So many experiences today

I stopped by the English/Aussie Pub...The (something or other) Lady. It is on the very edge on the ville as far into the marina as could be. It's a great people watching spot. As you sit there, you can watch all different kind of Salty Dogs walk by with there sea bags flung over their shoulders.
They advertised a Pirate themed evening to celebrate the life of "Tork". Rum drinking, encouraged. Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of Rum.
There is a plaque on the bar for the most shots of Jagermeister....50! ( Tork?)
I heard a salty woman telling a briny man that sometimes she can drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels by herself.
I felt as though I was in an alternate, English speaking, universe.

Mme. L. told me today that if I took Emile( with his new hair cut)  into Monte Carlo by the time I left, I would have a husband.
I will try that and see if it works.

Been listening to a lot of talking radio in the car...to help with learning. I love to hear the name ShunPenn said in discussion as one long slippery word, like a Chinese noodle dish.

I had lunch at my favorite Cafe, Vieil Antibes and somehow, I ended up with chicken on my croque maison. I clearly said that I don't eat meat. It came with ham and I said...without ham....I was "cocksure" with my ordering food. After I ordered, the waiter said a whole bunch of words I didn't understand and I said "oui" ...and somehow, voila! I had chicken in the croque Maison.

While eating I read The Star Newspaper ( British) . How appalling! I was embarrassed to be looking at it. It really is trashy. What did I learn? David Beckham is still playing soccer, There's a whole bunch of British celebrities that have cheated on their wives with hookers and the hookers are very sorry and now have babies and are trying to straighten out their life. People are killing each other with out guns in all kinds of crazy ways.

I bought yarn today in a yarn shop. I was so happy to be in this shop with 3 women that allowed me to speak French and corrected me. I spoke freely, they added words and corrected my pronunciation...THANK YOU!
I have to go back next week to pick up some yarn ordered....I look forward to going back.

After Emile was finished with his grooming, I was hoping to trot through town with him, but it was late. The few people that I saw stopped and asked me how old he is...is it male or female....People are entranced by him. I need to work that!
C. told me that it is very rare to see a poodle. The last time she saw one here ( "very rare!)  was last Easter.  The poodle ( Carniche Royal they call them here) was with a very very elegant woman and the dog had a beautiful diamond collar on. Do Kate and  I now have to worry that we are not dressed up enough to take Emile out?

GSP Working Dog

One of my favorite dogs, as I had one...a GSP...German Short Haired Pointer. This was a youngish female who was going after pigeons on the street. Look at her FAther, He was so proud to have me take pictures of her. I hope I see him again. He is just the type of person I would like to walk and talk with.
No Toilettage for her. 

Emile and La Toilettage

Poor Boy!

Stone Carving

While wandering around, I came across this ancient art. Antibes is building a monument and this man was carving the letters. First he had to draw out what he was going to carve. This woman was helping him with what he needed to write.

I walked around the other side to see the side he had already done.

His tool box was ther with beautiful pink rags and a picture of ( what must be) his Father. So beautiful. I can imagine that his Father was also a stone carver. What a wonderful thing to come upon. 

To A Powerful Saffron Wall Add a Light Acid Green Car

and then add Mimosa which is starting to bloom everywhere here. 

Wonderful Things

Always something beautiful to see in Antibes on a Thursday

Chocolate Shop

Ave James Close

Orange and Blue

Colorful Raviolis

Remaining Christmas Ornaments

Brocante Still Life

The New Antibes Bust Station

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Black Crow that sits outside of a restaurant and makes people wonder if he is real or not. "I just saw him move!"

The Man that Loves his Little Dog.

Early Morning, La Colle Sur Loup

Breakfast....Cherries, Goat Cheese and Apricots

The Chapel with Frost ...8:30 am

Another sign of Spring..unexpected violets

Sunrise, Jan 30....waiting for the sun.

Le Canard dans Le Loup

We came across these 2 ducks, one male, one female, hovering in place in the quickly moving river.They are facing upstream.  It was almost as if they were doing it for sport. 

They were effortlessly staying in one place, together.

This is the first time I had seen ducks here.

