A day on the Cap

It was just so beautiful this morning we knew we had to do something special. So, after getting in some groceries, we took the train (running on schedule today) over to Cap Martin for a day of sun.

I actually got too much sun, but I’ll be okay!

This was just a glorious day here. It was 22 and sunny with some light puffy clouds. It was VERY windy, and the sea was choppy, but I actually prefer it that way – the wind keeps you cool in the heat of the sun.

After getting off the train, we stopped into a bakery that we know that won the “best croissant in the Alpes-Maratimes” contest several years in a row. We purchased a couple of them for eating right away (and the title is deservedly so – light, buttery, slightly sweet, crispy and flakey all at the same time). They are NOT the ones featured in yesterday’s blog. We then set out on foot for the cap, which runs due south from the bakery.

It was funny, but in some ways I felt a little like a senior. We just walked the path a bit, stopped and sat on a bench for some sun, then walked a bit further and did it again. I guess its just mastering the art of doing nothing. It sure feels good – especially in such a breath taking place.

After returning home for some refreshment and a light lunch, I decided to spend the afternoon having a nap, followed by an exhausting round of crosswords out on the patio.

To top off such a decadent day, we went into town and had nothing but frites for our supper (the best ones we know of, anywhere!) followed by a promenade home on the boulevard de Garvan (fantasizing about which Villa we’re going to buy).

I’m pleased to report that Paul had no complaints about his neck (so no vertigo attack – phew).

It’s May day tomorrow. Paul and I expected that the town would be packed this week end – but so far – if anything – the town seems almost abandoned! The big 1er du Mai brocante is tomorrow, so bring you wallet and come with us!

Here's the scoop

Okay - we woke up this morning and Paul's neck was really sore (usually the precursor to a vertigo attack). However, he decided to press on with the plan for the day, which was to go to the big market in Ventimiglia (despite my reservations after what happened last year). We got to the train station (after commenting on how we hadn't seen any trains) only to discover that the trains weren't running due to maintenance on the tracks. So we went into town to the local friday brocante (the really big one will be on Sunday, the 1st of May) and then came home and watched the royal wedding. Is it just me - or , despite the pomp and circumstance, was it just not "Another cookie cutter wedding?" I think the choir selections sounded more appropriate for a funeral than a wedding. Anyway, I did enjoy it. Now, we've been out to supper and I've had too much to drink, so that's pretty much the end of the blog for today. The pics are random ones that I have taken thus far on the trip. Hope to be more sober tomorrow. Sunny and 22C here today!

Monaco & Monte Carlo

In 1297, Francis Grimaldi left his home in Genoa and approached the castle of Monaco, home to the Spinolo family, dressed in the guise of a monk seeking shelter. After slaying the patriarch by the sword, he began a dynasty that continues to this day, the principality of Monaco.

By the 1850’s the Princes of Monaco were almost bankrupt, thanks to the loss of the village of Menton from the principality, which had supplied the main stream of revenue to the area from its citrus and olive crops (see yesterdays post).

In 1856, Charles III of Monaco gave consent for a sea-bathing facility for the treatment of various diseases, and the building of a German-style casino in Monaco. The initial casino was opened in La Condamine (a different part of the Principality) in 1862, but was not a success; its present location in the area called "Les Spelugues" (The Caves) of Monte Carlo, came only after several relocations in the years that followed. The success of the casino grew slowly, largely due to the area's inaccessibility from much of Europe. The installation of the railway in 1868, however, brought with it an influx of people into Monte Carlo and saw it grow in wealth.

On April 28^th, 2011, Paul Jarsky and Fred Gordon, seeing no sun in the village of Menton, took the train into the Principality (now reined over by the dashing Prince Albert II) for a bite of lunch. It ended up being a day long adventure, which I am pleased to report saw no rain and a fine lunch at a restaurant in one of the narrow streets of Monaco, next to the Palais de Princes.

