After the Storms - the Route de Gorbio

We're looking at just one part of the Route de Gorbio. In the main photograph, the medieval hill village of Gorbio is about 4 kilometres behind us - we are en route to Menton on the road I take every time I drive down the valley.

At the moment there are about 5 or 6 blockages like this. Light falls this year and nothing to worry about. One year the road was cut for two months whilst two separate rock faces were made safe with retaining walls. During that time, we had to go the 'long way round' to get to Menton or Monaco.

Look carefully at the rock face (click to enlarge) - it's already been covered in heavy wire, fixed into the rock with bolts. Even so a bush has crashed and stones and very small rocks fall and tumble out. Further down the Route de Gorbio, larger rocks have hit the road waiting for the council to move them. When you drive out after any heavy rain, you have to keep a careful eye, as there are many sharp bends on the road and it's easy to hit a fallen rock which doesn't do a car much good.

The rain has stopped but water will continue to come off the mountains for days, even weeks - we've had so much of it.

Autumn - the Games of Childhood

Games in Gorbio village. One of the best things about bringing up children in a village is that they can play safely. No cars in these medieval streets and no one to bother a child. No worries about strangers. Windows have eyes and everyone knows everyone else - someone would soon see if a stranger was talking to a village child.

In this photograph, the children have been playing with two others who have just disappeared down the steps.

Don't you love those red boots!

Autumn - the Dog who loves Water

Alpha is cooling down in the area next to the wash-house in Gorbio. He's a Berger Blanc Suisse (White Swiss Shepherd Dog).

Note the 'tap' which is a cut off plastic Pellegrino bottle.

You can see the main washhouse below which sits under a roof supported on pillars. A windy day and leaves have blown in, but presumably the ladies who use this will clean it out before doing their washing.

To learn about this breed and to see more photos of Alpha - is he the dog with the longest tongue? - click on Riviera Dogs.

Autumn - Cats' Craving

Lunch at the Beausejour in Gorbio. Two village cats are avidly hoping for left-overs. Given the chance they'd have grabbed something/anything/everything. What is it with cats? For any of you following Monte Carlo Daily Photo lately, you'll remember the cat at the Chèvre d'or in Eze village doing the same thing. (click on the link)

My computer guru and good friend, Anthony, had come over from Cannes to move files and folders from my PC to the new iMac - and this lunch was a sort of thankyou - he loves the Beausejour - and so do I.

You can see, in the small pic, how the plates looked before we demolished the food. Anthony ate the duck. Mine is the fish - a dorade. No comments about red wine not going with fish. It went just fine...

Autumn - the Flowerpot

Words on a flower pot outside the Beausejour Restaurant in Gorbio. Hard to read all the words but I peered around the sides of the pot and so far as I can see it says:

'Ask and I will give you what your heart desires.' Perhaps a more accurate translation would be - 'Your wish is my command.'

Perhaps a French reader will confirm or otherwise?

Regardless -isn't it heartwarming.

Autumn - A Room with a View

A shot of Gorbio village, with the sea beyond, taken from a friend's house.

Autumn - the Creeper

This is about as autumnal as we get in the south of France. This creeper, now changing colour, covers a window and roof of a village house in Gorbio.

After reading all the comments on whether this is a Virginia creeper, a Boston ivy or a vigne vierge - for which thankyou - it seems that vigne vierge is Parthenocissus vitacea, Boston (or Japanese) ivy is Parthenocissus tricuspidata and Virginia creeper is Parthenocissus quinqifolia. All are members of the Ampelopsis family and so all are related.

Having read the comments, I think the red one would be known as vigne vierge in France and I'd call it Virginia creeper. Probably the green one is Boston ivy. But now I'm getting confused again - time to post today's photograph...

Autumn - the Butcher's Van

...so it must be Thursday evening in the village of Gorbio. The butcher arrives in the village every Thursday at 6 p.m. and carefully backs his large van into the square. He leaves at 7 p.m.

A once-a-week opportunity for villagers to buy their meat and of course to chat.

