Scooby, the Guide Dog I'm Sponsoring!

Meet the gorgeous Scooby, a potential guide dog for the blind that I am sponsoring.  I was in Sainsbury's the other day and there were people there from Guide Dogs for the Blind trying to get people to sign up to sponsor puppies for their training - which lasts two years and costs £28,000 per dog.  It was something I had been thinking about doing for a while so I decided to sign up. There were two dogs to choose from, the other was a gorgeous golden "Andrex" puppy, but I chose Scooby because I thought not as many people would go for him even though he's such a handsome boy - it's that black dog syndrome  they are the ones least adopted in kennels too. I think he's fabulous with his luxurious, shiny, curly coat!

Sponsoring costs only a few pounds a month and you are regularly sent information - Pupdates - about your dog's progress and photos right until he/she graduates at around two years old and is matched with someone.  This is my first photo of Scooby he's a golden retriever/labrador mix and he's around six week old.  Once you have signed up they send you a little album to keep your photos in, along with a certificate, and a small calendar. I think it is lovely how you are able to keep up with your dog's progress in such a close way, and online there is even more, including videos of the dogs.

I think guide dogs are absolutely amazing, and I'm proud to be able to help in the training of Scooby in a small way. He has loads to learn, and I'll eagerly watch his progress - I'm sure he'll do well! I'll keep you updated.

You can read more about sponsoring a puppy here

The Year Ahead

Nearly the end of February, after that this month is over it's all downhill into Spring!  When 2012 turned into 2013 I had NO trips on the horizon at all, I hate that.  I have a big financial outlay for my home this year and I was going to be "sensible" and only go away to celebrate a special birthday in Dublin in October. Well, my birthday is actually in September, but this year I'm like the Queen, having a real and an official birthday lol!  I will be celebrating it with a stay in the penthouse at The Clarence Hotel with friends and family, what better way to enter a new decade!

Then saw Bruce Springsteen was touring again and I regretted not seeing him live last year, so I just had to go to see him in 2013. So I have a short break in Glasgow in June for that!

My friend Dianne and I have always wanted to go to Iceland for New Year, and seeing it was so far off I said I would do it.  But when I looked into airfares they were very expensive over the New Year.  So we changed our plans and are now having a two centred trip, New Year in Dublin (which is always wonderful!) and then on to Iceland for Þrettándinn, 12th night (or more accurately 13th night in Iceland) on 6th January, a time when they have bonfires, fireworks and parades.  Maybe catch the northern lights again and I want to fulfil  my ambition to go dog-sledding then too.  

I have two visits from friends to look forward to as well. My school friend Marian who lives in the south of the country is coming for a few days next month. It's always good to see her, we just pick up where we left off last time we got together!  Then in May my good friend Debbi is coming up.  It's ages since she's visited here, because we saw each other so regularly on our trips away together there was no need. But this year our only trip together will be my birthday one so we couldn't go that long and not meet up!

So, this year is now nicely filled up with a combination of trips away and visits from friends, good to have all that to look forwards to! And maybe we will actually get a summer this year and I can relax in the sun in the garden eh?! Got to be optimistic......

Christmas Eve Busk Video

I'm a bit late putting this up, but I think you U2 peeps will enjoy this. It's a professional behind the scenes video of the 2012 Christmas Eve Busk on Grafton St, Dublin. It shows Bono rehearsing with the others earlier in the day and then singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) on at the busk. It also features a very chatty Sinead O' Connor singing Nothing Compares 2 U, plus songs from Liam O'Maonlai, Lisa Hannigan and Glen Hansard. It also has clips of Dublin and the ordinary people which just captures the feel of it all.

At the end Glen and some of the others are in Neary's having a pint and counting the money they got from the busk for the Simon Community. Shame Bono couldn't have joined them, I'm sure he would have loved to, but he was whisked off in a police car. Fame separates you. The video is about 15 minutes long and a lovely snapshot of the event.