The principality is a really interesting little place. The train station is in a tunnel carved out of the mountain. The Palais, (by Royalty standards a bit on the small side) is actually an interesting asymmetrical mix of architectural styles that encompasses a Genoa fortress with a 18^th century façade and other additions. There is a square in front of it, and then the mix of the narrow streets where we had our lunch. The Cathedral of St. Nicholas (Where The Grimaldis are entombed – Including Rainier and Princess Grace) and Oceanographic society (Yes, of Jacques Cousteau fame) are all located on the heights “on the rock.” This affords a spectacular view of Monte Carlo, the bay and the shore across to Roquebrun and Menton.

As an FYI, around here the country is pronounced MON AK OH, not MON A CO the way we all say it. Citizens of Monaco pay no taxes and are called Monagesque ( MON AH GESK).

Today’s photos are from the top: Monaco Train Station, Me in the botanical park (looks like the tan is coming along nicely!), Prince’s Palace, Princess Grace’s tomb, Oceanographic building

Today was hazy/cloudy, but still 22C.

BTW, this whole Prince William/Kate Middleton thing has gotten completely out-of-hand!

When life hands you lemons...

You’ve all heard us talk about the lemon industry here in Menton, so here’s a brief history to get you more acquainted with this wonderfully sour treat!

Introduced to Europe in 12th century, lemons have been grown in Menton since the 15th century. In the 17th century the “Magistrate of Citrons" was enacted, which was an authority made up of 18 members named each year by the Prince of Monaco (Menton once belonged to the Principality) and charged with harvesting all the citrus fruits (at this time the tree was not farmed – the trees grew wild across the area). The lemons were sold in auction blocks to purchasers, with the bidding done in front of the Great Council. The council then distributed the money to deputy advisers who paid the owners from which the fruits had been collected.

By the 19^th century, citrus fruit cultivation had become the premiere economic activity of Menton: in 1860, the production of citrus fruits (lemons and oranges) was estimated at 2.8 million tons of fruit. The village exported 35 million lemons per annum, mainly to England, Germany & Russia but also North America!

Also at this time laws were enacted to regulate the quality of the fruit for export and to care for the trees. "This so productive tree,” wrote Papon in 1804, “fruits 4 to 5 times in a year without harm. Indeed, it is naturally healthy and is not susceptible to insects or disease. It produces fruit all year.”

The flourishing lemon industry dropped during the Second World War before being almost completely eradicated by a terrible freeze, in 1956, which almost erased five centuries of traditional lemon growing in the area. Undaunted, 15 farmers revived the industry, and managed to produce 100 tons of fruit the following year. The area has never looked back. Nowadays the City encourages home owners as well as farmers to replant lemon trees, orange trees, clementines and kumquats.

The harvest of lemons is made several times a year in order to "soulager" the tree and to facilitate the maturation of the following fruits. The May flowers (called "precede fiou") bears fruit which is harvested from October to February. In March the fruits come from the "segunde fiou" (second flower), which is a more fragile crop. Lastly, the third harvest, which is done in summer, is called "verdame.”

Three varieties of lemon tree are cultivated on Menton: Bignettes (begnet) which produces fruit with thin, smooth skin and is very juicy; Sériesqués with thick and smooth skin but which contains less juice than Bignettes, and Bullotins. Bullotins are larger than the other 2 varieties, their skin is very thick and rough and they have little juice.

Anyone for lemonade?

Another glorious day here. Temperature of 23C and just a few, puffy clouds in a clear blue sky!

Up on the Roof....

Last year we had a wonderful apartment in the Roca Mare building. This year that particular apartment had been let to someone else, so we ended up in the Hambury Palace (as outlined earlier).

The nice thing about the Roca Mare was the roof top solarium and pool that went with the apartment. The good news is that the man who owns our unit this year is friends with the owner form the apartment last year – so he was able to arrange access to the roof top terrace for us again this year, even though we aren’t staying in the building.

Now that’s lucky!

Not a lot to write today as there wasn’t a lot of action here. Most of the Italian families have retreated until next week end (May day holiday). We had to hit the grocery store in the morning to stock up on some supplies, and we spent the afternoon on the rooftop terrace. After supper we went for a stroll along the sea-side in to Italy and stopped at the road-side tuck shop (well, that’s an understatement - its more than a tuck shop) for a few goodies. I’ll have to do a blog for you on that place, its really neat!

