Yellow - # 64/2011

A quick trip across the border from France into the pleasant town of Ventimiglia, Italy, continues to show the style of Mediterranean life as we know it.  But climate change is making the area drier and drier.  Perhaps in 150 yrs from now it will be more like Muscat, Oman, with desalination plants and high energy consumption to power air cooling systems.  

Cote d'Az dreams - # 62/2011

It's all too easy to over-romanticise and falsely idolise the Cote d'Azur, but it's also very easy to understand how it got and how it keeps its good reputation.  For me this is a delightful scene that any Englishman fed up with the grey British winter will long to see and enjoy.  Early morning, delightfully fresh before the day warms up. The scent of the bushes and plants. The sound of a torrent rushing down the canyon from the mountains. A terrace garden, high up and looking out towards the Mediterranean Sea where the blue sky is reflected. (I took lots and lots photos of this same scene with the hanging bird table, trying to capture the essence. I didn't get exactly what I was trying for, but so far this is the nearest).

Farewell to Menton - # 09/64

Please click on the Menton link in the righthand side bar to see other selected shots of the Menton trip, taken by my fellow bloggers. Here is my farewell shot, taken on the Olympus C7070 wz compact, as we had our last hours together in the hill-top village of Gorbio.

From now on, I must return to focus on addressing Richmond, and try not to go ranging around on the hunt for other locations.

However, it's quite clear why the British "took over" the Cote d'Azur after they discovered it when making their "Grand Tours" in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The climate is indeed delightful.