First Signs of Spring

Well it may not be the most amazing of floral displays  but it lifted my heart to see these two winter pansies in bloom in my garden today. I always love to see the first signs of Spring. My snowdrops will be open soon and the daffodils are well on their way. Crows are pairing up in the tall trees, buds are getting fat and, of course, the days are getting longer. I'm not a winter person and I find January and February tedious months to say the least!  We've a little way to go, but Spring is starting to creep in. Every year it thrills me to see nature wake up like this.

It always amuses me, but even our shops seem to wake up, suddenly brighter coloured clothes appear on the rails, I wish we had them year round, why can't we? Holiday ads are on the TV and Easter eggs sitting there to tempt. I'm thinking ahead to my travels, though unfortunately I won't be doing as much as I would like this year as I've a big household outlay to fund. But I do have a trip to Ireland later in the year to celebrate a "special" birthday I have this year!

Franki

I had one of my insomniac nights last night and was on Facebook and saw a post from Xtreme Rescue Inc about a dog called Frankie, who was skin and bone, in a shelter, no one wanted to adopt her and she was due to be put to sleep today. It broke my heart to see her so skinny and curled up in that bare cage, how cruel people can be, it takes a long time for a dog to get to that state. Here's the post and picture that I found so compelling:

This is FRANKI (A1500649). She is at Miami Dade Animal Services. Tomorrow she gets euthanized because no one has come for her and no one has stepped up to rescue her. She is emaciated... skin and bones. She has given up on life.. would not even look at me... she knows tomorrow is her last day. WE CANT SAVE HER BECAUSE WE ARE FULL. We have NO foster offers, or adopters!! I will think of Franki all night.... maybe a miracle will come our way....

Well due to this post on Facebook, numerous people responded, with offers of help with fostering and transport and money to help Franki. Someone fostered a dog from Xtreme Rescue Inc so there would be a place for Franki. A stay was put on her euthanisation and she was picked up by the Rescue. 

A miracle did happen for poor Franki, and she is now safe and not going to be put to sleep. Let's hope that more miracles will happen for her and that she can be nursed back to health and find a loving home and realise that humans can be kind and caring towards dogs.  It just shows the power Facebook can have for mobilising people for good, and how it spurs action by uniting  communities. It is also great that there are organisations like Xtreme Rescue Inc willing to stand up for these unfortunate animals. And here's happy photo of Franki leaving the shelter!

Bono and Edge at Lincoln Premiere in Dublin

Lots of bits of U2 news around. Bono has had a spider named after him (LOL!) A scientist has discovered a new few species of trapdoor spiders in the US desert near where the Joshua Trees grow and has named one A.Bonoi after the B-man! What next.

Bono is also taking part in a new documentary about Muscle Shoals, a famous US recording studio of that, showing my ignorance, I have never heard of!

Today Bono and Ali and Edge and Morleigh attended the European premiere of Lincoln in Dublin. Photos can be seen here.

New U2 Album in September?

Photo from RTE 2FM Website

Larry Mullen has taped an interview with old pal Dave Fanning which will be broadcast in full on Saturday 12th January on RTE 2FM 10am-12. Meanwhile a lot of the details have been leaked and they point to a possible release date of September for the next album. Here's an extract that was on the RTE website:

"I'd say we will be finished by the summer - and hopefully we will have something released by September.

"Hopefully what we will be able to do is release September this year and shortly afterwards, release again. That's what we want to do.

"We are working with [producer] Brian Barton at the moment of Dangermouse, no will.i.am is not there, just Mister Mouse!

"We have been working for the last couple of years mostly in Ireland which has been great, we have been here for a long period of time. There's lots of music which is great."

Us U2 fans know not to get too excited by stuff like this, but it must be said that Larry tends to be the most reliable when it comes to such info, so maybe The Edge is on fire ..... After the long silence it would be wonderful to have some new music from them. Watch this space!

New Bowie Music!

In his long career David Bowie has never been afraid to be experimental and daring. I've liked Bowie since the Ziggy days and loved the various characters he created along with the music. Always reluctant to live his life in the limelight, after nothing new from him for ten years, I, like many others, thought that he had just quietly retired. Then suddenly, with no fanfare at all, on his 66th birthday, he released the single Where Are We Now, via the Internet. It's a poignant, odd and very moving song, which reminiscences  about his time decades ago spent in that most enigmatic of places, Berlin. It is accompanied by a wonderful, slightly surreal black and white video that compliments the song perfectly. Great stuff, good to have Bowie back!

