5C's Que Pasa

I found this on a friend’s personal site and asked if I could share this with you, thank you Peter.  It truly resonated with me and I know I will never look at an ocean the same again.  This was written by Kenny Jewell, a former surf lifesaver…..

As a former surf lifesaver I constantly find myself when I’m at a beach automatically in patrol mode, and I’m always troubled seeing the amount of swimmers that enter the surf straight into a rip zone. This includes, and most worrying of all children. I know a lot of people are kind of aware of what to do if caught in a rip, but it has been brought to my attention recently that a lot of people aren’t aware of what a rip actually looks like or where the safest place to swim at the beach is if there is no flagged area.

One person will drown every two to three days this summer… 90% of those fatalities will be rip-related. Here are a few things that will help you and your kids stay safe this summer. I have also put together a few images that show what to look for.

1. The easiest thing to remember is that often the safest/calmest most enticing looking area along a beach is usually a rip. A rip is usually the area void of wave activity and appears darker and deceptively calmer. It can sometimes appear milky or turbulent, but it is always pretty much void of wave activity. All that water coming in via waves has to go back out somehow, this is what a rip is. (see pics).

2. Always take 5-10 mins when you get to the beach to observe surf conditions and identify where these areas are.

3. If you are caught in a rip, DO NOT PANIC. Go into floating mode and raise one arm as a distress signal when possible. See which direction the rip is taking you, is it straight out or at an angle? once you have determined this, and if you have the energy, swim to the right or left of the direction of flow, never against. Some rips can move at 3 times the speed of an olympic swimmer, you won’t win! If you cannot swim out to either side of the rip, just go with it. Most rips won’t take you out very far, and will usually spit you out not long after they take you, so keep calm and save your energy for the swim back to shore.

4. If you have kids, show them these pictures, educate them and make them aware. You can’t always be watching them, and it is only a matter of a few metres each way of the point of entry to the water that could mean them being safe, or instantly caught in a rip.

Obviously the safest place to swim is always between the flags on a patrolled beach, but this isn’t always practical given the immensity of our coast line and number of beautiful beaches. Of course there are many other factors that can come into play when it comes to beach safety, but rips are the No.1 killer. They are not hard to identify, and 10 mins observation before entering the surf is much easier than body retrieval.

*The darker/calmer areas in the pics are rips. The one with purple dye shows rip movement.

Kenny Jewell – Official

Please pass this on to friends and family that swim in the ocean.

I totally loved Monaco but it really did wear me out with all that walking.  I spent the next day, Sunday, June 3rd doing laundry and washing my hair.  Fortunately we had the washing machine brochures which of course were in French ( which I spoke before English )  as I needed them to figure out how to turn the darn thing on.  It was cool, damp and threatening to drizzle.  I hung what I could on the wee line outside and the rest of our things were strewn over lamp shades, door knobs and what have you.  Amazingly they were all dry by the next morning.  The hair washing was a big to do as I had had to wait so many days after the stitches were taken out and I had to try and keep the wound dry 🙄

Colin got cabin fever and and went for a long walk while I sat at the lovely table with my feet up on a chair and worked on this blog.  The photos had already been edited but it took me 3.5 hours to write the Vatican post.  I then organized my notes.  I had/have a scrap of paper with the date and everything we did on that particular day along with some special notes which would make blogging easier.  However between us and the two cameras we took hundreds and hundreds of photos.  They all had to be reviewed and edited.  Sometimes I used my photos and sometimes Colin’s.  There were days when I was too tired and Colin took all the photos.  But it was up to me to decide which I would use and what I was going to write about.  We both used a different program in the computer.  Each day had its own folder on the desktop with the selection of photos to use or not use.  I just hated to delete some photos as there was so much to share with you but neither I nor you my dear reader have time to write nor read it all.  However just in the last few days I reviewed the photos and discovered some special pictures that had been missed.  So over the last few days I have gone over 1000 photos for France and for Spain ( which I might have to check yet again ).  Photography is our business and we can’t publish just any photo although sometimes I just give up and do so regardless 😳

When Colin got back and after we had chatted for a bit and had a lovely glass of wine we headed out for dinner.  We always bought water and wine ( so we were able to enjoy a glass or two at the apartment ) at the local grocery store as well as some fruit.  Colin often went out for croissants in the morning.  Of all the wines we bought on our trip or ordered at a restaurant we never had one that we did not enjoy.  I was amazed that we could get a bottle of white DOC wine for only 2.8 euros at the grocery store.  Usually we tried to buy a liter or two half liters ( if Colin wanted red ) of house wine at the restaurant we were dining at.

