Derelict! - Villa Mer et Monts

Everytime I drive down the Gorbio valley I see this derelict house high on the hillside and have always wondered about it. The other day I happened to be driving on the other side of the valley on a road I'd never been on before - and there it was in the distance. I snapped the main photo and then asked a man walking his dog if he knew the name of the house. He did. Villa Mer et Monts (Sea and Mountains) and after that research was easy. He also told me the nearest place I could park but that I'd have to walk to the house.

I ignored a chain barrier saying 'no entry' and walked up a very long and steep drive to the property. Some of the shutters were half off and swung in the wind, the whole house seemed to creak and make weird music - it was pretty scary. I thought I'd be able to return to my car from the road beyond the house but it was blocked and so I had to retrace my footsteps. I can tell you I ran through the archways you see at the base of the building and won't be going back again - at least not alone! I wish someone would restore this beautiful building but frankly it's probably too far gone.

In 1905, an Englishman, Mr. Smith-Ryland, bought from the Baroness de Berge, widow of a former Senator of the Loire, the Villa Mer et Monts located in the Val de Gorbio, well away from habitual locations of the entrenched aristocracy, which was in the area of Garavan. It was too small for Mr. Smith-Ryland's taste and so he razed the building to the ground but kept the original name. He instructed the architect Abel Glena to design a large house surrounded by a park of 20,000 m2. The villa standing on a foundation of stone arches which forms a terrace, has forty rooms overlooking the sea and mountains and therefore living up to its name.

Each season, the owners organized 'bridge and dance parties' that reunited many of the British colony who spent their winters in Menton. Sometimes, Mr. Smith-Ryland rented the villa to friends such as Washington Singer, a son of the inventor of the sewing machine.

After the First World War the villa was converted into a nursing and maternity home. Under the direction of Dr. Seguel and surrounded by British personnel, the building welcomed patients who wished to take a 'cure' in the micro-climate of Menton, like Prince Yusupov, the assassin of Rasputin, along with his wife Princess Irina and his brother, Theodore.

Villa Mer et Monts has been abandoned for some years and is now the property of the Conseil General des Alpes Martimes.

Fête du Citron: Cinema - the Children

Our last day at the Fête du Citron. The kids, even those in the audience, are part of the parade. They dress up and have a wonderful time. The little girl in the last shot really is part of the parade of course.

Thanks so much to everyone who has come along for the ride. At the moment, I don't ever want to see another lemon or orange but doubtless I'll get over it.

Tomorrow - pastures new...

Fête du Citron: Cinema - King Kong!

King Kong! - but where's Fay Wray? Click to read about the 1933 iconic film.

The Fête du Citron ended on the 4th March and whilst I have dozens more photographs it's time to wind up this little series so tomorrow will be the last day.

Catherine asked if there were less huge floats in the parade than usual. Probably there were the usual number but the weather was grim, the light not conducive to a decent photo, so I look more shots of the performers and less of the floats. Here are a couple for you, Catherine.

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Wells Fargo

You don't really expect to see a Wells Fargo coach being pulled by two fine horses down the streets of Menton but when it's festival time, anything can happen.

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Cannes Film Festival

With cinema as the theme at this year's Fête du Citron, then the Cannes Film Festival had to feature and it did. This poster is from 2007 when the festival celebrated its 60th year.

The smaller photo shows spools of film and editing scissors.

Fête du Citron: Cinema - the Venetian Ladies

Yesterday's post and the body beautiful brought forth much discussion - so by way of contrast here are two ladies from the Venetian part of the procession - and with their clothes on!

Fête du Citron: Cinema - One for the Boys

Alright you guys, if you can get beyond the body beautiful, take a look at the facial expressions of the two dressed-up little girls. What are they thinking?

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Westerns

Cowboys and Indians - the good old Western.

'I felt pretty comfortable with Westerns, apart from the fact I couldn't ride.'

~ Richard Widmark

Theme Day: Passageway in the Serre de la Madone

The Serre de la Madone is one of Menton's most famous gardens. Created by Lawrence Johnston, an American who owned the famous Hidcote Garden in England, he needed a warmer climate for the sub-tropical plants he collected. His story is fascinating and so is the garden and we will be covering it on Menton Daily Photo soon.

This photo shows a passageway fairly near the entrance to the gardens on the Route de Gorbio.

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted today's theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Fête du Citron: Cinema - A Clockwork Orange

Sometimes the displays are simple like this tribute to Stanley's Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.

Of course, the name of the film slots rather nicely into a festival of citrus fruit.

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Scotland in Menton!

You never know who you'll meet at the Corso!

'There's a lot of fantasy about what Scotland is, and the shortbread tins and that sort of thing.'

~ Sean Connery

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Rubber Bands and Rotten Lemons

This shows us how the displays are made. First a metal frame is created ....for example the Ben Hur exhibit we saw a couple of days ago. Then wire netting is fixed to the frame. Then teams of volunteers fix one lemon or orange at a time onto the wire netting, each one attached with a rubber band. As I mentioned once before but it's worth saying again - 500,000 elastic bands are used and 145 metric tons of citrus are required.

You see a lemon is missing in the main photo and in the smaller one, one of the lemons is rotten and needs replacing. There are many people working in the Jardin Biovès each day and they walk around replacing any deteriorated citrus and this year, with the endless rain, there has been a lot of rotten fruit.

At the end of the festival (3 March), any fruit that is still in good condition is sold off to be made into jam and wine.

Fête du Citron: Cinema - the Dancer

One of the beautiful dancers in the Corso.

'And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.'

~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Ben Hur

Yet another type of cinema - this time, ancient Rome.

'It's been quite a ride' ~ Charlton Heston



There's a Caption Competition on Monte Carlo Daily Photo today...

Fête du Citron: Cinema - La Serenissima

Venice comes to Menton! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these figures in the carnival. La Serenissima - surely THE most beautiful city in the world.

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Horror (2)

'Where there is no imagination there is no horror.'

~ Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes)

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Horror

Ghouls and ghosties, skeletons that rattle and things that go bump in the night...

Do you like horror movies?

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Sway

The music plays and hips sway sensuously as the girls move along Avenue Carnot - all part of the procession.

'Dancing is moving to the music without stepping on anyone's toes, pretty much the same as life.'

~ Robert Brault

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Waiting for the Parade

Most people who braved the chill to watch the parade stood by the side of the road or had seats in the stands. Those behind the glass of La Cigale, not only get to sip a café or a hot chocolate whilst they watch, but they are also somewhat protected from the unseasonal low temperatures.

A Joyous Update: Thanks to Kim of Seattle Daily Photo for the great news that photo blogger Amir Sadeghi of Tehran 24 and Tehran Live has been freed from Evin prison in Tehran. Amir is free. What fabulous news!

Fête du Citron: Cinema - Jurassic Menton

Each section of the static displays in the Jardin Biovès represents a different genre of film. This one is called Menton Park and represents Jurassic Park.

You can get an idea of the enormous height of this display by looking at the people walking past.

A team of 300 people is involved in the preparation of the floats - citrus fruit growers, gardeners, artists and metal workers who create the frames. They are helped by groups of volunteers from various villages and towns along the coast. 500,000 elastic bands are used and 145 metric tons of citrus are required. The number of hours worked: 20,000.