Travelling again Part 13

Another activity-filled week! We started off by taking the bus to Monaco which also costs only one euro. It seems that as long as one asks for the appropriate destination when you get to the bus, it will only cost one euro, and although we haven’t tried it, we believe we could get all the way to nice for the same amount. It really isn’t worth taking the car out and having to search for parking the other end. Monaco was mostly what we had expected – expensive designer shops and a harbour full of privately owned luxury yachts – but has some remarkable modern architecture which one seldom hears about. We did a lot of walking (I must surely be getting fitter!) and ended up at the Palace of Prince Albert and Princess Charlene, but didn’t see her. On the way we stopped to buy a sandwich at a small snack-bar and noticed a South African flag draped across the back of the shop. When we commented, we were told it was for Princess Charlene. We have since heard that when she goes out shopping, a cavalcade of mounted police go ahead, and will stop the pedestrians on the pavement. Then a shiny black car will pull up and she will emerge, but she never walks straight into a building, she always takes time to shake the hands of the people nearest to her and to say ‘Hello. I’m Charlene. How do you do’ It has made a huge impression on the citizens, apparently, who now definitely see her as a ‘peoples person’. The city was readying itself for a big motor racing weekend – the Classic Grand Prix – which was quite a pity as there were stands being erected and huge mesh fences going up around that part of the city which comprises the race track, so a lot of the sights had to be viewed though wire netting, but we saw plenty in spite of that. The next day was market day again, but the village was in total uproar for quite another reason. There is a TV series in France, similar to ‘Boer soek ‘n vrou’ in South Africa or ‘Blind Date’ in the UK, in which single girls volunteer to be matched with single men and are then followed around for a few days while they try to get to know each other, and it was Breil’s turn to produce the film material. We are not sure if the men or the girls were from this area, but the village did itself proud in preparing the backdrop. One of the two small squares was cleared of vehicles, and with the big church behind them, villagers dressed in medieval garb ‘sold’ local produce from tables set out before them. A pipe and drum group played suitable medieval-sounding music and the church clock was stopped so that the booming bells did not spoil a critical moment of filming. The surrounding crowd of spectators was ‘warmed up’ by cheering and clapping on demand, and then a group of flag throwers gave a spirited performance which we found quite spectacular, especially as by now there was a stiffish breeze blowing. More cheering and clapping and then the long awaited moment arrived and a huge bus painted in shades on mauve pulled into the square. After a couple of practice runs, the girls came sprinting out of the bus and were greeted by the town mayor and a TV celebrity. More cheering and clapping and then the men arrived on the back of a little three wheeler vehicle, rather like a toy truck. After this it all got quite technical with the selection of men and girls and who would be paired with whom, so we left them to it and wandered off. During the whole performance though we had come across another couple who are also South African and staying here for a while, and they invited us up to their apartment for a cup of coffee. They are fortunate enough to have a large balcony which overlooks the river and the main road, although the access to the apartment is from a really dark and narrow alley to the rear. You really cannot judge an apartment by its front door here! The following morning we watched some of the filming for the reality show for a while, but then took ourselves off to La Brigue again to see what we had missed last time due to the rain. We had been told of a marvellous church which we just had to see, a few kilometres further on, so we went to investigate. It is known as Notre Dame des Fontaines. The legend goes that a long time ago, there was a terrible drought and even the spring which had always given water, dried up. The villagers, desperate for water went to pray to the Virgin at this very ancient site and a miracle occurred – water began to flow from the spring again. In recognition of this miracle, a chapel was built. Much later, in the 12th century it was consecrated and then in the 15th century the interior was decorated by two local artists. The whole chapel is still regarded as something of a miracle as the paintings have never been restored and are now over 500 years old, and still as brilliant as the day they were completed. On Thursday we went back to Sospel, again to see what we missed the first time around. In the meantime we had managed to get hold of a tourist brochure, so knew what to look for and where to look. In the afternoon we drove on and up to the Col de Torini, a road with so many twists and turns that by the time we got there I really wasn’t sure if I was facing forwards or backwards! On the way we passed another church built in an impossible place – on a pinnacle of rock with no easy access. From below, as we approached by road, we could see that the back end of the church was literally hanging over the end of the rock it was standing on! When we finally reached the top of that particular hill, we found that a stone bridge had been built across a small depression, with a walkway and steps leading up to the church. The road had been neatly fitted through one of the arches of the bridge. Finally at the very top of the Col, at an altitude of 1607 metres, we suddenly found ourselves in amongst a Classic Car Rally with some wonderful old vehicles amongst their numbers. They were all part of the Classic Car weekend in Monaco, and obviously enjoying themselves. I was glad we didn’t have to drive any of those cars back down the mountain – it was hair-raising enough, in our tiny car and short wheel-base, to get around some of the corners. They were all sent on their way shortly after we arrived, so we gave them enough time to get well away before we started down, only to meet a stream of Mini’s thundering up the hill towards us. This road was part of the original Monte Carlo Rally and is to aspirant racers what Everest is to climbers, so anyone who fancies their driving skills just has to drive the Col de Torini. After all that excitement, we gave ourselves a day off but in the late afternoon took a bottle of wine around to our new SA friends and enjoyed a drink with them. They had a family friend staying with them, who we invited to join us the next day on an outing to Pien Haute, yet another village clinging to a hillside, miles from anywhere, with no obvious facilities. In our ambles around the village, we saw no shop of any sort, not even a bread depot; no Post Office; no mayor’s office; nothing! What on earth persuades people to continue living there? And the road to the nearest town is not for the faint-hearted either! It’s quite amazing. We made a round trip of the outing and came back via Sospel again as our guest had not yet been there. We managed a very superficial glimpse of quite a lot, but had to get her back to her hosts so couldn’t dawdle too much. Which brings us back to Sunday again. Another at home day, getting the washing done and the apartment tidied. The day started off well with blue skies and bright sun but deteriorated quite quickly and by lunchtime there were loud rumbles of thunder and the threatened rain arrived. The TV crew packed up all their cameras and other equipment and left just after lunch and a strange quiet has descended on the village. It is once again very peaceful.