Bah Humbug Christmas, 2013 and All That

Well the mad Christmas season is over and I'm glad, I'm a bit "bah humbug" at Christmas. I was maybe a bit more bah humbug this year than usual as I had two event over the festive season. One was that my dog Max went a bit barmy, got really crotchety and bit me! I've never been bitten by any dog I've had and it was a shock. He was generally extremely bad tempered for no apparent reason. Now, my Max has always been a bit of a grump but this was extreme and I knew there must be a physical reason for his behaviour.  So after the holidays I took him to the vet and she diagnosed arthritis in his thoracic vertebrae. I had been worried that maybe he had the dreaded dachshund curse, slipped/herniated discs due tot heir long spine, so I was actually relieved it was something less serious. She gave him a pain-killing jab on the spot and gave me some to give him each day. And I'm pleased to say he is much better, just a bit grumpy occasionally, but not aggressive, poor fellow, he must have been in a lot of pain.

My other Xmas event was sewage coming up through a grate in my garden! Luckily it was only slowly oozing out, but still, not very pleasant! I rang United Utilities and they said what I already knew, if it was a pipe from the apartment it was my responsibility to sort, if it was a main sewer it was theirs, they said they would send someone out to check it out.  After phoning I went to a friend's for a meal and three hours later when I got home all the sewage was gone! Luckily the blockage must have been in the main pipe and they sorted it in record time, thanks United Utilities!

So now it's 2013. I always get quite sentimental at New Year, thinking of the times past and those to come.  It loved ones not with you anymore, and now, especially as I get older, how fast time is passing by.  This year will be a BIG birthday for me and I'm celebrating it in Dublin with a week's stay in Dublin with a small party one night in the gorgeous penthouse of The Clarence Hotel, so looking forward to that!

Another plan for 2013 is to spend New Year in Iceland with my good friend Dianne and her daughter Danielle. It all depends on funds on my part, but I hope to be able to do it, New Year in Iceland seems amazing and I've always wanted to visit that stunning country in mid-winter - very good chance of seeing northern lights too! Besides those two trip I haven't anything else planned but I'm sure things will come about as the year progresses.

But really, what matters is to be happy and healthy, that's my main wish.  Something I've learned through life experiences is to take every opportunity that presents itself, life passes so quickly and once you get into middle age you really don't know what's around the corner, so make the most of every day and, if possible grab every experience life throws at you.  So I hope 2013 will be good for you, and thank you for reading my musings on this blog :)

Guess Who's Singing on Grafton Street?!

Yes, in what has become a tradition, yer man Bono has come to Grafton Street to busk with some mates Which included Glen Hansard, Damien Rice and Sinead O'Connor). Someone has got a video on YouTube up really quickly (ahh the joys of modern technology!) in which they sing Desire. Oh to be in Dublin now.... I'll add more/info videos if they emerge, enjoy! Happy Christmas!

Just added video of Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas below, seems like great fun!

Starling Show

I met up with my friends Dawn and Elfriede in nearby Annan today, a chance to catch up on news, have lunch and exchange Christmas gifts.  On my way home I stopped at the Gretna Gateway Outlet for a quick look, found myself an excellent bargain price top in Marks and Spencer's, love a bargain!  While I was at the Outlet something happened that had everyone looking up in wonder. Thousands and thousands of starlings were performing their amazing aerial dance prior to roosting. Their swoops, sinuous turns and waves were both mesmerising. From all directions smaller groups of birds joined the mass of birds and instantly became part of the whole. How these birds synchronise this en mass dance (which has the strange name of murmuration) who knows, nature is amazing, but it is stunning to watch.  I took this photo, which doesn't really do justice to the wonder of the sight.