Stunning day here weather wise. 25C and sunny skies!

The Wrong Place at the Right Time?

This morning started out as a bit of mis-communication. The weatherman called for rain today, but at worst all we had was hazy skies, and we got a LOT of sun (or UV) and are both looking quite tanned.

Paul wanted to take the train to Roquebrun Cap Martin – but he didn’t tell me that – so we started off for our morning promenade and ended up at the train station. I hadn’t brought any coins with me, and the station (billeterie) was fermée because today is a civic holiday in France. Sooooooo…. We ended up going back to the apartment to get the coins I had saved to use the ticketing machine (it only takes coins or credit cards, no bills).

Once we returned to the station with the coins, I did manage to use the machine correctly (all the instructions are in French, not multi-lingual like in Paris) – except I bought 1 way (aller) instead of round trip (aller-retour), which really isn’t a big deal. Destination: Roquebrun Cap Martin. As the train moved along it finally ended up at Les Carnoles station. As it was pulling out of the station, I said to Paul “Isn’t this where we want to get off?” It was. The next stop, Roquebrun, was through a very long tunnel and practically in Monte Carlo (which isn’t all that bad – just not where we were headed). Soooooooo…. we got off the train in Roquebrun, crossed the platform and bought a 1 way ticket back one stop to Les Carnoles.

By this time it was lunch, so we stopped into a café and had a nice lunch with a bottle of rosé, before heading off on our walk around the Cap. Cap Martin (the west end of Menton) is a wonderful isthmus that juts out into the sea and affords spectacular views back over the bay to the old Village of Menton and from the tip, a fine view of Monaco/Monte Carlo. The cap is also notorious as the last place that the great architect Le Corbrusier was seen alive, diving into the sea that claimed his life one fateful day, I think in 1972. One photo I’m posting is of Monaco, but it was quite hazy so it isn’t the best. Don’t worry, Paul and I are going there later in the trip and there will be a blog on its own.

Todays pics: Top: At the train station in Roquebrun Cap Martin. Below: Pigeons on the retaining wall at the start of the Le Corbrusier walk. Below: View East to Menton and Italy from the Cap. Below: View West to Monaco/Monte Carlo form the tip of the cap. Final: Paul, with the Mediterranean and Menton behind him. I know, I know, I'll try to take more videos!

Today I really feel like we’re on holiday – no need to rush from place to place, we’re just doing what we want, when we want. If something goes wrong along the way – like the train – just laugh it off and chalk it up to experience.

Today’s weather, hazy but lots of sun, with a high of 23C.

Joyeuses Pâques!

(By the way - I don't know if you know or not - if you want to see larger images of my photos, all you have to do is double click on them).

The morning started with – what else – PANATONE that we bought in Italy especially for this morning! It was super moist and studded with raisins and candied orange peel. YUM!

So it’s Sunday April 24^th, 2011 – Easter Sunday. I have to admit it was perhaps a bit of a disappointment here. I expected everything to be closed up tight except for the Basilica, with throngs of people following a statue of the risen Christ through the streets and into the church, where all heaven would break loose in an orgy of organ music, incense, bells, etc.

Well, Paul just couldn’t get out of bed this morning for this once in a lifetime opportunity, so even if all that did happen, I missed it L. Never mind, we did get to the Basilica in time to celebrate part of mass, but slipped out at the time of Eucharist, which is just as well, as there were so many people in there it probably took hours. My video attached isn’t too bad. The aroma of incense was intoxicating, though, and there’s no way I can capture that for you.

St. Michael’s was turned out in its finery for the big day – all the opulent chandeliers were lit, along with every candle, and crimson bunting and drapery had been strewn throughout the entire place.

We then spent the day wandering the streets and taking in the local Easter custom – which appears to be going shopping. It was fascinating to note that the actual custom of giving chocolate is pretty much the same here (all the chocolate shops and patisseries are full of chocolate confections, most of which were sold out yesterday and then gone fully today), although there doesn’t seem to be an “Easter Bunny” or any such thing.

