Calm

'The ideal of calm is in a sitting cat'
 

- Jules Renard

'L'idéal du calme est dans un chat assis. »

Sky in the Sea

Sky in the sea at the port of Garavan.

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La ciel dans la mer au port de Garavan.

La Brigue - iPad or Fishing

Remember when young boys used to go fishing instead of playing on their iPads? They still do in La Brigue.

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Souvenez-vous quand les jeunes garçons avaient l'habitude d'aller pêcher au lieu de jouer sur leurs iPad ? Ils le font toujours à La Brigue.

La Brigue - Double-headed Eagle

A narrow street in the ancient mountain village of La Brigue, yet only 56 kilometres from Menton. The first mention of this village is in the XIth century and since then has had a chequered history of being either French or Italian. In fact, La Brigue finally became part of France after World War II, when Italy was forced to hand it over in September 1947 under the terms of the 1947 Peace of Paris.

The double-headed eagle, crowned in gold, is part of the coat of arms of the village.

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Une ruelle étroite dans le village de montagne de La Brigue,  à seulement 56 kilomètres de Menton. La première mention de ce village remonte au XIème siècle  et il a eu depuis lors une histoire en dents de scie en étant tantôt  français, tantôt italien. En fait, La Brigue a fait  finalement partie de la France après la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, quand l'Italie a été forcée de la restituer, en septembre 1947,  conformément à la Paix de Paris de 1947.

L'aigle à deux têtes, couronné  d'or, fait partie du blason du village.

La Brigue - the Old Mill

The Roya Valley begins in Tende and ends in Ventimiglia, just across the border in Italy and every village, as you climb higher and higher into the mountains is an unspoiled joy. Just off the main Roya Valley road and at a dead end is La Brigue, which is dissected by the River Lavenza, a tributory of the River Roya.

This is the Old Mill of La Brigue, a short distance from the village itself. How idyllic is this!

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La Vallée de la Roya commence à Tende, se termine à Vintimille, traverse la frontière en Italie et chaque village, comme c'est le cas quand vous montez de plus en plus haut dans les montagnes, est une joie naturelle. En quittant la route principale de la Vallée de la Roya , sur une route sans issue de trouve La Brigue, qui est traversée par la rivière Lavenza, un affluent de la Roya.
Ceci est le Vieux Moulin de La Brigue, à une distance courte du village lui-même.  N'est ce pas idyllique!

Childhood pleasures

If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older. 

- Tom Stoppard

Si vous portez votre enfance en vous, vous ne deviendrez  jamais plus vieux.

Happy Easter!

I'd not want the hangover he's going to have tomorrow.

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Je ne voudrais pas la gueule de bois qu'il va avoir demain.

Sarah

Sarah, always smiling Sarah, writes up the menu outside the Bar/Restaurant Les Terrasses in Gorbio.

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Sarah, la  toujours souriante Sarah écrit le menu à l'extérieur du Bar / Restaurant Les Terrasses a Gorbio.

Puglia - and proud to be 80!

We're much further south in Italy today. I met this lady in Puglia and she proudly told me she is 80 years old - hence the 8 fingers and thumbs!

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Aujourd'hui, nous sommes beaucoup plus au sud, en Italie.  J'ai rencontré cette dame dans les Pouilles et elle m'a dit fièrement qu'elle a 80 ans - d'où les 8 doigts et les pouces!

Le Clos du Peyronnet - Green Glass

A row of old demi-johns that appear to float on the water at Le Clos du Peyronnet.


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Une rangée de vieilles dame-jeannes qui semblent flotter sur l'eau au Clos du Peyronnet.

Last puff

Place du Cap

Walk past any restaurant around 12h.00 and the chef and waiting staff will be taking a last break, probably with a cigarette, before the lunchtime service begins.

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Passez devant n'importe quel restaurant autour de mid, le chef et les serveurs attendent en faisant une dernière pause,  probablement avec une cigarette, avant que le service de midi ne commence.

Unspoiled

Nothing chi-chi, just a few old houses in a cobbled square just around the corner from Place du Cap.

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Pas de chichi, juste quelques vieilles maisons sur une place pavée juste derrière de la Place du Cap.

Mia's last day

Some of you have met Mia, a Bassett Ariegois - or seen this photo of her in exhibitions.  Sadly, today she was put to sleep.