You can read more about murmuration here. And apparently Gretna is one of the best places to witness this spectacle, you learn something every day! As I walked back to my car I could hear the racket of roosting starlings from trees near the shopping centre as they were settling for the night. When I got to my car I had to smile, as it had a large amount of bird droppings on it, ahh well, it's supposed to be good luck lol!  

Restaurant Review - Holme Bistro, Carlisle

Address:  Denton Street, Carlisle, Cumbria

Cuisine:  European

Ambience:  Modern, relaxed, good spacing between tables giving just the right amount of privacy

Food/Service:  We plumped for the Christmas menu, three courses plus coffee and mince pies for £19.95.  We were given delicious homemade rye bread with olive tampenade and balsamic vinegar with olive oil to munch on while we waited for the starter. I had smoked trout pate and salad with toasted rye bread, absolutely delicious.  My cousin Glen had the mushroom, stilton and white wine soup which she said was also very good.

We had found it hard to decide on what to have for our mains so I ordered a 10 ounce flat-iron steak with Brazilian marinade, pesto and fries. Glen ordered the confit of duck with garlic mash and port reduction, and then we halved the meals.  Both were excellent, the steak and duck were very, very tender, the duck fell off the bone, and the steak was cooked medium perfectly.

My Dessert of Dark Chocolate Tart with Raspberry Compote

For dessert we both had the dark chocolate tart with raspberry compote.  Sometimes I find that a chocolate tart can be a bit heavy, but this one was just perfect and well complimented with the compote.

The service throughout was attentive but not over-powering. The house red is excellent. They have a special from Tuesday - Thursday nights and have a Steak night (again three courses for £20) on Fridays.

Another plus is that it is easy to park close by. I have no hesitation in recommending Holme Bistro for a relaxing night out with excellent food.

Northern Star Rating:  *****

RIP Patrick Moore

Sir Patrick Moore died the other day. He helped foster my love of astronomy through presenting The Sky at Night, a programme that I have watched since as far back as I can remember and still do today.  It was first aired in 1957 and Patrick presented every monthly programme except one from then until his death, making The Sky at Night the longest running programme presented by the same person in the world.

Patrick made astronomy accessible to me when I was very young, I even wanted to be an astronomer until I realised I was hopeless at maths and realised it wasn't for me! But I've never lost the wonder, the curiosity and fascination about the universe. We have amazing technology now which has shown us real space wonders so fabulous they could not be imagined, and God knows what still lies out there.

The Sky at Night, especially in the early days had very amateurish props, but that didn't matter, it all helped people to understand and was part of the charm of the programme. Patrick seemed to get more and more eccentric as the decades passed and he was very much part of the programme and it will never be the same, but I do hope it will continue.

One of the things on my bucket list is to look through a high magnitude telescope, I really must work on achieving that!

Why Poverty? Give Us the Money

As part of the Why Poverty? series being shown on various BBC channels there will be one programme called Give Us the Money, that looks at the involvement of celebrities in the fight against poverty.  It will examine the work over the last 30 years of Bono and Bob Geldof amongst others. It will include interviews with them and will be broadcast at 9pm on Sunday 25th November on BBC Four. The whole series sounds interesting and covers many aspects of poverty.  I just wish it was being shown on the mainstream BBC One rather than Four (as far as I can see only one programme in the series is being shown on BBC One). It is a very important series and should not be tucked away on Four.

More information about the Why Poverty? series can be found here. And specific programme info for Give Us the Money can be found  here.

U2 Prints

The artist Kelly Eddington has made some of her U2 originals (originally done for the @U2 website) available as prints, so now you can get copies of the pictures for a very reasonable price. I think I will be treating myself soon!


Kelly is a very, very talented artist and if you go to have a look at her U2 prints also check out her other work that is also for sale. You can find the link to her gallery here.

Nice 4 - An Eccentric Baroness, a Villa in Paradise and Farewells

11th  October

It seems to have taken me ages to get my Nice Blog done! I think it's the combination of a new job (well a job move) and decorating that has held me back. But anyway here's the last instalment of my Nice blog, hope you enjoy it.

