There was an accident on the way to Mougins. It held us - and a million others - up for ages. We liked the 'Accident Ahead' sign.
Many toilets in France are unisex! M could not get used to the idea of walking behind blokes at the urinal to access the ladie's loo. This loo is at a 'Services' stop. Servo, cafeteria etc. It was crowded and a bit of a zoo.
I tried to capture the cars and trucks at the stop. I think I failed.
Part of the motorway along the way. The roads are great, but expensive.
Getting into the south of France, the mountains start to appear, with some interesting shapes.
M wanted to take some photos of the many, many vehicles that were carrying bikes on them (every second vehicle, it seems). She is facinated by the racks on the back of the camper vans, so she took some photos.
At last! M got a photo of the bike rack on the camper van. For the technical amongst you, this photo was taken at about 100 Kph on a little digital camera by M.
First sighting of the Millau Viaduct, tallest bridge in the world. At this point, we were at about 1020 metres altitude (AMSL for the aviators).
Approach to and driving across the Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world.
At the end of the drive across. Just fantastic!!!
Craggy rock with a cross on top, near another refuelling and loo break.
More good-looking hills.
Ditto. Note the bikes on the car/caravan on the left. M would be proud of me for pointing that out.
More hills, rocks, etc.
The valleys are really picturesque. They must be glacial, as they have rounded bottoms (I'll leave that one right alone, thanks).
Another cross on a hill.
And another.
Part of the freeway through the mountains.
'nother valley etc.
M wanted to know what all the tiny buildings on the hill were. I told her they were tombs in a cemetery, so she just had to get a shot.
Big transmission tower in the mountains.
Bathroom of the unit in Mougins.
Main bedroom in the unit.
Stairs (narrow, steep, creaking and groaning - the stairs, not the users) in the unit.
Downstairs loo.
Lounge/kitchen in unit.
Kitchen/eating area in unit.
Lounge.
Balcony with table and chairs. Very comfy.
View to the right from balcony in the morning.
View straight ahead from the balcony.
View to the left.
View below the balcony. This is the al fresco eating area for the restuarant.
View of the grounds from the balcony.
We trekked up to the old village of Mougins. Picasso lived here for the last 15 years of his life. Good views. Nice place. Good little eateries. M and I might visit for dinner.
Another view from the village of Mougins carpark.
And another view. Looking towards the Alpes, which are obscured by cloud.
Looks like a radome on the far hill. Might be doppler radar for weather or a defence site.
This is our closest supermarket. In case you are worried, we don't have to climb up to the village to get there. It's conventiently on the way, at the bottom in fact.
As you arrive in the village, this is the first building to greet -myep, an eatery.
One of the many cute, narrow roads through the village. I think I can understand why there are no cars allowed, can't you?
M checking out some of the eateries. Prices ranges from around 20 Euros to about 90 Euros for three courses.
Fountain in the village square.
A street of the village with some galleries.
M wanted me to capture these cars (“wouldn't they be great for Oliver”, she said, “No room in the bags” I said). They are very cute.
Different style, same response.
A view of the Mediterannean Sea between buildings in the village of Mougins.
Cute archway and streetscape. They must allow scooters here or perhaps it's an illegal scooter (gasp!!).
Bell tower of the church (200 years old) in the village.
Village streetscape.
More little streets.
Street with a gallery.
The 14th century walled village of St Paul (de Vence) as you see it when approaching it. This is the place that we bored many people to death talking about after our last trip to the south of France. It's a tiny village, but impressive, don't you think?
Right up against the walls here. The entrance is to the left. Great contrasts in light and shade and texture.
This is the Keep of the entry to the village. The 'main street' can be seen beyond. Of course, the streets were plenty wide enough when the widest thing that traversed the streets was a cart and donkey, maybe the occasional horse. They are still very narrow, especially when you fill them with tourists - and us.
This is M in the main street - off looking for a bargain! Not many bargains here, bring a big cheque book or a massive credit card. We wish I had both when we saw some of the absolutely beautiful artwork. More to follow about that, of course.
This piece was in a gallery that had mostly sculptures in it. This is a very striking piece. You may need to download it and expand it to see what I mean.
Another piece that I loved. Very evocative. Not priced, but a smaller piece, about half size, was priced at 32,000 Euros. Yep, that's not a misprint. We would love to own one of these pieces, but the baggage would be just a tad overweight, not to mention the bank balance being underweight!
Another beautiful piece. We were beyong pricing them at this stage.
I liked the errr...........shape of this one. All bronze - fantastic form.
Just when you thought that we had forgotten about the village, up pops this photo of a watering place in the middle of the village. The little sign say “Eau Potable”, but we were not game to drink it. Many people did, though.
Same place, different angle. The streetscapes are a photographers delight (not that I'm much good) and there were a lot of cameras in evidence.
