Day 584 (Saturday) 12th January 2019

I’m sure you’re sick of hearing this but it was gorgeous again this morning – 22 degrees in the sun. We thoroughly enjoyed a British sausage hot dog brunch in the sun and then got Kisbee ready and headed up to the mountains – today’s destination was Falicon, a hilltop town above Cimiez, where we went last week. It was quite a steep climb but Kisbee got us there no problem and the views were wonderful.

The town was absolutely gorgeous and totally deserted, we were the only tourists there and there wasn’t a shop open. There was one restaurant open but the outdoor tables weren’t in the sun.

 

There were a number of information plaques all over the village and this one explained the name…

“The etymology of the name Falicon comes from the Germanic root ‘fal’ at the origin of the French word falaise (cliff), a reference to the location of the village perched on a hilltop, like a falcon’s nest (as suggested by the name despite the true origin of the name).

The viewpoint was gorgeous

as was the view

The village was stunning and very well looked after but there wasn’t a soul about

There was even a book exchange box like we have in Villefranche

There was a lovely church right next door to a pretty chapel

There was a very deep well and an original washhouse

another plaque informed us that…

The fountain on the place of the church recalls that before 1895, water for domestic use and washing was available only by fetching it from a fountain-washhouse (probably 18^th century) at the foot of the village, on the trail to Saint-Andre de la Roche. Villagers also had to access to water from cisterns and wells: one of which remains near the Penitents’ Chapel. In the twentieth century, other fountains were added and some village houses had the luxury of rooftop water tanks. It was not until 1962 that there was running water in all homes in the Commune and a sewage system.

I really liked these cats

Another plaque told us some more information about Queen Victoria

“In the late 19^th century, during her frequent visits to Nice, Queen Victoria would be taken from her residence in Cimiez to the village in a carriage drawn by a donkey to have tea to enjoy the mild air and splendid view of the coast.”

It was very cold going back down the mountain on Kisbee and there were numerous hairpin bends. We felt like we’d been to a very different area of the south of France so we were amazed to realise we’d only travelled 22 kms  -Nice really is a fascinating city.

We were soon back at sea level on the Promenade des Anglais, found a parking spot and had a beer sitting on the sea wall admiring the view. (That’s Huw on the right)

We have no idea what these mounds of pebbles are on the beach; in the summer this beach is mostly sandy and gritty. Huw thinks they put these mounds there to protect the beach from the occasional winter storms.

This poor dog was made to have a cold shower because it had rolled in merde as its owner informed us.

We went for a short walk in the old town through the flower market and it was so nice to see so many locals out and about in the winter sun.

We went back to the promenade to have a beer in the sun and we were very lucky to get a seat on one of the balconies so the view was wonderful.

We were just about to go home when the gilets jaunes arrived

The protest was so peaceful and calm; people were singing and dancing and shouting their messages through megaphones tous ensembles (all together) elle est belle, en France (France is beautiful) and so on. It was a very special moment and after hearing that one of my students who is an experienced, qualified interior designer earns 1,600€ a month for working 5 days a week from 9am to 6pm, I think I agree with the genuine gilets jaunes. The minimum wage here is 1,200€ a month and last year I was offered 1,400€ a month for teaching in a primary school 5 days a week, 6-7 hours a day – there is something horribly wrong with the wages in this wonderful country.

 

I don’t claim to understand French politics but all the French people I speak to daily tell me that Macron is just making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Towards the end of the protest there was a group of people who had a stuffed model of Macron and a white sheet; they kept tossing Macron up in the air, catching him sometimes, but not always – hilarious.