Amiral de Grasse Ceremonie Sept 2019
Villa Ndio Moonrise
Picasso and Ardéco in Vallauris
Vallauris has been a favorite haunt of ours for as long as we can remember. Famed for its pottery, the town has had its ups and downs. The walk along its main street, starting with Picasso’s famed statue “L’Homme au Mouton”, his powerful “War and Peace” panorama and a collection of his ceramic works in a museum at the top of the hill, and our personal favorite pottery shop Ardéco owned and operated by Gilbert and Martine Azéma at the bottom of the hill, is a nostalgic one these days. The town seems to be more “down” than “up”. Without being too disheartening, however, we were “re-inspired” by what we learned from our latest visit (27 June 2018). At the one end, we took in the special exhibit of “Picasso’s Vallauris Years” that is part of a two-year “Picasso-Mediterranée” project running from 2017 to 2019. At the other end, having been saddened last year by the demise of Gilbert Azéma and the closing of his famed Ardéco, we were thrilled to come across the reopened Ardéco under new management.
Flower Power in Grasse
On the occasion of the 2018 annual Rose Expo on 17 to 20 May in Grasse, celebrating its 2018 theme of “Flower Power”, we took advantage of the four-day event to savor the fragrances and lush floral displays along the cobble-stoned streets within the ramparts of the old town. This was not our first time to the annual Expo, since we had been May-time visitors of the region with my in-laws in years past, but this was the first occasion for us to explore the wide array of rose-oriented celebrations as actual residents of the town. Continue reading “Flower Power in Grasse”