Jilly's pretty little village of Gorbio was a delight to discover.
Nestled not too high, but certainly high enough above the push and shove of Menton, Monaco and Roquebrune, it is a refuge from the Maseratis and Porsches, the high heels and the high rollers.
Here people know each other in the same way they have known since the 14th century.
I already knew Crystelle and that was not such a bad start.
Perched in a pretty little valley above the coastal bustle, there is much to occupy the tourist's curiosity.
The town square with its wonderful old elm tree, planted in 1713 has seen weddings and funerals, celebrations and daily activity.
Jilly has already captivated us, time and time again with her careful insights into daily life, here.
Now, we were seeing the "scene of the crime".
The old man whom she said was quite a "wag" was there and nothing seemed out of place.
Im sure you'll enjoy my newest friends, Les Gorbarins, as I did.
19 comments:
Ha ha, the way you pushed the contrast on the first photo, you'd think that the LA POSTE camionette was one of the Porshes and Maseratis you mentioned. The pretty girl driving the car reinforces that feeling. How clever!
Purple shutters for the Mairie, mmmmh that's a good sign, the mayor must be fairly open-minded.
I would have loved to have met Michel Iznard, le maire of Gorbio.
In fact I sneaked in to the Mairie hoping to come face to face with him.
Instead I came face to face with Marianne's statuette on the wall and the usual Tricolore and the Drapeau européen that I have seen in every Mairie in France.
Yes Nathalie, I think M. Iznard is an open minded man. He seems very popular from the snippets I picked up from Jilly and others.
Those purple shutters seem slightly out of place in the village. the local colour seems to be that pale turquoise - sort of eau de nil but not quite, if you know what I mean. Any it's different and our wonderful maire is an artist after all.
Monsieur Benaut, did you know the wonderful old man you mention has died? In fact, that day with you is one the last photographs I took of him. See Menton DP 5th December. He was called Quintino, which I didn't know at the time.
Those two sitting at the table. If you click and enlarge, he could be saying "Oh my God, is that him, is that your husband coming towards us?" lol
I'm so sorry to hear that the old man died, Jilly.
I have many photos of him and had prepared to post some of them.
I will, anyhow, and just be a bit sensitive about it.
Que penses-toi ?
Lynn, I was so fearful that he had seen me, but he spotted my look-alike instead !!!
Yes, I do agree with you. Perhaps it was the cosa nostra !
Il y a de très beaux villages dans le sud de la France. Quand nous étions allés dans le sud est avec notre camping-car, nous sommes restés quelques jours du côté de Nice, sur les hauteurs de cette ville dans un petit village ravissant où nous dormions toutes les nuits sur la petite place de ce village. Le matin, dès que nous étions réveillés, nous descendions à Nice afin de trouver un parking près de la plage, sur la promenade des Anglais. Là, nous faisions notre toilette et prenions notre petit déjeuner avant d'aller au marché. Le marché de Nice est très réputé pour être un marché très coloré.
Après le réjeuner (lunch) nous allions à la plage nous faire bron zer sur les galets (Aïe !) et ensuite nous visitin un coin de la ville, et le soir nous remontions au village qui s'appelle Saint-Jeannet.
Monsieur Benaut, yes of course post your photographs of the old man. I hadn't realised until I went into the bar the other day that the man who serves there is the old man's son, and he was very pleased to see my post about him on the blog. What I'm trying to say is that people in the village seem very happy about seeing themselves on the blogs. Witness, the wedding pics at the moment.
Si vous revenez en France, je vous prêterai l'appartement de Bormes les Mimosas, village merveilleux au bord de mer et moi je viendrai en Australie.. pourquoi pas?
Bonne année à vous 2.
That is one bright yellow auto!
Don't disappear again, M. Benaut.
Agree Lynn. But I'm tired of France, I want to see more of Adelaide. You know - BBQs, outdoor showers, hot and sunny ANYTHING!
Gosh yes I'm with that. You know me, M. Benaut; it's the beach I am craving! Come on, please get that camera out!
Happy Australia Day!
http://veepee01.vuodatus.net/
I've been away a bit but I call in and there is a pretty girl on your blog - sigh - good to see nothing has changed. Am in Port Moresby and off to Goroka tomorrow and then to Madang - Benson and HWDB haven't seen much of me of late - anf blogging is just a thing of the past at the moment. Miss you all and think of you often.
Cheers
J xx
Oh for goodness' sake Monsieur. Come back. :)
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