It's been a bad few weeks lately.  First, my oldest dog, Beau - a black and tan Bruno du Jura, had to be put to sleep. It was his time. Indeed the deed was done not a day too early or too late and I was okay about it. He'd had a good life here and lived far longer than he would have in the particular refuge he was in.

But Mia, who had a dreadful early life (as did Beau) didn't deserve to have been so sick for the last two or three weeks of her life. She'd had an ear infection for six months, nothing would clear it up and the skin deep within her ear got so thin it started bleeding.  At this time I changed vets, not because I didn't have the best faith in my old vet but because Mia was so car sick every time I drove a distance to her and she understood and agreed. The new vet gave me product for her ears that went into her blood stream and caused massive inbalance and semi-paralysis -  and ever since then we've been trying to get her right. And I changed vets again, of course.

Last night she became totally paralyzed and so this morning she went to the vet on her last journey.

When I got Mia around 7 years ago she'd been living in a filthy 2 metre square run with another dog, Mistral. She'd obviously had several litters of puppies and was thin as a stick and with bleeding skin. They'd been living on top of years of excrement and having food thrown over the fence. The owner died and the son wanted to shoot them.  So, they came to me. Mistral lived only 3 months because she had cancer, but Mia put on weight and was in excellent health, except mentally and emotionally. All her years with me she was terrified of any visitor, especially men.

Mia was a wonderful dog, so kind, so sensitive. I miss her like crazy. 

So, now, this house is very empty. I have this photo of Mia hanging on my wall. And another of Beau hangs elsewhere. I'll show you Beau's photo another time.

(the second photo shows Mia with her friend Maggie, in the background). 

Scoop Dog

'When I'm no longer rapping, I want to open up an ice cream parlor and call myself 'Scoop Dogg.'

~ Snoop Dogg

'Quand je ne rapperai plus, je veux ouvrir un salon de glace et m'appeler 'Scoop  Dogg.' (boule de glace)

Balzi Rossi - Museum and beach

On the left, part of the Balzi Rossi Museum of Prehistory and behind that, you'll find the caves (well worth a visit) - ahead the beach. The museum houses extraordinary displays of a prehistoric Mediterranean. Diggings began in the second half of the 19th century as well as in 1928 and during the post-war period fossils of great importance were discovered, including late Paleolithic human burials, fossils of elephants, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, reindeer, and groundhogs.

Click for a photo of the caves.
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À gauche, une  partie du Musée de la Préhistoire de Balzi Rossi, derrière, on trouve  les grottes  (valant bien une visite) et  en avant, la plage. Le musée expose d'extraordinaires collections de la Méditerranée préhistorique. Les recherches ont commencé à la deuxième moitié du 19ème siècle aussi bien qu'en 1928 et pendant le période de l'après-guerre.  Des fossiles de très grande importance ont été découverts, ainsi que des sépultures humaines du Paléolithique, des fossiles d'éléphants, d'hippopotames, de rhinocéros, de rennes et des marmottes d'Amérique.

Le Clos du Peyronnet - Peony

A beautiful double Peony currently in flower at Le Clos du Peyronnet in Garavan. Perhaps like a woman of a certain age and past her prime!

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Une belle Pivoine double actuellement en fleur au Clos du Peyronnet à Garavan. Peut-être comme une femme d'un certain âge et sur le retour!

Balzi Rossi and Menton

That's Menton and therefore France across the bay.  I'm standing in Italy with the beach of Balzi Rossi behind me.

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C'est Menton et donc la France de l'autre côté de la baie. Je suis  en Italie avec la plage de Balzi Rossi derrière moi.

Clos du Peyronnet - Ipheion Rolf Fiedler

Ipheions are normally white (there are some in my own garden) but this is a rarer variety called Ipheion Rolf Fiedler.  It sat in it's lovely weathered pot on the equally weathered table at my favourite Menton garden,  Le Clos du Peyronnet.

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Les Iphéions sont normalement blancs (j'en ai dans mon propre jardin) mais celui-ci est d'une variété plus rare appelée Iphéion Rolf Fiedler. Il est posé dans un charmant pot patiné par le temps sur la table également altérée dans mon jardin favori de Menton, Le Clos du Peyronnet.

March sunshine

March in Menton.
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Mars à Menton.

Fish stall

The fish stall outside Menton's market.

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L'étal de poissons à l'extérieur du marché de Menton.