Lazy Saturday in Eze

From now on I am going to call mandarins ‘Clementines’, isn’t that a great name!.  They are in season at the moment and are super (as the French would say with their charming accent).  Another cute thing about them is they often have leaves on the stalk – just makes you want to take a photo. 

Woke up to a dark sky this morning.  It has turned out to be a wet, windy and cold day by French Riviera standards but we are very cosy here in our abode looking out over the water watching the weather coming in across the sea.

Earlier today we caught the bus into Beaulieu to have a look around.  We weren’t there very long, weather put us off.  We can save it for another fine sunny day.

I spent the afternoon making pasta tomato sauce for our dinner tonight from vine ripened romas and fennel bought at the Ventimiglia market yesterday.  The train trip from Eze to Ventimiglia was a half hour trip.  The trip over we were jammed in like sardines, ironic considering we were headed for Italy the home of sardines.  The trip back was spacious and we even got seats.  The train stops at Monaco (two stops up the road) – we might go back another day and have coffee in the main square that is about the only thing that interests us in Monaco. 

While waiting on the train platform at Eze a lady started chatting to me in French, I replied with my normal response ‘Pardon, no French’ and she replies with ‘What would you like to talk in’.  I said English is good for me.  We ended up standing, jammed next to her more like it on the train and chatted the half hour to Italy.  She was in her late sixties (at a guess), German with dyed red hair.  She was very funny.  During her working life she had worked for Ansett Airlines and spent time in Australia and New Guinea.  She moved here to work in a travel agency before she retired.  She says it is a relaxed lifestyle and easy to get use to living with the sun year round although she does get bored so goes over to Ventimiglia every few weeks to pretend she is travelling and to speak Italian for a few hours.  She has travelled widely as you can imagine and spent 5 weeks last year on a train trip around Canada (on her own).  She said we were friendly just like Canadians, which she said is not the norm in France – the friendliness.  We must be lucky because all the people we have dealt with have been friendly and helpful.  We have spoken more English in the past few days with our new Chinese friend and now our new German friend than we have in weeks. 

After a wet day today the forecast for the week is sunny with temperatures of 13C.  Super!

Talk towards the end of the week, you never know we may have made more new friends.

PS. Jim has found a new website 'Filmon.com' so he can watch TV from all over the world including the ABC from Australia and the BBC from the UK which shows 'Home & Away' - perfect.  He is currently match ready for the rugby match Wales Vs Australia on BBC2 - talk about the 'Accidential Tourist'.  

Have you bought your Poinsettia for Christmas?

Cyclamens, one of my favs at Ventimiglia markets

Morning coffee at the markets