Clocher de la Tour Rusca

This is the Clocher de la Tour Rusca from the Quai des Etats-Unis. The Clocher is the bell tower of an old Benedictine convent and is a landmark in the old town..

The Flower Market: The Mimosa

Last Autumn at Parc Phoenix I looked around an exhibition called The Invaders featuring the indigenous plant and animal wildlife that's been put at risk by the invasion of vigorous strains from elsewhere. The mimosa was one of them. Because it's a particularly resistant tree it takes hold in the dry conditions here and thrives thus marginalising more fragile plants. To the west of Cannes in the Tanneron there are forests of Mimosa gloriously yellow in the late Winter sunshine complete with notices warning not to pick; they're reserved for florists.

The Flower Market: Designer Salt

Doctors and health advisers are constantly exhorting us to cut down our fat and cut out sugar and salt so what's a girl to think when faced with this array of salts from the four corners of the globe containing, well, everything from cranberries to oregano to lavender. Being completely devoid of any self control I cracked and bought one tube of the Himalayan which will look very pretty on my table..

Skywatch: Don't Walk!

The Cours Saleya has three lovely archways that open onto a sublime view of the promenade, the palm trees and the Mediterranean and in all of them the eye is distracted by all the paraphenalia of urban life: the concrete bollards, the traffic lights, the information panel. I understand why these things have to be there I just don't understand why they have to be so ugly....
(The Victorians would have done it better)

Visit the world's skies over at the Sky Watch site..

The Flower Market: The Cheese

Another of the produce stalls; the goat's cheese seller. As it was impossible to fade into the crowd (there wasn't one) I asked the seller if I could take a photo so she nodded yes...and posed. I didn't have a diplomatic way of explaining that she wasn't actually needed so I took her photo then the one I really wanted..the cheese. I bought the ones on the bottom right and they were delicious.

At the weekend dear Maria from Let The Good Times Roll gave me a very pretty award which I'm totally unable to copy here. I've had copying issues since I changed my computer..Thank you, Maria.

The Flower Market : The Potatoes

The title looks strange, doesn't it? But the flower part only accounts for half the market; at the western end there are fruit and vegetable stalls, candied fruit, the socca seller. In short, there's something for everyone.
Now this is an example of a well stocked stall. I counted 11 different varieties of potato and I have to wonder if maybe he isn't too specialised but then I don't buy many potatoes...I did buy some garlic though.

The Flower Market 2

Because the market was still empty I noticed details that would have escaped me in the hurly burly of the crowd. Take this window, for instance. I loved it; the colour of the shutters against the colour of the buiding, the way the awning which was nothing to do with the house, by the way, matches the house colour, the geraniums and just look at the painted inner shutters which I assume replace curtains. I would so love to take a peek inside...

The Flower Market

I'm usually an early riser but for no obvious reason I was wide awake even earlier on Saturday so we had a quick breakfast and headed into the flower market to watch the sunrise and see the marketeers setting out their stalls. Well, we were early but many of the stalls were already up and running and even doing business. The surprise to me was that all the customers about at that hour were either old people or photographers. You'd have laughed if you'd seen how many people were out there taking photos presumably drawn by the golden hour so accurately described by Babooshka in Friday's post. (I've just tried to copy and paste the link to that particular post and was unable to...any answers, anybody?) Everything seems much more mellow at this time.
And, of course, there was the bonus of second breakfast in the flower market..

One Sunny Saturday: Glenn Miller

My sister is staying with me this week and we've been out and about with our cameras. It's nice pretending I'm on holiday too as I slow down and appreciate what's going on around me.

So on Saturday we started with a cool drink in the flower market and were entertained by a group playing Pennsylvania 6500, this being the trumpet player..and thinking they were just really good buskers and prepared to leave a coin or two I was amazed to find that they were employed by Nice city council and it was all for free...

Fed Up

This little bridesmaid was floating round the flower market bored with waiting for the bridal party to finish their cigarettes before proceeding to the Mairie to get married. Doesn't she look fed up?

I'm in the UK this week, taking a break and visiting family. Will be back Sunday night...