Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
The Blessing of the Animals takes place every year in Gorbio village. This year was unusual in that there were more horses and less dogs - here are just a few of the horses (there were many more) lined up under the old elm tree, which was planted in 1713.
Listening to the clatter of horses' hooves on cobblestones melts the centuries away.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
We're on a restored part of the old donkey track going from Menton to the medieval village of Roquebrune.
At the foot of the wall, a tree survives. In the smaller photo, you see branches have penetrated the wall at the top too. Thanks to Philippe for telling me this is an ivy.
It's good to see nature winning the battle.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
We've moved along from Menton to Roquebrune-cap-Martin today and we are looking at the 'point' of Cap Martin - on the other side, a wide bay that leads to Monaco.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
High summer and the livin' is easy.
The beaches have been incredibly crowded - they still are but slightly less so since some of the visitors left just after the 15th August. You see lifeguards on most of the beaches and if there are none, there is a warning notice to say the beach isn't under surveillance.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
The last day of the Fête de Lavande and we end as we began with a photo of a lavender display - (click on link) - but, this time, with a beautiful addition.
Meet Chrystine Cacciaguerra who is a designer and colourist working with her partner, Frédéric Pélissier. Remember the beautiful shop in the village. Chrystine is a designer and colourist who has worked in the environment sector of living and architecture since 1981.
But I didn't know any of this when I took the photograph. I saw a beautiful woman, wearing such original clothes - look at her shoes and silver jewellry. She wears a dress whose colour perfectly complements her fabulous grey hair. She is natural, comfortable in her skin (as the French say). How great it is to see a woman who doesn't feel the need to dye grey hair blonde, to dress in the latest fashions, to carry designer handbags. This woman is an individual, sexy, sensual, beautiful. And it's no surprise to learn she is an artist.
Tomorrow - back to Menton for a day or so - and then we have another Fête, in another village. That's summer in the south of France.
Later in the year, we'll come back to Ste. Agnès - we have the church to visit, the ruins of the Château, the Medieval Garden and of course we have to see the 'view.'
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
An alleyway in Sainte Agnès. Note the roof supports.
Tomorrow, the last day of the Fête de Lavande and we end as we began - with lavender - but this time with a rather special addition.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Faces...at the Fête de Lavande - some we've seen before at the folk dancing.
It seems to me that these marvellous faces could well have existed in medieval times - indeed perhaps these people are descendants of the original families of this beautiful village. So often in a French hill village, families go back through the centuries - families as old as the medieval houses they live in.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Remember the folk dancing? These two children give it their fullest attention. Are they local children, who would have seen it all before, or visitors who have perhaps never seen a village festival like this. Folk dancing must seem a million miles from what they probably watch on television. Are they loving it or wishing they were listening to rap music?
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Don't - please - don't restore the facade of this cottage. Look at those wondrous colours and textures - perfection.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
The sun picks out a few heads of wheat in a Sainte Agnes' window - and on the volets (shutters) we see drawings of lavender to celebrate the festival.
It's charming to see villagers decorate their homes and so participate in the Fête de Lavande.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
You don't have to go to a Fête to buy Savon de Marseille. It's famous in France, made by hand and usually with olive oil.
The formula of this famous soap was regulated by Louis XIV in the XVIIth century and by the XIXth century Marseille had 90 soap factories. Since 1950 that has declined.
The soap you see in the main photo is made from the Aleppo pine tree and includes 20% bay tree oil.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
As you walk through the village, you see this beautiful shop. Enter and you are in a world of glass wonders. Frédéric Pélissier is a true artist in glass. Once inside his enchanting shop you are surrounded by colour, light, reflections, beauty. Just take a look at his website to see.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Young cat - ancient stones.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Let's wander the village for a bit. We'll go back to the Fête.
Here we see an old and weathered lintel in a tiny back street. I wonder how many lives, how many generations, have passed through this doorway.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Each folk dance tells a story. In this one four women dance around one of the husbands (the philanderer) and eventually attempt to tie him up (see the strings in the smaller photo). There is an exchange of flowers - note the woman's expression.
In the main photo, the wife beats up her husband.
In the end, of course it all ends happily with each wife dancing with her respective husband. Not quite real life, I feel...
Of course this is my interpretation of the dance - it could mean something totally different!
The women also carried poles with sheep's wool on the end (see smaller pic) - I don't know the significance of this. Perhaps to bash the philanderer's head and not show any marks!
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Folk dancing just as it was in medieval times.
Tomorrow - the Philandering Husband.
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
Meet 4-day old Lavandin and her mother, Gaby. As you can see in the notice, Lavandin was conceived during the Fête de Lavande 2008 and was born 4 days before the Fête de Lavande 2009.
In the lower photo you see a stall just behind Lavandin and Gaby - yes, it's the one selling the donkey sausages...
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
At every village Fête you'll find beautiful cheeses and saucissons (a sort of salami sausage).
In the smaller photograph you see saucissons made of sanglier (wild boar) and ane (donkey) - perhaps not to everyone's taste and certainly not the 4-day old donkey and her mother who were not 5 feet away. I didn't tell them...
Copyright 2009 Menton Daily Photo. All rights reserved.
In the main photo, we see the two 400-year old lavender stills (alambic in French). The still on the right makes double the amount of lavender oil to the one on the left.
120 kilos of the cut and dried lavender + 70 litres of water goes into the still. It's sealed tightly with the 'blue band' and the fire is lit.
With heat comes condensation. Vapour from the lavender rises into a coil tube, which is cooled by water. It condenses again and is recuperated through a separator (1st small photo) producing essential oil and distilled water.
When 40 litres of distilled water is collected, the lavender is exhausted and needs replenishing, otherwise it starts to burn.
When the essential oil is drained off, the distilled pipe is blocked off, and the copper pipe is turned downwards (2nd small photo)
Approx 250 mls is yielded from 120 kilos of wild lavender. (1000 kilos of lavender yields 2 litres of wild lavender oil.) Wild lavender oil is more expensive than cultivated oil. 10 ml sells for €5.00. It's considered to be far stronger and is used for medicinal and culinary purposes. In the 3rd smaller pic we see the oil being bottled and finally, the village stall where it is sold at the Fête de Lavande.
Please click on any of the photos to enlarge. Thanks so much to my friend Anita, who lives in Sainte Agnès and took all the photographs and also provided such an easy explanation.
If you missed Anita's photograph of Julien harvesting the lavender please see yesterday's post or click on the link. You can also read of the charming little house that Anita has for holiday rentals in Sainte Agnès - ideal for visitors to Menton who would like to stay in a medieval hill village.
Note: I've posted more photos than usual today but it seemed necessary to explain the process.
Photos: Anita Bingeman ©