I wanted to buy some cut flowers for the day, but I realized that unfortunately the apartment doesn’t really have a vase to put them in. Strangely (?) there were no potted Easter Lilies for sale anywhere. I suppose that is a more North American custom.

For Easter supper tonight I made sautéed potatoes, oven roaster asparagus and crispy breaded pork chops, and it was perfectly delicious. For dessert we had – you guessed it – another slice of Tropizienne! We washed it down with a rather excellent bottle of Corsican rosé called l’Empereur.

I hope everyone at home is with someone they love and you’re having a great day despite the weather.

Speaking of, it was 19C and sunny today. What a terrific Easter!

Damp Eclecticism

If you have been jealous about our weather here, you can stop. It rained today!

Never being ones to let a little rain dampen our spirits (we always bring brollies when we travel), we headed out into the rain to see what the heck was going on in town for the day.

Our lovely apartment is farther east along the coast than we have ever stayed before (which affords a very fine view of the old town), but that also means that when you head into town, it’s farther to go. A smart pair of guys, we have determined that because the whole area is a big bay, it is actually shorter if you walk along the lakeshore rather than up on the road, which affords you a lovely stroll through the marina and harbour.

We always like to check out the action at the market. The good news today was that Canadian lobsters were on sale for only 10E each (which is actually a better buy than you can get them at home) – or 3 for 25E. They’d be a perfect treat for Easter lunch tomorrow. I just can’t bring myself to “do the deed,” though, as enjoyable as they are, so enjoying the fact that they advertised them as Canadian (I didn’t check their passports) we moved along.

Luck was with us as we discovered one of our wholesalers of Provencal table cloths was open, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Paul found some really nice stuff and he’s putting an order together as we speak. A little farther along, we have a shop that we hit up for vintage French advertising posters that we like to bring home, have framed and put up for sale at Pariscope. They really didn’t have much for us today, but the owner assured us that more stock is coming in next week, so we’ll be back!

Tonight for supper I made my internationally acclaimed “pasta Mentonnaise” (my lemon-pepper pasta), and there was some good looking chicken breasts at the market, so I sautéd them and added them to the mix, too, for a little protein.

I was hoping with tomorrow being Easter that we’d get up and go to the Basillica and check out the bells and smells. Even as a non-Catholic I have to admit to being impressed with the pomp and circumstance. Oddly, Paul (the Catholic in this relationship) doesn’t seem to be all that bothered either way, so I don’t exactly know what the day will bring. We have tossed around the idea of a picnic for lunch, though, weather permitting.

So we had a damp but eclectic day here today.

Today’s weather was grey and rain with a high of 18C. It was really windy in the morning, but that all seems to have gone now. We needed a break from the sunshine anyway – meaning our skin needed a break form tanning.

Let's Shop!

Much to my surprise, my anxiety about everything being closed today was unfounded.

Everything was open!

Even though we had been shopping yesterday to lay in some supplies, we couldn’t resist stopping in to the covered market to have a look see. We weren’t disappointed!

Everywhere I looked there was a bounty of goods just waiting to be tasted! It was terrific to see a vendor who just sells potatoes (you need just the right ones to make frites!). There was a charcuterie with an amazing array of meats, a fromagerie selling every kind of cheese, as well as green grocers, bakers (both bread and pastries – both very different arts here).

Despite having a very good night, I was just beat today, so I sacrificed sun tanning time this aft for a nap (I know, boring – but hey, I’m on holidays). I actually thought twice about going up on the roof top anyway – it was so windy today (with the wind blowing in off the sea) that I think I might have just ended up back in Paris before anyone found me again! Today was also filled with a few of the more mundane things that occur when you rent an apartment… these included vacuuming and doing some laundry.

On the way home we discovered a new restaurant by the beach – Called “Gordon’s” of all things!

I also can’t believe that we’ve been here a week all ready!

Paul is feeling much better, thanks. He even made me supper tonight of meat balls in a peppercorn sauce along with sautéed new potatoes and asparagus! For dessert we had treated ourselves to a tart au citron and a slice of flan nature (more or less a custard tart – but even better!).