Today we were heading east out of Nice to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. No problems finding the 81 bus and we sat back and savoured the fantastic views as the bus trundled along, it's worth paying the one Euro fare for the views alone. I made a mental note that one day, on another visit, (because I know I'll be back!) I would like to get off at Beaulieu-sur-Mer and look round there.  But today out goal was a stop called Passable (all their stops have names so it is really easy to know the right one to get off at) on St Jean Cap Ferrat. Well the area certainly wasn't passable, it was gorgeous and reminded me a somewhat of Killiney in Ireland with it's stone walls, narrow winding roads, exotic flora and grand houses. 

Deb and Me Enjoying our Champagne Lunch

The bus stop was right beside the road that leads to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and it was a five minute walk to the villa, along the route we marvelled at the views over the bay to Beaulieu and Eze and in the other direction the green peninsula of Cap Ferrat stretched out into the blue Mediterranean Sea.

The Italianate-style Villa, built by Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild between 1907 and 1912,  is a sea of pinkness and white on the outside set in fantastic gardens. But first, before looking round, we decided to go into the Tea Room as we were hungry and I'd heard the food was lovely there.  It was an almost circular room with huge windows that looked out over the bay of Villefranche or the patio shaded by orange trees. The walls were a peachy colour and there was ornate stucco and woodwork, the floor had beautiful mosaic on it and the chairs were golden! Apparently this was where Beatrice had her dining room.

The Patio

We both opted for the Meissen menu - warm tart and salad, a dessert and tea or coffee. I noticed a group of four women sitting by a window enjoying a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne. We couldn't afford a whole bottle but opted for a glass each, it felt very decadent drinking champagne at lunchtime lol!

After that we took the audio tour around the house. I enjoyed the tour as you could get really close to everything and go at your own pace. Beatrice was part of the megarich Rothschild family and she married a rich banker called Maurice Ephrussi. The marriage did not go well as Ephrussi was a gambler and amassed huge debts. After 21 years of marriage they parted, there were no children. It was after this that Beatrice started building the Villa which became her winter home from 1912. In 1933 a year before she died she bequeathed the Villa and all her collections to the Academie des Beaux-Arts.

The tour started in the patio, which wasn't a patio as we understand it, it was a large, square colonnaded area with a gallery running round the first floor level. The ceiling of the column's arches were painted with designs inspired by a Venetian palazzo.  Beatrice often held grand concerts in this area.

Beatrice's Bedroom

Off the patio were the grand and small salons with priceless pieces of furniture, art and tapestry. It is light and airy and very feminine. There are gaming tables too, as Beatrice enjoyed gambling.

Also on the ground floor are Beatrice's apartments. I found her bedroom touching as it felt quite personal with family photos on the table and one of her dresses lying over a chair - she must have been a small woman! There was a large Venetian bed with silk bed linen facing a huge rounded opposite window that looked out over the Bay of Villefranche, what a view to see from your bed!

Another View of the Bedroom Showing the Tiny Chairs

Beatrice was a modern woman and she a fully functional bathroom, (an intriguing round shaped room with a dome) telephone, a lift and coal fired boilers for heating.

In the bedroom amongst the chairs there are two very small chairs, miniature versions of the full-sized ones. These were for Beatrice's pet dogs and mongoose. She seemed to be a bit eccentric and always had lots of animals around her. Once she had a sumptuous wedding for two of her favourite dogs with the animals dressed as bride and groom and guests and their dogs had to also come suitably attired! Seems pampering and treating pets as humans is not a new phenomenon! True to her memory, animals still lived in the Villa, there were large cages with budgerigars in the patio area.

Some of her Chinese collection of Mandarin robes and tiny silk shoes for bound feet were on show in this area, how those poor Chinese women must have suffered to be able to fit into those minute high fashion shoes, I should have put my hand into the photo so it was clear just how small the shoes were!

The rest of the rooms were primarily filled with her extensive collections from all around the world. Rooms full of Meissen and Sevres porcelain, Louis XVI furniture, Chinese articles, works by Fragonard, priceless tapestries to name just a few of the collections. There was a lot to see and but I still  wondered what was in all those rooms not open to the public that we passed by on the tour.

