is owned by HRH Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
Thirty seconds after the photo (below) was taken, this beautiful filly, who belongs to a Saudi Prince, slipped her halter. Notice, in the smaller photograph, how the handlers in the ring approach her very slowly, so as not to scare her.
But it didn't work.
I was standing in the far corner of the ring, inside the barrier, no one near me. Suddenly, she kicked up, looked me in the eye (or so it seemed) and galloped towards me.
As she galloped, I quickly moved behind the barrier. She stopped a metre in front of me and started to eat leaves from a plant that had fallen in the wind.
For what happened next, come back tomorrow.
The Tour de France starts today in Monaco. Please click on Le Tour de France at Monte Carlo Daily Photo. 
The Arabian horses were in Menton recently for the prestigious Mediterranean & Arab Countries Arabian Horse Championship show.
I think this lady loves Arabians, don't you?
The horses have Vaseline put around their eyes and on their muzzles to apparently emphasize their features.
In the smaller photo - taken at dusk - you see where the show is held (the stade) in relation to the beautiful Old Town of Menton. The horse you see is in the holding ring.
Moules! Empty mussel shells at Restaurant le Balico in Menton. They were so good!
The shells appear to be black until you take a flash photo and then you see the beautiful blues and pearl colours on the interior of the shells.
Note: Since posting the above, sadly Le Balico has been sold and is now under new management.
Today is once again Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community. To see how bloggers from all over the world have interpreted today's Theme, please click here to view thumbnails.
Once a week I go to see Bruno, my kiné - (kinésithérapeute = physiotherapist). I lie on the massage table, look up and there is this print...
Claude Serre, who died in 1998, was a well-known French illustrator, with a somewhat black sense of humour.
One of our fellow bloggers is Amir in Iran (Tehran Live). Following the recent elections and after the 17th June, his blog was blocked and recently he was picked up and is now in prison. Today, the City Daily Photo Community is coming together in solidarity for our courageous friend and for freedom and democracy for the people of Iran.
FREE OUR BLOGGER!
For Updates on Amir - click on this link.
This chestnut tree in Gorbio village in full green leaf save for a few leaves from last Autumn - leaves that persistently hang on. It symbolizes the notion that perhaps old ways need to be dropped in favour of vigorous and healthy new ones.
To see how other CDP bloggers are supporting our friend and the people of Iran, please click here to view thumbnails for all participants.
We're almost at the end of our 10 kilometre run around the beaches. Today, a tribute to the running shoes and those tired feet inside them.
And the rose? All the lady runners were given a rose at the end of the run. 
Notice the girl in the lower photograph - she's late on the podium and she's wearing black tennis shoes. You see her in yesterday's post too.
The Pom Pom Girls cheer the runners as they depart and later, they dance on a podium to welcome them home.
In the background, you see the Hotel Napoleon and alongside, a beautiful Russian chapel, which one day we'll visit.
The Napoleon Hotel has a beach webcam - it's almost in real time too - take a look - Hotel Napoleon Webcam.