On this particular evening we went to Pizza Cresci which according to Trip Advisor was the very best in Nice.  There was no house wine and the cheapest bottle of white wine was 22.5 euros but we ordered it anyway.  It came without a bucket of ice to keep it cool.  We soon had that rectified.  Because of that our waiter developed a huge attitude problem.  I had pizza as it was what this place was noted for while Colin had pasta.  We had to ask for bread, oil and vinegar.  When the meal was delivered it was literally thrown on the table in front of us.  We would have happily excused the rude waiter but the food was not good at all 😥

Many of you have commented on the sizes of the pizza you see in the photos.  In Europe those are normal single serving portions.  The pizza you eat in the US or in Canada are totally different from a European pizza.  Naples had the best every pizza, so lite and melt in your mouth.  We could each have eaten two.  In Rome they were a teeny tiny thicker and about the same in Nice.  In Europe the crust is so thin that you can’t pick it up with your fingers and you need to use a fork and knife to eat your meal.  The pizza is so light that you don’t feel stuffed ( as you would here, eating 2 or 3 pieces ) once you eat it all.  Some days we did eat it all and other days ( if we did not walk as much ) we brought back the left overs for lunch.

This dinner ended up costing us 50.8 euros ( about 79.50 CAD ) and it was not tasty.  I could barely bite down on the crust of my pizza and Colin said that his pasta had no taste.  But the attitude of the waiter made us most uncomfortable.  So Colin went to manager and complained.  We immediately had a new waiter who was fawning over us.  They offered us a free after dinner drink that we were not interested in.  So we ended up paying the full bill for our meal.  I have yet to make a review on Trip Advisor but I will.

It poured rain all night.  I could not stop coughing when I woke up Monday, June 4th.  The dampness did not agree with me.  It rained all morning and into the early afternoon.  It cleared up about 2 PM and we decided to take a chance and head out as this was our last chance to get to Cannes as we were leaving the next day for Spain.  The cost for the return trip by train to Cannes for both of us was 21.60 E/ $33.56 CAD.  By 3PM we were in Cannes 😀

A typical street.

Just to the left of the promenade.

More of the French Riviera only this time the beach has sand.

The famous Carlton Hotel.

The promenade.

Hey, the Cannes Film Festival building.   To Colin’s left is an old fashioned reel to reel camera set up with the film all over the outside.  Totally Colin as he excelled in real film and also did some video work in days gone by.

Cannes has its own long row of famous hand prints.  This one is Angelina Jolie.

Colin vs Sylvester Stallone.

Yes we really are in Cannes, the place to be seen.

Not our yacht,  just a mirror image.

One must walk the plank to get aboard.

We quite liked this smaller wooden boat.

Note the lighthouse, the helicopter taking off and this rather large yacht coming in to dock.

We were able to walk along the dock right next to these amazing boats.

A chair for you and for me to remove our shoes and then put them on again as we head out.

Ahh that large yacht coming into dock.  Umm, that looks like staff in uniform.

We spent four hours in Cannes and then had our final dinner at our favorite restaurant in Nice.  Colin always has such a lovely smile.

Yes the seafood pasta.  I would go back there just for dinner.

Can you see the small ceramic carafe to the left that my 500 ml of wine was served in?  I still can’t believe that I lost 5 pounds eating all that food night after night.

It was the perfect end to our five days in Nice.

Part of the reason we stopped in Nice was to go to Monaco.  I grew up following the story of the American actress Grace Kelly who became the Princess of Monaco in April of 1956 ( I was only 3 at the time ).   I have always wanted to go to Monaco so Saturday June 2nd was the day.  Being such a small area we thought that we would just go on our own and walk about.  When I started researching the details the night before I discovered that the country actually had lots of hills and walking was all about ups and downs.  I was at the end of my energy levels and knew that I just was not able to take chances on wandering about and not seeing anything.  About 10PM I remembered that the excellent free walking tour guide we had seen Nice with was conducting a paid tour to Monaco the next morning.  After finding the tour online and checking the itinerary we decided to book the tour.  A very last minute change of plan.  As it turned out, it was the best 60 euros we had spent on tours.