The View of the Formal Garden to the Villa

The house is only part of the delight of the Villa. The gardens are massive and gorgeous, the south aspect of the house looks down a long manicured garden with fountains. At the end of which there is a little hill with a small building at the top which gives a sensational view of the house and gardens. The fountains performed a show every twenty minutes, dancing, spraying and looping to Handel's Water Music. Around the edges of the formal garden were various themed gardens, each very different and it was quite an adventure following the little paths and steps between them. I liked the lovely shady Spanish Garden and also the Zen feel of the Oriental Garden, but they were all lovely in their own ways. And as you walked along you were treated to stunning views of either the Bay of Villefranche or Bay of Fourmis at Beaulieu, both backed by craggy mountains and cliffs. Stunning.

We were there for ages, but it was informative and fascinating, and also not too busy which meant you could wander parts of the garden without others being around which I liked.  If you would like to read more about the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild visit its website here

We got the bus home and I think the driver must have been finishing his shift as he careered around the tight bends and stopped for the minimum times to pick up or drop off! I spent most of the trip hanging on for dear life lol!

That night was the last Debbi and I would have together in Nice. Her airline (we travelled separately) had cancelled Saturday's flight and she had to go home either the Friday or Sunday, she reluctantly went for the Friday so lost a day of her holiday. We'd done well with our money (Nice is not at all as expensive as they say) and decided to treat ourselves to a meal at the swanky Les Pecheurs close to our apartment. But we found it was fully booked, we'll know for next time! We decided to check out places on the way to our little favourite, Le Barbecue in the Old Town, and if we found nothing we fancied we'd stop and eat there. As it was we did end up there once more and had a delicious, good value meal and the best wine we'd had in Nice (and I'm sorry French people, it was Portuguese!)

12th October

Up early to see Debbi off, it felt really strange to see her walking away and I felt a bit "lost" for a while. But I was determined to make the most of my last full day and first went out to the local patisserie for a baguette, croissant and raspberry cake.  Whilst having breakfast ship's horns, hooters, whistles etc started going off in the Port, no idea why, it went on for about two minutes.  I later realised that it was probably to welcome a cruise ship that I later saw moored there.

After breakfast I walked up to Place Garibaldi, bought a Chantilly Meringue in Serain Cappa for later and then walked into the Old Town. I pottered around the shops, bought a few last things. I then walked through to the Promenade des Anglais by the sea. It was a lovely day and a breeze from the sea made it not too hot for me.  I walked round Castel Hill, past the beautiful War Memorial cut into the rock of the hill and on to the Port. It all looked so lovely glimmering in the sunlight.

Coco Beach

I went home and had lunch before setting out again this time in the other direction towards Coco Beach. I passed by the cruise ship, big, but nothing like the size of the juggernauts we'd seen in the Bay of Villefranche. I was soon at Coco Beach and walked down the steps and found my self a nice bit of rock and sat and read my book on Iceland, a strange combination but it worked for me lol. Funny, two of my favourite places are Iceland and Nice and they are both almost exactly the same distance from my home, but in opposite directions. It was very relaxing there looking out over the sea. There were a few people swimming, one of two sunbathing and a couple like me relaxing and reading, sometimes simple pleasures are the best!

And that was about it for my holiday too. I had the trip from hell home next day, but I won't bore you with all those details here! When we were in Nice three years ago we saw a U2 360 gig so that's one day used up for that and then we were in bed much of the next day as we stayed up so late, so that's two days not devoted to Nice. This time I felt I really got to know the place much better and was able to really enjoy and savour it's many delights. I know I'll be back!

One of the Many Delights of Nice

Nice 3 - Finding the Bus to Cannes and All That

10th October

Another lovely sunny day and today and we've got Cannes booked in for the day!  We had our route by bus all planned, get the 100 from the Port to Station S C Bermond where the 200 bus to Cannes leaves from, simple, haha!  First the two 100 buses that arrived at the Porrt stop let people off but not us on, we realised it was a drop off stop, not a pick up. We didn't know exactly where the Station J C Bermond bus stop was but I had looked on a map the previous evening and had a idea.  There was lots of building work in the area but eventually we found the bus stop, but the 200 was not listed as leaving from there. We walked on a little way and found a second Station J C Bermond bus stop! No 200 to Cannes listed there.  We were now getting frazzled, it was hot and we were wondering if we'd ever find the bus to Cannes! 

