The Chef's Break

Everything is prepared for lunch - time for a break and a chat. This restaurant is at the Place du Cap in Menton.

The Trumpet Player and the Saxaphone Player

Whilst I was up at Trabuquet photographing the war graves, these two ladies were playing at various ceremonies in Menton for Armistice Day.

Meet Mireille on the left. She lives in Nice. Caroline, on the right, is Australian and has lived in the Old Town of Menton, very near to Trabuquet, for 20 years. They play with La Garde de Menton which is the Harmonie Municipale and they practice once a week in the old Fire Station. Their instruments - the trumpet and the saxophone. There is no pay for this - they do it for the pleasure and the honour.

I didn't photograph them in ideal conditions, sun on their faces, deep shade behind but I've fiddled with this photograph in iPhoto - anyway apologies it's not quite up to scratch but I wanted you to meet these two great women.

You'll notice Le Balico in the background - closed for November - many places are closed but happily not Le Lido where Mireille and Caroline drink a well-deserved bière or pression as beer is known, when it's pumped from the barrel.

Autumn - the Wind

Lunchtime. The main restaurant is on the left of this photograph, by the sea. These tables are for diners who choose to sit further from the beach.

And the wind blows...

Summer's End - Le Beausejour

We've seen Le Beausejour restaurant before but this photograph shows you a little of the interior. If you go through these doors to the back, there is an enormous terrace over-looking the valley. It's such a pretty, welcoming restaurant and the food is so good too.

Summer's End - la Farandole 2

As served at le Beausejour in Gorbio - voila! - la Farandole. You see a small barbajuan on the lower left of the plate (yes, the plate isn't a true square). Barbajuan is a speciality of this area, especially Menton, Roquebrune and Monaco. Click on the link to read more but basically it's a tart or small pie, filled with leeks, Swiss chard, spinach and ricotta cheese. Then you have beignets of courgette flowers and also of aubergines - sometimes there is a large shrimp or two, deep fried in the lightest batter. Because I don't eat meat, there is none on this plate but the Benauts' plates included slices of proscuitto. There's also salad, fruit and a wonderfully piquant dipping sauce.

All of which went down very well with a good bottle of Bandol rosé.

The Benauts have just left for Sestri Levante on the Ligurian coast of Italy. The dogs and I miss them already.

Summer's End - la Farandole 1

Monsieur et Madame Benaut from Adelaide Daily Photo continue to eat, drink and sleep their way through England, France and Italy, bringing pleasure and laughter to everyone they meet. Here they are at Le Beausejour restaurant in Gorbio village, near to Menton.

Le Beausejour has a first course speciality they call La Farandole, but at lunchtime, just that one course is enough - and that's what we had yesterday. La Farandole is, in fact, a traditional folk dance of the south of France.

La Farandole, served at Le Beausejour is made up of traditional local specialities, so do come back tomorrow to see what goodies we ate.

Summer's End - Les Girls

The main buzz of activity at night takes place around the Sablettes area of Menton but way down the beach towards Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the bars and restaurants have trouble attracting the crowds - so they bring on Les Girls. They parade around, dancing, more than happy to pose for photographs and guess what, the place is busy and buzzing. I wonder why?

If you are driving home along the Promenade du Soleil after a night out in Menton, suddenly the traffic slows and you get a free cabaret and naturally you arrive chez vous later than you intended.

(I look these photographs before I was so patiently taught to change White Balance settings, so apologies for the bright yellow light. )

Summertime in Menton - the Waiter

A bar in the Place du Cap at the foot of the Old Town.

Slurp!

Yesterday, lunching with a friend (ravioli aux artichauts) at an outside table at Restaurant Le Balico, I turned my head and there was this little boy, sitting a few feet from me on the stone bench. The bench is separated from the restaurant by a row of plants - which is why he's crowned with a weeping fig.

The restaurant you see behind him - across the square - is Restaurant Le Lido.

I think he's enjoying his ice-cream, don't you?

If you'd like to 'Tiptoe through the tulips' with Tiny Tim, please click on Monte Carlo Daily Photo.

Le Café du Vieux Port

Good Friday - last Friday, in fact. 10 a.m. Breakfast looking out over the old port.

Walk to the Corso - 2

It's around 1.30 and we are walking to the Corso. Some people are lunching in a restaurant, some on the beach, some are simply sunbathing. These four photographs were taken with 15 minutes of each other yet people have rather different ideas as to how warm it is!

Roquebrune village - 22

This is the hotel and restaurant Les Deux Frères. It's in the main square with La Grotte opposite. From the car parking way below, you enter the village by the road that you can just see at the end of the building.

See the stone bench to the left? Well alongside that is an iron railing with wondrous views down to Cap Martin and to Monaco. If you click on the link for the hotel, you'll see a photograph that makes this even clearer. I've posted several photographs already of Monaco and of Cap Martin taken from those railings.

Les Deux Frères is run by a very amiable Dutchman called Willem who will give you a very warm welcome if you visit his lovely hotel. It's a great place to stay or simply to visit for lunch or dinner.

Rue Longue - 7

This restaurant, A Braijade Meridiounale is at the restored end of rue Longue. Do click on the link to read more about this restaurant. I've not eaten there, but intend to rectify that soon! The menu sounds delicious. You can see a different shot of this restaurant in yesterday's post (on the left) which shows you its location in rue Longue, not far from Porte Saint-Julien.

Ristorante Balzi Rossi

This is theRestaurant Balzi Rossi - it's on the way to the area of sea and rocks you saw yesterday and the day before. The view is wonderful, of course, because it looks back on Menton - the beautiful facade of the Old Town (see banner at top of page) and the port of Garavan - and the food is fabulous! Fortunately, I speak from experience...

Tomorrow, we'll visit the Balzi Rossi caves dating back to the Palaeolithic Era.

Le Saint-Yves

Mid-morning and time for coffee at Le Saint-Yves. On the terrace (see below) the tables are ready for lunch. Good, simple, cheap food (there's a 16 euros menu, for instance) and with a view that's worth a good deal more. Pasta is excellent - friends approve of the braised rabbit. You can also stay at this hotel and at a very reasonable tarif too.

Wash down time

Early morning and time to wash down the decking of the restaurants and clean the streets ready for another hot day. This is one of the beach/restaurants in Garavan.

I know you don't want to hear me grumble about lack of rain this summer and now early autumn, but I wish it would RAIN for my poor dried up garden. I know the visitors don't want this tho, so you didn't hear me say it!

Through a restaurant darkly...

An enticing view through the restaurant, tables set up ready. Let's eat! And then - let's take a swim. This is one of the beach restaurants in Garavan.

Le patron

This is Franck, the 'boss man' - patron of Le Balico, my favourite Mentonnais restaurant.

Woman in pink

Noisette at Restaurant Le Lido. A noisette is a small strong espresso with just a touch of milk. Sometimes the milk is served separately, as here - but more often it comes with just a little froth on top of the espresso. I adore the confidence of this woman and the stylish exhuberance of her clothes and hat.

Summer Nights - 2

A balmy summer evening - Place aux Herbes under the plane trees. Restaurants either side - Le Lido on the left, Le Balico on the right. Beautiful old buildings, musicians to entertain, good food and wine. Where are you? Menton!