It was very close by train but there are rotating train strikes every three days and the service is slowed down.  The waiting area at the Nice train station.

Instead of running every 20 minutes the trains ran only every 40 – 50 minutes or as it turned out even longer as we experienced on our return.  If you look mid photo above and to the left you will see a piano.   This is provided so that folks can play or enjoy someone else’s music.  We listened to four different styles of music, all very very good.  The two fellows shown ended up playing some duets.  A fun way to pass the time.

Besides us there were only two other fellows on the tour and our guide.  As it turned out we spent most of our time waiting for them.  The tour went much longer than advertised and included much more walking than anticipated.  We left Nice at 9:45AM and did not return to the train station until 5:30PM.   We had only planned on spending 2 -4 hours in Monaco had we gone on our own.  Fortunately Colin willing carried a second pair of walking shoes for me to change into at the halfway point.  This is the very posh Monaco train station.

This furry chair was one of the first things we saw in a shop window.  I don’t think the fur was real…..

So very very much money here and so many luxurious vehicles to purchase.  Monaco is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and almost every car is luxurious.

It is the law that each shop, store or restaurant must display a photo of the Royal Family.

Monaco is the second smallest country in the world at two square kilometers.  The Vatican is smaller.  It would fit into New York Central Park plus another 2/3 of Monaco.  There is no airport but everyone flies via helicopter to the Nice Airport rather than travel by car.  It does use the Euro as its currency but does have some Euro coins with its own Monaco stamp.  There are only 40,000 people who are Monaco residents and they are not all wealthy.  After all someone has to clean the houses, work in the shops and other menial tasks.  One in three are millionaires.  We were told that if you took all the money in Monaco and divide it by 40,000 residents that each person would be worth 1.5 million euros.

Just outside the Royal Palace.

Albert II, Prince of Monaco was in residence as per the flag flying above the tower.  Our tour guide did not know that little fact.   The Prince’s  mother was Grace Kelly who died in an auto accident in September 1982.

Such a view from up on the hill next to the palace. Yes I had to climb to get up there.

The yacht club is the part of the building on the extreme right.  There are only 200 members.  In order to become a member you have to be very rich, you must be asked to join by a member, your yacht must be approved and then you must have a private meeting with the Prince of Monaco and he gets the final yay or nay.

Quite the array of yachts.

From here we had to walk down to sea level and then we could have taken a ferry from this side of the bay but no, the tour walked all the way around and then back up the hill on the other side.

If you look at that tall skyscraper in the photo above and go to the right about two inches you will see another white high rise. If you look very carefully you will see a blue edifice just to the left of that tower.  This is a rendering.

The most expensive penthouse in the world ( even Dubai ) is for sale in that tower. At 350 million euro it is still for sale.

Some very large sails.

This is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée  or simply the Monaco Cathedral where Grace Kelly married Prince Raynier III.  I was so disappointed that it was closed for a private wedding and we could not see inside.  Both of their tombs are there.

The only way Monaco can grow is to reclaim land from the ocean.  The red area is what was originally Monaco.  The pink area was reclaimed in 1880.  The dark orange area was reclaimed in 1960 and 1965 while the light orange areas were reclaimed in 1970.  Yellow areas were reclaimed in 2002 and the blue area reclamation started in 2012 and will go until 2014.

Still walking.  I had just changed my shoes.

We were walking along part of the Grand Prix route which had run the weekend prior.  The take down was happening.

Stopped by the police.  We later saw these two cruising past the casino.

The Monte – Carlo casino.  There is a restaurant to the left where a glass of beer costs 60 euro. If your vehicle is fancy enough you can park just out front.

I did go into the lobby ( can you see me crossing the street ) and into the very tiny area of the casino where people like me could go.  I peered around the corner and all I could see was Swarovski crystals covering all surfaces!

