The Midget outside the Cafe de Paris

This cute car is a rally car, parked opposite the Cafe de Paris. It's an MG midget I believe - UK number plates. You can see the names of the rally drivers inscribed on the side of the car. 

Monte Carlo Shoes ...

Monte Carlo shoes on the steps of the Hotel de Paris. 

Mirror, mirror ...

Mirror, mirror ...

Larvotto: Rise and Shine

Washing down Larvotto.

Rain

It was rainy and cold in Monaco yesterday.  This is the forecourt of the Grimaldi Forum. (a photo taken about four years ago but nothing has changed ...)

Peille: Time to say goodbye.

Today we are leaving Peille.  I have more photos of this enchanting village, but they can wait for another day. It's time to get back to Monte Carlo. 

Don't you love the hole cut into the rock to make the road?  You see this often in the south of France and Italy - sometimes wide enough for two-way traffic, sometimes not ...

Peille: Lavoir

This is the old lavoir in Peille. I love that the women who washed in the old days were protected from the heat and the cold by a roof and walls. (see last photo).

I wonder how many sheets, how many pair of workman's trousers have been washed on this sloping slab of stone over the centuries?

Peille: Nine Lives

Cats wander freely in Peille. A nice life ... for cats and people.

Peille: Courage

Rather her than me! Crossing the hanging bridge below the village of Peille.

Peille: Hanging Bridge

Would you like to walk this hanging bridge in Peille?  Come back tomorrow and see who did?

Peille: Roofscape

How many lives? How many births and deaths and loves and despair have taken place under these roofs over the centuries in the medieval vilage of Peille?

Peille: Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks in Peille.  I absolutely love hollyhocks but never have any luck in growing them, despite having poor stony soil which they love.

Peille: Chez Nana Cauvin

The chef at Restaurant Cauvin in Peille doesn't have far to go to collect his bread.  The baker's shop is the opposite side of the square to his restaurant. 

This restaurant is also known as Chez Nana Cauvin.  Nana was a friend of Léo Ferré, a Monegasque poet, composer and a dynamic live performer whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death.  He wrote a song to Nana Cauvin.

Peille: Bar Tabac L'Absinthe 2

A different perspective on the Bar Tabac L'Absinthe in Peille.  Don't you just love these vaulted passageways in medieval villages?

Peille: Bar Tabac L'Absinthe

The Bar/Tabac L'Absinthe in Peille.

Peille: Gaby

Yesterday we saw Gaby, owner of Au Petit Cabanon in Peille,  serving a couple of cyclists in the square.  Now a close-up of Gaby. Isn't he wonderful! And so was his pretty customer drinking her morning espresso.

Peille: Coffee Chez Gaby

An early morning stop for two cyclists outside Au Petit Cabanon in Place Carnot in Peille.  That's the adorable patron, Gaby, serving coffee. Isn't this square heaven! 

A short history of the village: It's thought the area was once home to a little-known Ligurian tribe the Oratelli of Peille.


The village dates back to the 11th century and is of Celto-Ligurian origin.  In 1388 Peille passed to the Savoy, and later became the responsibility of the Sardis states in 1720, returning to French rule in 1792. From 1814 to 1860, it was part of kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia and finally became French in 1860.

Peille: - the Gothic Fountain and Old Lavoir

This is the Place du Mont Agel in Peille, with its gothic fountain and lavoir.  And as you can see it's a fountain that is still used by the villagers.

You'll find a 'Circuit of Postcards in the village - 14 in all - each featuring a reproduction of an old photograph alongside each ancient monument or place of interest - see the smaller photo.  This was taken around 1910.

Tomorrow, we'll learn some of the history of this beautiful village.

Peille

Sometimes it's nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of Monaco and take a short trip into the mountains.  So leave your Louboutins behind and let's spend a while exploring the magic that is Peille. The medieval village is 630 metres above sea level and only 25 kilometres from Monaco.

We'll walk its ancient streets on stones weathered by time, wind our way through vaulted passageways, have a coffee in a magical square and doubtless fall in love with this beautiful village.

The sign, as you enter the village, says 'Peille, the most curious village in the Alpes-Martimes.'

More tomorrow ...

Lunch on a Bench

The casino gardens, lunch on a bench and a chat with friends before going back to work.  Not a bad way to spend your lunch break.

The dark green area in the background is part of the enormous fence that blocks off the centre of the gardens whilst construction goes on for the new shopping centre.  Oh dear ...