In flux

I am trying to decide whether I should switch to a different blog setup. I want to get the most readers and followers I can and I wonder if a change would facilitate that. Since I know just about nothing about blogging and getting my blog visited, I'm really writing blind here. Any and all suggestions that you dear readers would like to make, I accept gratefully. And here is a link to a practice switch that I am thinking about.  http://mindofahummingbird.tumblr.com/  Please visit it and let me know what you think.

Should I stay or should I go?

Date night: A visit to the Cinema in Monte-Carlo

Being full-time caretakers to my 95-year-old mother-in-law here in France and working from home full-time running 2 Internet based companies, my husband and I have very little time for ourselves. Which also leads to very little time out and we are almost never alone together since my mother-in-law requires 24 hour care and we cannot leave her.

In this challenging situation, we are enormously grateful when someone can stand in for us for a few hours so that we can run errands or get our hair cut or buy groceries. We are even more excited when we can go out on a date because it is so rare! Since we came back from our 3 week visit stateside in December, we have not been on a date. Which is exactly what we were able to do last night. Our new friend Lisa came and stayed here for a few hours while Dennis and I went to the movies. It was delightful!

Living in the South of France, finding a cinema where I could understand the film is a little challenging. But, as it turns out, we just needed to travel to our neighbor country of Monaco. About five miles away, Monaco borders our town of Roquebrune-Cap Martin on the western border.

A short drive to Monaco, where we parked in one of the many underground parking facilities and a short walk brought us to the Cinema of Monte-Carlo. They offered 2 movies in English so we opted to see The Iron Lady. The theatre was spacious and clean. The popcorn was salty and perfect. The Iron Lady was heartbreaking and lovely. Such a great film!!  We finished the night by driving down to the Port of Monaco and sharing a wonderful pizza at a corner restaurant that sat directly opposite to the driveway entrance of the Palace of Monaco. Not my usual night at the movies!

Dennis and I hamming it up outside the Casino in Monte-Carlo. Not the average location for a movie theatre! 

I did ask for no mushrooms but pulling them off after the fact worked out just fine!

Wonderful date night! Thank you so much Lisa! We enjoyed every moment!

Any excuse for fireworks!

Here in the outskirts of Menton, France we are enjoying the continued celebration of the Lemon Festival.

Last night was another parade night with the rumor of fireworks. So at 9:30 P.M. we drove our 1980s Mercedes down to the town and parked as close as we could to the road block. Walking towards the parade barrier, we selected a lovely little street side restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious cappuccino and the taster plate of miniature desserts. As our server pointed out, if we couldn't choose which dessert to try, try them all! From the brownie to the tiny tiramisu, I was enthralled.

Plus, the tiny desserts were served, not on a plate, but on a piece of slate!

Soon, the street lights went out, cluing us into the start of the fireworks. We paid our bill and dashed outside, joining the crowds on the street as they made their way down to the steps that lead to the beach.

With the waves of the Mediterranean lapping near our feet, we watched as Menton light up the night, in tribute to Lemons.

So much fun on a Thursday night in March.

Between the Sea and the Mountains

Here in the region of the Maritime-Alps, between the Sea and the Mountains, there is a town called Menton and they are all about lemons. Every year, in fact there is a festival in the town square dedicated to everything lemon, or I should say, they make it all out of lemons.

On a sunny Monday in February, Dennis and I made our way down to Menton Center between the Casino and the bus station. There is a park that fills the space between the streets coming and going that they have walled off for weeks. We have had sneak peaks of what they are creating as the metal structures emerge above the fences but no clear idea until today when we paid our 9 Euros a piece and walked inside.

The theme this year was the regions of France. As you walked along the garden, you saw on display an exhibit for each region, depicting what they are known for, what they offer, their specialties.

From Brittany to Champagne, even Bordeaux with a huge bottle of wine.

