Bizarrely Beautiful

We had a bizarrely beautiful day in town today – weather wise and fun wise.

The day promised to be beautiful with a gorgeous sun rise. We decided to head off to the Carnoles Palace, the home of the city of Menton’s fine arts gallery. It used to be the summer palace of the Prince’s of Monaco (back in the days when they controlled the shore of France from Italy to, I believe Marseilles.

The collection is surprisingly good, including Rembrandts, etc… and contains both contemporary and classical art. It is 100% FREE entry, and sadly, Paul and I were the ONLY people there other than the staff. In some ways, though, it was an amazing experience to have the place to ourselves. The other reason that I like to visit the museum is that the Palace is the FINEST that I have ever had the pleasure of being in. It’s not “huge” by palace standards, but it has the most amazing sweeping staircase and the finest proportioned rooms that I have seen. The ceilings are all painted or carved (or both) and the details are sumptuous! Unfortunately, as usual, no photographs are allowed inside the building.

After leaving there we walked all the way home (quite a distance, let me tell you!), stopping here and there to purchase the occasional souvenir, etc. After a light lunch at home here on the terrace, the most unusual thing happened. It was quite hot here today, and I guess there was a meteorological “inversion”, whereby cold air from the alps was pushed down to sea level, while the hot air rose above. The entire old town disappeared into a giant cloud that swooped down, while in the suburb of Garavan, where we are, the sky remained blue & sunny! Very unusual but an effect I’m glad I captured with my camera.

The hot weather brought a LOT of people out to the beach. An interesting observation about the French (or at least the French here on the Riviera) is that they are all obsessed about their looks – they have to wear the latest jeans, they look at your shoes to see what you are wearing, glasses are always designer, and it doesn’t look like you can even think about getting your hair cut without an appointment. But then they come to the beach all sense of decorum, modesty and good taste disappears! The fattest people in the world stretch lycra swimsuits (All French men regardless of age and body type think that Speedos suit them (and the older and fatter you are apparently the more they suit you)) to the max. Butt cracks appear everywhere, and I wont even tell you what the median age for topless feminine sunbathing is, but it has to be north of 70.

Oh well, c’est la vie.

Today’s weather: Mostly sunny & hot with a high of 28C.

Today’s photos:

The gates to the Villa La Favorite

Where did the town go? A clod drifts down from the Alps and swallows the town!

Our Apartment Building, The Hawaii (strange name, I know)

Our apartment - top floor, end unit, wrap around balcony with panoramic views from Italy to Monte Carlo

Us in a mirror