The female decided that she wanted to float a little. She turned around and let the current take her...the male quickly followed. It was incredible how fast he moved and how effortlessly. It looked like great fun and not even really cold with a well oiled belly. 

Le Loup

Today we walked further down the trail that goes along Le Loup. It changes into a very narrow through the woods trail. It goes up and down to accommodate the river. It was a little scary. There were caves in the cliffs and I was a little afraid. There were about 4 cars in the parking area and I didn't see anyone when we walked in.

I think rock climbers free climb these cliffs. They are really incredibly steep. I saw a sign that people repel from the southern banks. 

Note the last picture. There is a bridge that goes out to a big tree . There must be quiet the view from up there. 

We had to stop as there was a big tree that was down that was in our way. I have Emile on the leash and Kate runs all around us. I think he is relieved to be on the leash as he is not really a leader like Kate is. He is put off by getting wet and by prickers or low limbs. 

Kate an excellent back woods dog. Emile is willing to go along but would prefer not to get dirty.

I didn't make him that way, he is naturally that way. Perhaps he knows that if he gets dirty, being white, it's a big deal. He has to be hosed down with cold water and cleaned and he hates that. 

Tomorrow is his Toilletage in Antibes...warm water and blow dryer. 

Sunrise this morning.

in my pajamas, dogs warm in bed....me with the camera out on the patio. 

to the west, towards California.

to the south , toward the sea

to the east, towards Italy

Duel

I climbed the stairs to the club de form to get a schedule. When I came in, the owner was in the middle of a class. The  temporary receptionist was a girl of about 4 behind a tall and narrow counter.. She was on her knees on a swivel chair that brought her up to my eye level. Above her were framed  portraits, photographs in black and white of her and her parents in a tropical location. To her right, and about a foot away from her was a very large television that was fitted into the narrow space. It was turned on and showing a cartoon with a cat and mouse on a hectic adventure.

The girl was a messy purple and pink picture with a pony tail sticking out in some skewed direction. Perhaps she had pink glasses on, maybe my imagination gave her glasses to help explain why she was not understanding me.

I asked in French if there was a paper with the class schedule on it like the one that was entombed in glass in front of her on the counter. No reaction, she did not comprehend.  I kept trying. I used my hands, drawing out the paper , pointing to the classes, pointing to the master schedule, conjuring the idea of something to take with me. She tilted her head at me and gave me a look that I recognize from my dogs....huh?

I tried telling her that I was an American, that usually impresses the adults...I could have been from whatever planet the TelaTubbies are from, she didn't care. She had a 15 second attention span at most and then she would flip her pony tail and swivel back in a violet blur towards the television. She was unadvisedly  close.

I was not giving up. I tried again. Annoyed, she reached into the desk and slammed down a pale yellow flyer and turned her attention back to the TV . The red cat was choking the purple mouse so close that it was life sized.

The flyer was for some classes, not all. "Is there another" I asked using , I hoped, child appealing and patient French. She looked again, more annoyed, and came up with another pale yellow sheet and slammed it down in front of me. The cat let go of the mouse and it still to the floor, dazed, stars above his head. The schedule was still not the one I needed.

She put her elbow on the desk, chin leaning on her fist looking me right in the eye. I mimicked, eye to eye, she pulled her fist down, I followed....we were about to get into a copy cat duel...
And  her mother came behind the desk and gave me all of the info that I needed.
This is not over!

Today, Hike along The River Brague

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brague
Today we set out to find the Trail that is between Biot and Valbonne. We managed to find a spot that had some trails down, but I was not sure. We parked and started walking, Kate leading the way as always. We came upon a rushing river at the bottom. Everything was green. GREEN. It was like being in another time. We didn't see anyone. We walked aways in both directions. Kate was in heaven.
Emile was on the leash the whole time and dragged me down into every hole he can find. It's his thing. He loves sticking his head into holes looking for animals I would think.
I wish I could let him off, but he is not to be trusted.
Take a close look at the pictures of Kate. She is now sticking her head completely underwater and pulling up rocks. She likes it. She pulled her head up and looked at me like " That was cool!"
So that's her new thing.
I wish they were better behaved. We could have gone into Biot and had lunch. I just can't do it with 2 dogs.