I was looking forward to seeing what our region, the Maritime-Alps, would have on display. We are between the mountains and the sea and sure enough, there was a huge lemon and orange mountain, covered in snow on one side with skiers and on the other, people swimming in the sea.

And, again..everything made with lemons and oranges.

An Orange and Lemon Chateau 

I love this clog!

And of course, the region of  L'lle de France complete with a lemon Eiffel Tower

I want to take the lemon Metro!

We completed the tour with a crepe made with sweet lemon filling and Grand Marnier 

Lemon lighthouse anyone?

A pretty excellent way to spend two hours on a Monday morning

Paris-Day 2

I've been traveling quite a bit lately and because of that it isn't uncommon for me to wake up and have no idea where I am. So day 2 of Paris I did just that.  Blinked a few times, waited for my head to clear from the muddled dreams and as the fog cleared I heard traffic far away and the hammering sounds of construction.  "Construction? Where am I?" I looked around the room and remembered....I am in Paris.  

Opening the window and stepping out into the brisk December morning, I drank in the sights and sounds, including the construction on the other side of our street where the Military Academy was. 

What to do with our brief, golden hours of daylight.  We head out to coffee.  Since we have been living in France long enough to understand the way things work, it wasn't difficult for us to find a cafe and order coffee and croissants. Paris isn't necessarily more expensive then any other city, its just as expensive. We drank our coffee and looked over our city maps while waiting for the croissants to come out of the oven. Well, we ran out of coffee before the oven could finish so, naturally, we needed more coffee.  Our bill for breakfast was as follows:

4 coffees

+

4 croissants

=

25 euros

or

$32.34

Needless to say, I wanted to dive out the window while Dennis was down in the bathroom.  Somehow, spending $32 on pastry and coffee seemed extravagant. Delightful but extravagant. 

After our breakfast debacle we walked toward Madame Eiffel to see how bad the crowds were at the tower elevators. And they were bad.  The tour buses parked on the side streets were a good indication. So we continued to the river where we discovered the boat shuttle that would bring you past 7 major sights and allow you to board and disembark all along the river, all day long. That was for tomorrow.

We continued across the river toward The Arc de Triomphe were we watched in fascination as eleven streets emptied out into the round about without direction or order. Complete chaos. I couldn't take my eyes away from the hornets nest of cars and buses, motorbikes and trucks swirling and vying for position around this massive monument that Napoleon commissioned in 1806 to pay tribute to his victories in battle. The foundation alone took 2 years to complete.  Sadly, the structure wasn't completed until 1836...not in time for the Emperor to see it for himself. However his remains were brought through the Arc before they were laid to rest in Invalides. You reach the Arc by passing through a tunnel under the crazy street above.  Walking around and through this beautiful 164 foot historical piece makes you feel tiny and brief.  For a fee, you can also walk up to the top and bask in the view.  It marks the beginning of the Champs-Elysees "the most beautiful street in the world".

From here we took the Metro and arrived at The Louvre were we spent several hours walking through vast rooms filled with artwork that boggles the mind. From Mona to Venus...there is seemingly no end to the painting, sculptures and artifacts. One of the most mind blowing pieces for me was the Egyptian artifact that was dated to the days of Moses. How is that even possible?

In all the guide books and all the blogs you read the advice to plan in advance what you want to see, otherwise you will get overwhelmed and tired.  We tried to do just that but once you are there, surrounded by so much history and beauty, its impossible to stop looking. When you sit down to eat a special meal, you eat and eat until you are ready to burst. That is what we did in the Louvre. We looked and looked and looked until we were so full mentally of art and beauty that I thought I was going to burst. Thankfully the museum closed at 6 PM and we were forced to get up from the art and history table.

Even the view outside was breathtaking with Madame Eiffel always watching us, like the moon following the car. No matter how many times I photograph her, its never enough. I always want to take just one more shot, from just one more angle. When I look back now, I wonder how I managed to walk through Paris at all without tripping as it seems as though I never stopped looking through my camera. Pinch me, I'm dreaming.