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!

*****

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.

*****

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.

*****

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.

How would I look in this?!

Wonder if he bought one...

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Je me demande s' il en  a acheté une ....

Putting the world to rights ...

Sunshine, politics and coffee ...

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Soleil, politique et café ...

'Central Park Coffee'

Central Park in Menton? Not quite. However,  'Central Park Coffee' is an fabulously decorated restaurant based on the one in the TV series 'Friends.'  Here you'll find hamburgers, bagels, hot dogs and great service.   In the photo, veggieburgers, made with onion rings and a potato cake, mesclun and soft cheese.

*****

Central Park à Menton? Pas tout à fait. Cependant, le "Central Park Coffee " est un restaurant au décor fabuleusement basé sur celui de la série TV 'Friends.' Vous trouverez ici des hamburgers, des bagels, hot-dogs et un excellent service. Sur la photo, des veggies burgers ( burgers végétariens), faits avec des rondelles d'oignon, une galette de pomme de terre, du mesclun et du fromage à pâte molle.

Apero in Menton

Apero.

Lunch for Grandma

She's doubtless prepared thousands and thousands of meals for her children and grandchildren but today, it's a chunk on bread and some salami at the window - alone.

*****

Elle a sans doute préparé des milliers et des milliers de repas pour ses enfants et petits-enfants, mais aujourd'hui, c'est un morceau de pain et du salami à la fenêtre, seule.

Artisan

Restoration in the medieval villages of the south needs artisans who can match stone, lay cobbles as they were laid in years gone by.  Workers who treasure the patrimony.  They are not only artisans, they are artists.

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La restauration des  villages médiévaux du sud nécessite  des artisans qui savent assortir les pierres, poser les pavés tels qu'ils étaient posés autrefois. Ces travailleurs chérissent le patrimoine. Ils ne sont pas seulement des artisans, ce sont des artistes.

Light and Dark

A narrow and dark cobblestone street in Ventimiglia Alta. But at each end, the warm Mediterranean sunshine awaits.

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Une rue pavée étroite et sombre à Ventimiglia Alta. Mais à chaque extrémité, le soleil de la Méditerranée attend.

Lifting the Spirits

Sunshine at Place du Cap. Why is it that sunshine lifts the spirits? - but it does.

*****

Soleil sur la Place du Cap. Pourquoi  le soleil remonte-t-il  le moral? - en tout cas,  il le fait.

Look up!

Place du Cap

Look up!

~

Levez les yeux!

The Postman

If the postman who delivers in the Old Town stopped to talk to every he knows, he'd never get through the day.

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Si le facteur qui distribue dans la vieille ville s'arrêtait pour parler à tous les gens qu'il connait, il ne finirait jamais sa journée.