a boring summer post

A month into the long awaited summer & what's left of it, I truly appreciate the quietness of our new barrio. If not for lost tourists or passers by to reach a more scenic destination, our neighborhood is almost void of people. Save for sunday markets, occasional garage sales & events in the local clubhouse, which are mainly frequented by locals. One of the joys of having a driving permit is allowing us to live in the most remote places. I can't really say I don't miss the luxury of living a few steps away from the beach because now we have a 15 minute drive to the lake. And this 15 minute drive is the price to be away from the main channel of tourists.

Kayaking in Lake St. Cassien on a gloomy day

So when summer means people moving around, it's always nice to move around & meet friends. The feeling is always different when we meet up on winters. Maybe the sun & the heat reminds us more of home but food intake is always the same. Such as my summers back home are made up of family excursions & watermelons by the beach, roadtrips, barbeques by a friend's pool or lunches at the terrace have now become a part of my summer setting. We appreciate summers here after a long winter even it means places are cramped with tourists & the roads are full.

Thanks to those who visited us in our new barrio. Looking forward to a hopefully yearly thing to touch base, to update & to eat a lot. Thanks to friends back in our old barrio for always giving me a warm welcome everytime I come to visit. Although there's a month or so left of summer, our cocktail welcome drinks are always ready all year round.

Mixing a welcome drink, my favorite Long Island Iced Tea, thanks for the photo, Lynn!
Hoping to see the Parisians again next year & more of the Marseillaises quand même!

monotonous

10 sec of the fuzz

The Maillot Jaune (yellow jersey) represent the first in the day's classifications.

I was never a fan of the Tour de France. Not even a slight interest. But on this year's route, it passed by our neighboring barrio. So we thought of grabbing our camera & headed off under the scorching sun. Afterall, it's not like we're paying for seats & they never really passed by our neighborhood for the past years. Well, it was nothing great for you have like 10 seconds of show, the cyclists whizzing by at around 40km. Can't even say who is who. It took them 2 hours to reach our neighborhood from Monaco.

Look ma! no hands! I think he's texting.
We used our camera's video & captured still shots from it. Quality is not the same.