Street Festival - Palavas Les Flots

We had some free time so we took a drive to a neighboring town of Palavas Les Flots. As luck would have it we stumbled onto a street festival.

This is George Jettsons house, its right down the road from Spacely Spockets. . . just kidding.

Happenings around town

This is a concert scheduled in October. The signs are hung everywhere. The mustache and the maniacal eyes give him a Salvidor Dali look.













And, again with the creepy-ass clowns.

The day of the bulls in my village.

Today they were running the bulls in my village. I'm not sure what the objective was but I think it was to move the bulls from one end of town to other while generally irritating the bull. There was some stunning horsemanship displayed however.
Some glossary : ABRIVADO is taking to bulls to the arena.
BANDIDO is taking the bulls from the arena (back to pasture.)
ENCIERRO is the time in the arena trying to catch the bulls.

And, yes the bulls live to fight another day.

If you look carefully these kids have a hand full of bull. I would be a bit worried that at one point the bull would say to himself "ya-know what? I don't have to take this."

I was about 6 years old and I yanked a cats tail and received a nasty scratch because of it. Lesson learned: Mammals with tails don't like having them yanked by mammals without tails.

That rule has worked well for me.

The horsemen formed a u-shaped formation around the bull. It reminded me of the president and the secret service. They had long sticks with forked prods on the end to steer the bull. I don't think the secret service uses these. . . .although, they were affective. Maybe they should consider it.

johnny hallyday

..in a place called. . .. The Twilight Zone.

These signs are all over town and they're creeping me out. This guy has been visiting me at night with a carving knife.

You lookin at me?

There are many little lizards (geckos?) around. Many years ago when I was in the service I was stationed on a little island in the South Pacific - Minami-Tori- Shima (look that up.) You quickly learned to let a lizard live in your room in the barracks. They're harmless and they feed on the insects which were not so harmless. After I saw some spiders that had cut biceps like Mr. World, cohabitation with a lizard was an acceptable alternative. Here in France, these little guys are everywhere. Personally, because of my experience on the island ,I like them. My wife does not share my enthusiasm.

Come have lunch with me.

We went to lunch at work . Every few months we go to this restaurant , one of the guys in our group knows the owner. The owner came out with a Dorado that was 4 feet long, he was holding it by the gills and we all agreed "se bon!" he scurried back into the kitchen to cook our fish.
I did not get a picture of the owner with the dorado because I was caught napping and missed my chance. It is the first image that comes to my mind when I recall that lunch and I have been kicking myself for missing it. Then I thought well I used to sketch a little. Now, I am no more the artist then I am the photographer but, It might convey the image. Armed with nothing but a No2 pencil and a piece of printer paper I offer this drawing.

Now enjoy the pictures I did take.

Out came the shrimp and snails and then the cooked Dorado which he cut in half for each side of the table and a cooked Baracuda. After that came the muscles, shrimp and octopus. Then the fruit with a banana split. The food was excellent.

The hook was an added bonus!

Olives

I have an olive tree in my yard. Right now there are little baby olives growing. These are about the size of a tic-tac. You can't eat them right off the tree because they're very bitter. They have to be cured. How, you ask? Here's a good website about curing OLIVES.
Personally, I like to mix a solution of vodka and vermouth, then skewer two or three olives onto a small wooden or plastic stick (toothpick works great.) and soak the olives in the solution. Gradually decrease the amount of solution over a short period of time. When solution is gone, the olives are done! :-)

Montpellier , A heck of a town.

We went up to the center of Montpellier today. I never grow tired of going up there. This is just Europe in it's natural beauty. My wife and I kid each other, we say every now and then it catches up to us that we are in the South of France and we have a moment. Between work and stopping at the market for food our lives have stabilized into a comfortable existence. When we take little weekend trips like this, it reminds us of what a beautiful experience this is .

This statue is called the three graces ( "Trois Graces" ) which I googled and found that they are Beauty, Mirth and Good Cheer . A perfect statue for this places as there are ample examples of all three.

Life is beautiful.

Lifeguard Training

We took a walk on the beach this overcast morning. Because it was early, the only other people there were the fishermen and a group of lifeguards in training.

The training was similar to what I've seen down in Cape May New Jersey. I guess there's not too many different ways to pull a saturated tourist out of the drink.

Escargot anyone?

If I were a snail I would add another growth ring to my shell today. 46 years ago I was born all pink and wrinkly. For the most part I have enjoyed the ride so it is a celebration. Thanks Mom for having me.

We mowed the lawn and weed whacked. . .We're such party animals.

A day at the plage (beach)

The bateaux (boats) on the sea. There's nothing sadder than a landlocked pirate . . .Actually this was a lady out for a stroll on the beach. I liked her outfit. It stands out in front of the blue Mediterranean sea.

This dog was a riot. His supreme goal in life was to get somebody to throw something for him into the water, then he would splash in and get it (or try.) He just patroled up and down the coast canvassing people to do his deed. Many people obliged him. The French are very dog friendly.

Cathedral of Maguelone

This is a beautiful Cathedral by my house. It is older than the city of Montpellier . It has a pretty interesting past that you can read here - - - > Cathedral of Maguelone

Our Trip To Barcelona

OUR TRIP TO BARCELONA SPAIN 04/11/07

My wife and I went down to Barcelona for a few days.
Its a four hour drive from Montpellier and a world of difference.
The sleepy Pyrenees met us at the France/Spain border with lazy clouds napping in the valleys.

Barcelona City

The weather was not great but we made the best of our trip. We toured the city and went to the Joan Miro museum and had some great meals.

















































Christopher Columbus was there to meet us. When we told him we were from the U.S. he went on and on about about how there is a city named after him in Ohio. We finally had to ditch him in the crowd.

Barcelona Market

Off of La Rambla street there was a market. We had to explore it since we are fans of the markets back up in France.
This market had everything. By everything, I mean everything. This one meat counter looked like a build your own sheep kit. (assembly required.)
This next photo is pretty graphic. Please view at your own risk and stomach strength.