A view from the battlements across the cemetry to the valley below.
The Mediterannean Sea, around Cannes, from the battlements. The seaside will be another treat for another day. I'll bet you can't wait, can you?
This piece was in the gallery that we purchased our ballerina from on our last trip here in 2002. This lamp is made entirely of wire (errr, not the globes) and must have taken the artist a very long time to make. More close-ups to follow.
How's that for wire work?
Or that?
One of the little streets that branch off the main streets. I specially included this one for Kylie - just for the composition - to show some of the delightful parts of this village.
M is inspecting the village to make sure it's up to spec.
The fountain in the middle of the town main street. Kids were having a bit of a dip and an old lady came out of a shop and gave them heaps. I certainly would not put my face in the water in this one. Definately not 'Eau Potable' here.
This is one for Oliver. It was in the shop/gallery that we bought some prints from and I just had to take it for him - or his parents. For the uninitiated, Oliver (Grandson) has a liking for Giraffs (I almost said a Giraff fetish, but then Kylie and Michael would kill me, so I didn't say it).
Front on view of Giraff - cute.
It has to be the goofiest looking Giraff I have ever seen, but I bet Oliver likes it. His parents probably think it's goofey - and they're right.
This is the interior of the little restraunt that M and I had lunch in. For the technical amongst you, we had “Crepes avec Jambon et fromage et salade” (ham and cheese and salad), washed down with a cheeky little vin rouge of the rough and ready variety. Nice crepes. average wine, good company.
The exterior of the aforementioned restaurant, ”La Terrasse“.
The hotplates for cooking the crepes are in the window (you could watch lunch being cooked if you were keen - we were too hungry).
Church on the left, town hall on the right.
Outside the town hall. Jackie on a fence.
Nice little alcove at the church.
Streetscape again, different one this time, but nice. I hope that Kylie is taking notes.
'nother one
View of the main street.
Side street. I liked the light and shadow, shapes and textures.
And again.
Are you bored yet? I've got lots more.
See? This is an interesting structural piece. The two 'flying buttresses' between the two buildings are to stabilise the walls of the houses on either side.
Another view of the battlements and the village beyond the walls.
In another direction.
Streetscape.
View of the next hill across the valley. I thought that the opportunity for composition was too good to miss.
A view of the surrounding mountains from the battlements. They are very striking rock formations.
Nice little house.
This sculpture of a horse is on the battlements above the entrance gate. It's made entirely of horse shoes welded together.
See, welded horse shoes. I have to say that the welding's a bit ordinary, but the sculpture is fantastic!
Steady boy!
The entrance gate from up near the horse shoe horse - you know what I mean.
The walls of the village near the entrance.
This is the restaurant near the entrance gate. Very busy.
These blokes were playing Boules near the entrance. I thought that I would capture a few segments of play for Michael B.
More Boules
This is the entrance to the 'main street' of the village of Gourdon. This is a fortified mountain top village, with a church and a castle.
A monument near the Town Hall.
A view of the surrounding mountains.
A view of a valley. By the time your enemies got to the bottom of the fortifications, they wouldn't have any energy to get over the walls.
Some stunning mountains nearby the village.
Craggy outcrop and down towards the adjacent towns.
It was a very hazy day. We saw wildfires on the way back from Beziers, so this could be from smoke from fires.
More crags.
The back of the church. It wasn't open.
A sunny square near the battlements.
A nice little street near the church.
I liked this wall.
This building has a lot of character.
So does this.
Valley view
The scenary is stunning. I don't know what the building in the middle distance is.
More stunning.
A well-formed cave on the hillside.
Longer shot of cave. No cavepersons visible, unfortunately.
Nice building in town.
This is the municipal office. It's a far cry from City Hall.
But the view past it is stunning.
Nice little streetscape.
A tree will grow just about anywhere! This is sandwiched between the castle (round bit) and the church.
Different view, same subject.
Same tree, different angle.
A narrow laneway between streets.
That pesky tree again!
And again. No, I don't have a 'tree fetish'.
M making a purchase at a little shop in the village.
Make sure there's plenty of bubble wrap! It's going to Oz.
Is that M smiling with success?
The little shop of the purchase.
View.
That monument again, different angle.
Different again.
Another view of the hills here. Goodbye Gourdon.
This is the famous beach at Cannes! If you can find any sand, you would be lucky. The beach is owned/leased by the ritzy hotels on the other side of the road from the beach for the exclusive use of their customers. Then you don't spread your towel out, Aussie-style on the sand. Nope, you have to use their chairs and umbrellas. I suppose that there is a bar service here too - they have to pay for the beach somehow! The building on the right of the photo is the Palais de Festival De Filme (I think that's right) where they hold the Cannes Film Festival. All the luminaries attend and stay at the aforementioned hotels. Dunno if they use a beach chair, though.
