holidays

On holiday in the South of France

In mid-September, we went to the South of France for a week to see sunshine – which was lovely. I even went swimming. For the past few weeks I’ve been dealing with plague – blood tests haven’t shown anything, and it seems to be going away slowly, so at least it’s not Ebola, even if it’s been a bit of a drag on daily life. I was ill on holiday, too, and it only started to clear up as I came back to Belgium. Typical.

At least we have had excellent weather over the last couple of weeks in Brussels – my lavender plant has even grown a flower! (I thought it was dead, so this is kind of Lazarus-like.) Today, though, autumn has kicked in with a vengeance, so I thought I’d look through some holiday photos and share some with you lucky, lucky people. Mostly they are of Nice and the surrounding area, with a couple of photos from a day trip to Cassis and Marseille. (For one day during European Mobility Week, usually Wednesday, you get an all-day train ticket to go anywhere in the PACA region for €5. We got as far as Marseille.)

So, here are some photos of summer. I’m open to suggestions for good things to do in Brussels in the autumn, if anyone has any ideas!

blue sky - Nice

blue sky – Nice

Bus driver's monkey

Bus driver’s monkey

carnation - Nice

carnation – Nice

Cassis castle seen from the port

Cassis castle seen from the port

Cassis port - black and white

Cassis port – black and white

Cassis port and boats - black and white

Cassis port and boats – black and white

Cassis port cafe

Cassis port cafe

Cassis port

Cassis port

Cassis waterfront - B&W

Cassis waterfront – B&W

CItadel sea wall - Villefranche

CItadel sea wall – Villefranche

Close up yellow flower

Close up yellow flower

dates on a palm tree

dates on a palm tree

daube and gnocchi

daube and gnocchi

Entrance to St Agnes village

Entrance to St Agnes village

field and sky

field and sky

Fort above Villefranche

Fort above Villefranche

fountains - Nice

fountains – Nice

fountains in a line - Nice

fountains in a line – Nice

French flag blowing in the wind

French flag blowing in the wind

giant wooden turtle - Nice

giant wooden turtle – Nice

green tree against blue sky - Cassis

green tree against blue sky – Cassis

hills and sky 2

hills and sky 2

hills and sky

hills and sky

Kiki the mini dog

Kiki the mini dog

Lighthouse - Villefranche

Little blue house - St Agnes

Marseille - reflection at the port

Marseille - stairway to the station

Marseille - the port

olives in a white bowl

Orange spiky flower

Orange spiky flower

panoramic view from St Agnes

panoramic view from St Agnes

Pink flowers - Ange Gardien

Pink flowers – Ange Gardien

Plants growing on the sea wall - Villefranche

Plants growing on the sea wall – Villefranche

playing in fountains

playing in fountains

Purple spiky flowers in sunlight

Purple spiky flowers in sunlight

Restaurant terrace - St Agnes

Restaurant terrace – St Agnes

red and yellow mini flowers

red and yellow mini flowers

red flowers

red flowers

reflections - Nice park

reflections – Nice park

Restaurant terrace and bar - St Agnes

Restaurant terrace and bar – St Agnes

Rock covered in lichen

Rock covered in lichen

Spiral staircase - St Agnes

Spiral staircase – St Agnes

St Agnes fort

St Agnes fort

St Agnes old town - seen from above

St Agnes old town – seen from above

Steps - Ange Gardien

Steps down – Ange Gardien

Steps up the mountain - St Agnes

Steps up the mountain – St Agnes

street going up in St Agnes village

street going up in St Agnes village

street in St Agnes village

street in St Agnes village

Street lamp - St Agnes

Street lamp – St Agnes

Tortoise candle - restaurant in St Agnes

Tortoise candle – restaurant in St Agnes

Town hall and school in St Agnes

Town hall and school in St Agnes

tree trunk

tree trunk

Two-tone flower - Beaulieu

Two-tone flower – Beaulieu

View down to the sea on the way to st agnes

View down to the sea on the way to St Agnes

view from the bus to Marseille

view from the bus to Marseille

view to the sea - restaurant in St Agnes

view to the sea – restaurant in St Agnes

Villefranche bay

Villefranche bay

Villefranche sea front

Villefranche sea front

Villefranche under a stormy sky

Villefranche under a stormy sky

Wine press - St Agnes

Wine press – St Agnes