Today’s weather was sunny and VERY windy, with a high of 22C. Unfortunately, it’s supposed to be a rainy week end! The audio in my videos today isn’t bad – it’s sooooo windy, it’s just about all you can hear!

In love with Menton

My Mom once told me that you can’t love something that can’t love you back. I suppose to a certain degree this is true. We’ve all made fools out of ourselves for love, after all.

The village of Menton, though – well for me, that may be an exception to the rule.

Here, the sun shines differently. Colours are brighter and the air is so very clean, clear and fresh. Not unlike Elora, too – it’s a very real place. I think part of the charm of Elora is the fact that it’s a REAL town. People shop in the downtown, buy their groceries there, have their lawyer there, use the local bank, etc… and that’s the same in Menton, too.

While less than 20 minutes form the heart of Monaco/Monte Carlo – which I love – it is just so much more real. If you will, Monte Carlo is, well, a little plastic (including some of the people!). Don’t get me wrong – there is a reason that it’s the millionaire’s playground – fine restaurants and shopping, one of the world’s finest casinos, tax-free living, not to mention the weather! But here in Menton, the pace of life is slower, more gentile, less rushed. Guide books often describe my little village as sedate. That’s okay by me. I don’t need to be kept up all night by boozing and partiers on my block. Right now I’m blogging after 10pm and all I can hear is the crashing of the waves on the shore and the eternal croaking of the cicadas calling out in the night (they sound like giant frogs).

Unfortunately, Paul had a vertigo attack last night (for those who don’t know, he’s prone to them) so today was a bit rough for him. I ended up abandoning him thisaft in favour of some sunshine on the roof-top terrace, while he stayed at home and got some rest.

Tomorrow is Good Friday. In a nation as Catholic as France, I’m anticipating almost everything being closed. But that being said - -the village is almost abandoned tonight (which is a huge surprise, most Italians flock here on long week ends) and NONE of the stores have any signs posted about being closed tomorrow. I think it’s funny if everyone’s off tomorrow at home and it’s just another day here!

I don't know if there is something wrong with the videos. they play fine on my camera and on my computer - but the thumbnails look funny when i load them up to the blog. Oh well, C'est la vie!

Today saw clear skies and strong winds with a high of 22C. Another gorgeous day in the French Riviera!

A Stroll Along the Boulevard

A true treat when in the Pearl of France is a stroll along the Boulevard du Garavan. Laid out and completed in the last years of the 19^th century, the Boulevard quickly became the most prestigious address east of Monte Carlo.

The street runs above the old village, about 1/3 of the way up the mountainside. The views are breath taking.

It wasn’t long until the rich and famous flocked to the boulevard to build their summer houses. All are beautifully fashioned “Belle Epoch” era houses that were built to maximize the view and catch the ever-present breezes that pass between the mountain and the sea. The boulevard has also had a recent upgrade. It has been re-paved and new sidewalks have been laid that have been inset with paving stones that all work in a harmonious colour scheme.

Last year Paul and I discovered the west side of the boulevard – this year we did the East. We both agree that the quality of the architecture is superior on this end (The boulevard runs right out of France and across the border into Italy), with some exceptionally designed houses just begging for your attention. The yellow villa with the turret was actually designed by Charles Garnier – yes – the Charles Garnier who designed the Paris Opera house and the Monte Carlo Casino. The villa la Favorita (the opulent mansion that is behind me in the photo) is the epitome of Belle Epoch architecture. Everywhere you look here, there is beauty.

On a completely different note, my friend Anita Stewart is the only other person in the world (other than Paul) to know that my absolute favourite desert in the whole wide world is Tart Tropizienne (aptly named after St. Tropez!). It is a yeast-based cake baked whole, split, then filled with pastry cream that has been mixed with whipped cream. It is topped with ta few grains or rock sugar and powdered sugar. It is also heaven on your tongue. Today, for the first time since arriving (how I held out so long I do not know), I had my first piece. It did not disappoint!

Today was clear sunshine with a high of 23C. How civil!