More chairs, less sand.
This is the harbour at Cannes. Some nice boats and errr yachts out here, but the boats are not as big as Monte Carlo (which we swerved on this trip, BTW).
This is the beach for the real people. Large, isn't it?
One of the nice vessels in the harbour. Big radomes on the top (round white thingos that house radar antennae).
More vessels.
Now that's an organised beach, sorry jetty!
A view along the waterfront at Cannes.
Apartments at Cannes along the waterfront, taken from a local bus.
This is a very expensive forest of masts at Cannes.
Dockside at Cannes. Note the absence of any protective railings along the edge of the dock, or any signage. This has full public acces for everyone, adults and children.
They stack 'em and rack'em here in Cannes.
I thought that this was a nice boat.
More sticks. I wonder how many of them actually move.
This photo is for David Cowan. He likes all wood varnished boats. This is a lovely example amongst all of the “heavy iron” in the harbour.
The timber work is superb! The boat is called Mahogany, what else?
Yep, it's all wood, even the seats.
This is the beach for the poor people. They just spread out their towels, Aussie style. Beach is a bit small, though, and the rocks are a bit hard to get over, but at least it's a bech you can bathe in the Mediterannean from.
More beach.
Harbour view.
For Deb, a lighthouse near the helipad at Cannes.
This lighthouse looks like it has a harbour control centre below the light.
Another view.
The twin towers.
Nice boat coming into the marina.
View from the dockside towards the Church and castle in the old city of Cannes.
To get to the castle and church, one way was up these stairs. Nope, I don't know how many steps there are, we gave it a swerve in the 35c heat.
We went this way.
Approaching the walls of the castle and church, finally.
Nice view from up here!
I suppose that this is where the real people of Cannes live.
Lovely views of the harbour from the battlements on top of the walls around the castle. The building in the middle of the photo is the film centre. It's a casino on this side. Nice circular helipad on the end? Probably for the high rollers arrival and possible departure. Depends on the rolling, I suppose.
From the castle, the 'hinterland' of Cannes, a view to the north of the city.
A lovely cool shady spot adjacent to the church and castle. Very old trees. You will have to Google to find out how old.
A view out over the harbour from the shady courtyard. Fabulous!
M taking in the view - and having a breather - at the shady courtyard.
This was her view as she rested.
A statue of Madonna and Child adjacent to M's resting spot.
This is the entrance to the castle. We didn't tour the place, we are just about 'castled and churched' out.
The trees are at the front of the castle, near the door. Very old, interesting photgraphic subject.
Just to prove it, heres a study.
Another view of the courtyard.
This was supposed to be a photo of the alter in the church. The low light mad for difficult shooting conditions (that's my excuse). We said one for Jim here in Our lady of Hope.
Ok, you have all been hanging out for the definitive piccie of the Cannes Film Festival Centre. Well, here it is. It's hosting the Russian Festival of Arts.
We had the option of catching this little tourist train and being captive for 2= hours in dinky little seats, or catching the local bus and doing it 'native style'. We chose native.
Another billboard on the front of the Cannes Centre.
Yep, it's the Centre again!
This is a little church near the Centre, the original church, apart from the one at the castle, for Cannes.
Front view.
This is a view of the 'fashion' part of Cannes. The prices on some of the clothes here are amazing.
This is the bus/train centre at Cannes. We caught a bus to/from here from Mougins. It's a bit run down and in need of a good reno for a place like Cannes. Still, the luminaries don't use this place, when you can land your private jet at Nice airport and get a limo to Cannes. Hang the expense!
This is the bar of an Irish Pub where M and I had a pint of Guiness - the best pint I have had in a long time, as good as Dublin.
This and the following four clips are various views of Cannes, taken from a local bus. All are along the seafront at Cannes, it's a very crowded place at this time of year.
Clipof Cannes.
Clip of Cannes.
The Cannes Film Festival Centre.
A lovely big boat docking at Cannes. The sound of the motor/s is just huge. They must be big - to match the boat. They sure fit them in at this marina.
Big boat turning to back into the dock.
Nice and easy does it.
No bumps or scrapes allowed here!
Backing, not touching. The bloke on the dock is a marina employee who helps boats dock.
Bow line secure, now for the gangplank.
On the way to Beziers and the locks of the Midi Canal, there are some fantastic rock outcrops and rugged hills. Many did not come out well, but we have kept a few like this.
This range of mountains stood out as almost luminescant in the morning sun.
Our first view of the Canal Du Midi outside Beziers. Try this site on the web for more info. It also has links to other sites. www.canalmidi.fr/canalgb.htm
These buildings are old wharehouses to service the thriving barge port at Beziers.