We walked on and then Debbi shouted, "There's 200 bus!" And sure enough it was, and it turned a corner and disappeared from our view behind building works.  We rush on to the corner and saw a third bus stop called, yes, Station J C Belmond, God know how many there were! And parked there was the 200 to Cannes. With some relief we paid our 1 Euro each and flopped into our seats, it had been one and a half hours since we'd left our apartment!

The trip to Cannes took ninety minutes, and it wasn't as scenic as I thought it might be. I noticed the signs to the Renoir Museum in Cagnes sur Mer and wished there was time to go there, maybe another day. The hill of the old town of Antibes looked lovely as we passed. I'm sure that the coastal areas on this route are lovely, but the bus route is pretty boring compared to the run east of Nice.

La Croisette, Cannes

We were dropped off just opposite the film theatres and close to the casino. We'd made sandwiches and seeing we'd been travelling for three hours now we were ravenous so we found a seat and ate them. We soon noticed opposite us a very drunk man trying to have a pee! What a delightful first sight of Cannes! It took him at least 15 minutes to have the pee and sort himself out, and then he flopped onto a bench. Shortly afterwards a girl came over to him and gave him cans of beer, just what he needed. There were a few down and outs around which surprised me so close to the glitzy places.

We crossed the main road to where there was one of the theatres, there was some event going on as there were lots of red carpets and self-important looking people with swinging laminates round their necks.  We went past the casino and arrived at one end of Promenade de la Croisette. It is the equivalent to the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, a sweeping, horseshoe bay with an endless beach flanked by rows of palm trees. Many of the hotels along La Croisette had very beautiful stucco work on them and looked very expensive.  We walked along for a while enjoying the warmth. We then noticed the fancy designer shops on the other side of the road and decided to window shop.  I'm not into designer stuff but was curious. We peeked into the windows of the Gucci, Fendi, Prada, Bvlgari shops, cringed at the horrendously hideous prices, they all had security guards just inside the doors, no wonder with prices like that!

We then took a road away from that area and wandered there for a while but there wasn't much to see. We saw an ice cream shop with dozens of beautifully displayed choices of flavour. We both tried the violette ice cream and it was delicious, very creamy with just a subtle Parma Violet flavour.

We went back to the main road, which was a dual carriageway, on the shoreline and noticed a man in a mobility scooter driving right up the middle of the road! Brave or foolhardy?

We passed a few men playing games of boules. It looked enjoyable and relaxing with men of all ages playing. 

We were both somewhat disappointed in Cannes, we both expected more from it. Maybe we should have explored further but we didn't have the inclination to do so. We decided to go home to lovely Nice. We caught the rush hour and it took over two hours to get back to Nice on the the bus! 

Welcome to my Yacht!

That night we ate at Le Lunel on the Port. We'd eaten there when we were in Nice three years ago and it was very good. I noticed recent reviews were not so good but we decided to give it a go and we weren't disappointed. I had goat's cheese salad to start and it was huge, more like a main! Then it was chicken forestiere for the main, equally delicious. I was very full after that but couldn't resist the chocolate fondant with ice cream which was perfect, the chocolate oozed out when I took a spoonful, heaven. And it was all washed down with a delicious French red wine. We noticed that most places only sold French wine whereas in the UK you can get wine from all over the world. I suppose they are supporting their own wine producers. Debbi was equally satisfied with her meal too so I'm glad we went back there. Once again it was warm enough to eat outside in comfort.

On our way home we passed by the fancy yachts in the Port, we would have loved to have just looked round inside one but had to make do with having a peep from the quay. It was a relaxing end to what had been a busy, and at times frustrating, day. For me Nice beats Cannes hands down!