La Fête de la Branda - the Hikers

Lunch sitting under the elm tree that was planted in 1713.

Randonée - hiking, rambling, walking - is very popular around Gorbio with some great hikes through the mountains and into other villages. It's quite usual to see a group walking down the hill to take lunch in the bar, or to sit here having a picnic in the square.

Fête de la Branda - the Baker

Real bread and a wonderful baker - he looks more like a college professor than a baker, doesn't he? His gentle smile never left his face.

Fête de la Branda - the Musician's Lunch

Lunch break. A musician, a baguette sandwich - and an impressive moustache.

Fête de la Branda - Socca 2

Socca is a type of crepe made from a batter of chickpea flour, olive oil, water, salt and pepper. When it's cooked (this oven is wood-fired) the socca is cut into pieces with a pizza wheel and then wrapped in paper - or placed on a paper plate. As you can see in the last photo, there was a long queue in the village to buy this traditional dish. It's eaten with the fingers.

Some socca ovens are bigger than this one and take a one-metre diameter cast iron pan - then the cooked socca obviously feeds quite a few people.

From Provence Beyond: 'Socca and Cade are Provençal pancakes that go back at least to 1860. Cade de Toulon, probably the most ancient, was made from corn flour and the Socca de Nice that evolved from it is made from chick-pea flour. The Marseilles version is today made with a mixture of flours, using only a small amount of chick-pea flour; in Marseilles this was called "tourta tota cada", meaning "tourte toute chaude", or nice hot tarts. It was mentioned in 1879 by Frédéric Mistral as "gâteau de farine de maïs qu'on vend par tranches à Marseille" (or in the vulgar tongue "corn-flour cake sold by the slice in Marseilles").

In that ancient time, there were cade/socca sellers at the marchés and at work sites where they provided the favorite morning meal of the workers. The cade/socca sellers used special wagons with built-in charcoal ovens to keep their wares hot while they announced them with the appropriate cries of "cada, cada, cada" or "socca, socca, socca caouda". Some of the ambulatory socca/cade sellers (or their descendents) are still to be found in the markets at Nice, Toulon and la Seyne-sur-Mer, where the slices are served in paper cones.'

And in Gorbio...

Fête de la Branda - Socca

A speciality of south-eastern France, especially around Nice. It's 10.30h at the Fête de la Branda and the socca oven is already in operation. Later, at lunchtime, there will be a long queue of hungry visitors.

Socca is a sort of crepe made with chickpea flour and olive oil and it's delicious. Come back tomorrow and we'll see exactly how it's made.

Fête de la Branda - the Woodturner

Concentration and skill - this woodturner is giving a demonstration of his art. Alongside you see some of the beautiful things he has for sale - probably all made of olive wood.

Work is much more fun than fun - Noel Coward

Fête de la Branda - the Kitten

Everyone comes to the Fete. Here's one much-loved kitten on a lead. Youmi is 5 months old and was visiting from La Turbie, the hill village above Monaco.

La Fête de la Branda - Charcuterie

Cholesterol!

Charcuterie - mostly made from pork although the products in the smaller photograph are made from sanglier (wild boar). The hunters are out right now - every day I hear gunshots down the valley.

La Fête de la Branda - the Blue Dress

For sale in the village - a child's blue dress. In the smaller photograph, perhaps an interested buyer?

La Fête de la Branda - Vide Grenier

Vide grenier - literally 'empty the attic.' Perhaps we'd call it a bric-a-brac sale or a garage sale.

You might recognise this square - the church is to the left and recently I posted a photograph of a brass hand (door knob) and the next day the door and facade. It's the same door you see on the left. Click on the link to see how different it looks without the children's clothes and toys.

La Fête de la Branda - Applause

Applause for the musicians.

La Fête de la Branda - the Gourd

Perhaps the strangest instrument. This lady is playing what I presume is a gourd. At the beginning of the day this group - Le Ravanet Club - walked all through the village, stopping at various places and playing to the sellers of cheeses, breads, olives etc - they played to the people running the bric-a-brac stands, they entered the village gift shop and played. All great fun.