This is a first view of the 9th lock. Yes, there are 9 locks all together to bring the canal down (or up) a total height of 21.5 metres over a distance of 312 metres. There are now 7 locks still in use for tourists, the lower two were taken out of service when the lower reaches of the locks were refurbished. The locks raise the boats from the sea level at Beziers to the level of the River Orb, which they cross in an aquaduct at the top of the locks. This was all constructed and over 15 years and opened in 1681. Stone and wood were the main construction materials then with some wrought iron for fittings. This is a fabulous feat of engineering - even for today. I would very much like to travel these and other locks in a barge on a future holiday. I'll need crew. Any takers?
The now disused 8th basin
The downstream view of the first lock gate. Note the junk floating in the lock. You'd think that they would clean it out. It just goes backwards and forwards with every boat.
The top view of the lock gates. They are waterproof (well almost) despite being a 'wood-on-wood' fit. The metal bars to the left and right are in fact toothed racks that are (now) driven by electric motors to open and close the gates. It was all crank handles in the old days, of course. The waterway coming in from the right side joins up with the inclined plane on the far side of the locks. The inclined plane is another story.
A close up view of the rack for operating the gates. The gates are steel, these days, with wooden trims and seals.
A better view of that other canal.
The second and third chambers.
Looking down into the bottom of the chamber at the third gate. There is a lot of water pressure here.
A tourist boat in the top chamber, about to exit the lock and proceed over the aqueduct over the River Orb (out of sight in this photo).
Water is equalising slowly. Nothing happens until the water is exactly equal on both sides of the gates, otherwise those poor motors are trying to move tonnes of water - unnecessarily.
Gates open - boat gone - spectators happy!
This fire truck was filling up at the top chamber of the lock. Reminded me of the CFA and Qld Rural Fireies tankers. This is a Renault (what else in France) 4x4 tanker.
Different view.
This is the canal at the top of the locks. It heads off in the direction of the aqueduct over the River Orb at this point.
Towards the river.
You can't keep a good man down! It's not my bike hire joint, but he sure has good initials.
From the top of the locks, looking toward the bottom. This may give you some idea of the scope of the project.
This is a tourist 'long boat' or barge coming up the locks.
Letting water out of the upper chamber, prior to opening the gate. As you can imagine, if the gates were opened with a body of water behind them, the boat would be history. Well, you get the drift (sorry, that was intentional).
Water flooding the lower chamber to bring it up to the lrvel of the upper chamber.
Almost level. The Captain of the barge is the bloke in the blue shirt holding the rope. His 'deckie' is the bloke on the right having a chat. Very relaxed.
This bloke is the Lock Keeper. They are all public servants, but tipping is allowed, even encouraged. A bit like paying a toll, really.
A view of the castle at Beziers. We didn't visit.....miles to go before I sleep. About a 700 Km round trip from Mougins - but worth it.
Another view of those old wharehouses along the Midi Canal.
Coming back to Mougins, this bridge caught M's eye. The motorways are fantastic, but expensive. It's also tiring driving at 130 Kph on the wrong side of the road in the passenger seat, albeit it with a steering wheel and controls.
A very old aqueduct on the road back to Mougins.
One of those stunning rocky mountains in th distance.
Tunnels along the road back to Mougins on the A10 (I think).
The following clips of the locks follow the general description in the photos. I won't repeat it here. I include these to enable a better understanding - for those who don't - of how locks work. This is the upper gates closing, at the exit of the uppurmost chamber.
A clip of the gate actuating rack in action.
Opening the gates after the water has passed through to the lower chamber.
Here comes the tourist boat into the (now) upper chamber. The gates will close behind it and it will rise with the filling water in the chamber.
Releasing water from the upper chamber to the lower. The bottom of the gate is dropped to allow water to pass. The pressure makes it a fairly quick process.
Notice that the water level has risen considerably in the lower chamber. Soon, the boat can move into the next chamber.
Gates opening, boat starting to move.
Boat coming in to the upper chamber. Note the water level in the chamber that the boat is leaving, almost full.
Gates closing behind boat, ready for filling the chamber that the boat is in.
Filling the lower chamber that the boat is in. Gates preparing to open.
Gates opening. You get the drill. Gates opening, closing, chamber filling..............
I was leaning on this "structure" when it started to move. It was the gate. Duhhhh!
Boat moving in, gates closing............
Snap, they are shut.
Fill 'er up mate! Gates opening.......... are you bored yet?
Boat moving up, again...............
Gates closing again............ and a view of the upper end of the Incline Plane machine for moving a section of "gate" with water up an inclined concrete trough to move the boats up and down the plane.
Pay no attention to the sound track, it's gibberish. The inclined plane machine actually moved a section of steel, like a moving gate, with water trapped behind it and the barge in the water, up the incline to the top (or reverse if going down).
Full chamber.
This clip gives you an idea of the total fall of the locks down the hill.