Nice 2 - Eze, Hot Stone Therapy and a Lazy, Hazy Day

8th October

Disaster! The patisserie was closed today (as are quite a few places in Nice on Mondays). We made do with toast and then went to the nearby Ile de Beauté at the head of the Port to catch our bus to Eze-sur-Mer. Apparently Ile de Beauté is a nickname for Corsica, and there is a ferry that leaves from Nice Port for that island.  The 100 bus takes you along the stunning coastline east of Nice as far as Menton beside the border with Italy. The journey only costs 1 Euro no matter where you get off.  The bus sweeps up Mount Boron giving you beautiful views of Nice and the Mediterranean, glistening sky blue on warm and sunny day.  The bus then glides down to Villefranch-sur-Mer, which has one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean and is a regular port of call for the huge cruise ships, indeed there was one in the bay today. 

We travelled on past the land-locked end of Cap Ferrat into Beaulieu-sur Mer which positively oozes of money with it's marina, casino and fancy hotels.  The mountains and cliffs rise high behind the small town and continue round the bay.  There is a short tunnel through the cliffs and shortly after that we arrived in Eze-sur-Mer set in the stunning location backed by huge cliffs and mountains.

Me on the Beach at Eze-sur-Mer

We were hungry so we first went to a small roadside cafe and went very local and had a Nicoise salad which was delicious. We then crossed the road went under the railway, and down a narrow stepped alley onto the beach. It is a pebble beach but the location is wonderful, there were huge beds of dry seaweed that were soft and bouncy to walk on.  The beach was surprisingly quiet, we found a lovely spot and settled for the afternoon.  Debbi was brave and went into the water, I did a little paddle and was surprised at how cold the water was on this warm and sunny day. The stones on the beach were hot and I lay down and Debbi put some of them on my back, a bit of stone therapy. As the heat spread down into my muscles I could feel the relaxation spreading through them (I've now booked a stone therapy session at my salon!)

After a lovely day that cost us the grand total of two Euros for our bus fare (the trip alone was worth the money) we headed home and had a rest and shower before we went out for our meal.  We ended up at La Barque Bleue at the Port, less than five minutes from our apartment. Again it was very mild and we sat outside. I had a goats cheese tart to start, followed by spaghetti carbonara all of which was very good.

9th October

Debbi Tucking into her Socca

We'd decided to have a lazy, moochy day today to really soak in the atmosphere of Nice. We had a lie-in and then breakfast of fresh palmier and baguette from our patisserie. We wandered up past the Port to Place Garibaldi and went to the Rue Pairoliere in the Old Town to Chez Rene Socca which is one of the most famous places to buy socca a Nicoise dish. Socca is basically a thin chickpea pancake made on a huge griddle about two feet in diameter and then kind of hacked up into pieces that you buy a plate of.  The restaurant was set on two sides of the small street with wooden tables. You went to where the socca was being made to buy it and ordered drinks from the waiters at the table. The socca was only 2.80 Euros for a large portion and it was quite nice, though I enjoyed it more when we got some lemon to squeeze onto it. 

After our lunch we went on further into the maze that is the Old Town, just wandering in and out of shops, we both bought some heavenly smelling violette eau de cologne, bags and garlic graters. We came across the famous Fenocchio ice cream shop and just had to try it! It certainly lived up to it's reputation, I had vanilla and it was one of the best I've had.  

More Cake!

We headed back to Place Garibaldi and found a seat at le Sully, one of the many bar restaurants in the square. We ordered half a litre of red wine. Unfortunately it wasn't good wine, but we forced it down before moving across the square to Le Paradis du Fruit and more  -this time good - wine. It was lovely just relaxing watching the Nice life pass by.  

After consuming a litre of the wine we wandered across to Serain Cappa for a cake and we both had delicious chocolatey ones that went down very well. We then wandered back to the Port with quite a spring to our step lol!

We ate in that night, and had some French lessons care of our Ipod Touch app. We learned a lot of, let's say, unusual French words that I don't think we'll be using much lol!

Our lazy, moochy day had gone very well, we are very good at doing nothing lol, we decided that in the future we will always set aside a day of our holiday for chilling like this!