A full shot of the Monte – Carlo Casino.  This opulently decorated marble and bronze casino has all the glitz and glamour that has made this city famous.  There is so much history as to how it came about including the story of the Grimaldi Family.  By the way is you are a Monegasque, a resident of Monaco, you are not allowed to go into the casino even if you are a multimillionaire, I think they don’t want the residents to gamble.

My only disappointment is that we never saw James Bond 😉  We finally got back to Nice and once we walked back to the apartment we simple put our feet up, rested a bit, enjoyed some wine and headed out to an early dinner as we missed lunch because the tour went so long.  So very happy we did this tour as we would never have seen what we did nor learn so much about Monaco.   We were in bed by 9:30PM that night.  My feet hurt just writing this post.  No wonder I was worn out when I got back home here.

I truly loved my visit to Monaco which by the way ends where the buildings do.  The greenery above the buildings of  Monaco are agricultural areas that belong to France.  Italy is to the right of the photo, lower down.  If you have time, research how Monaco came to be, it is most interesting.  Thanks for this panoramic Colin.  As you can see we did not have the best weather but at least it wasn’t raining.

Nice and the French Riviera in all its glory.  Thanks for doing the panoramic stitch Colin as well as taking the photos.

The Massena Square Fountain is where we started our free walking tour.  Despite having prebooked many others had not and our numbers were very high and it was too late to call in another guide.  However our guide was beyond excellent and managed the large group perfectly.

There were many extras to observe as we walked.

She was a local begging for money in the cap at her feet.   Very laid back about it all.  Love her leather shoes.

We did a lot of walking including the flower market, the Opera House ( sadly there was nothing playing while we where there ), the Cours Saleya market, Galerie des Ponchettes, the Belanda tower, Rossetti square and much more.

We stopped in this square for an ice cream cone that had any flavor you could imagine including Baileys, chewing gum, milk flower, chili chocolate, jasmine, lavender, rhubarb, tomato basil and avocado.

The house where Paganini lived.

Apparently he would play his violin all night long and drive his neighbors crazy with the sounds he produced including screeching cats.

The tour then climbed up Castle Hill even though most of the original Chateau de Nice structure has crumbled away, tourists still climb the hundreds of steps to reach the stellar view from its peak which has magnificent views of Nice in all directions.  This is the port.  I was not able to climb but found the free elevator that went to the top.

Colin zoomed in on this unusual yacht.

The tour ended up on the hill and we walked down at our own pace.  The beach looks inviting does it not?

Look again.  How comfortable would it be to lie on those large pebbles?  Yet they all do.

It was time for lunch.  Still cool enough that I needed my sweater sitting in the sun.  Everyone during our entire time in Europe told us how unseasonably cool and wet it was.  We had gallettes/crepes, Colin with an egg on top and mine was made with 3 or 4 local cheeses.

In addition to French there are other languages prominent across the area and on the south coast of France that includes Latin, which was the official language in Nice and other coastal areas until the middle of the 16th century when Italian became the language of the government. Whilst French is its official language today, the Niçard dialect which has its origins in the city’s Italian roots, is still spoken by a minority and remains on street signs in Niçard in the old centre.

Speaking of signs, this one shows how many empty parking spots there are in these areas.  The Corvesy parkade is full.

A lovely area to walk through.

Interesting door knocker.

So much to take in.

So many narrow and twisting streets.

The odd RV.  We walked for hours and hours.

We went back to our apartment for a wee break and then back out again.  Many restaurants to chose from.

We finally settled here.  I had a delicious eggplant pizza while Colin really enjoyed his salmon pasta.  Yes still pizza and pasta but on an entire different level than Italy.

I was coughing so much that I had to order a brandy at 12 Euro 😯 which helped just a tiny bit.  I had also purchased cough syrup and special lozenges earlier in the day.  Including wine the dinner came to 47.50 Euro, about 74.00 CAD.  Not too bad as we had a 50 Euro daily budget.  The food was excellent.

Once back home we started to plan the next day and realized that we had to make a change in our plans.  Stay tuned for that on the next post.  It was a very rough night for me.  I had to sleep on the sofa with several pillows to prop me up.  As I lay there coughing I recalled a bottle of vodka that someone had left behind.  Up I got and took a few solid slugs.  I was finally able to sleep a bit.  Fortunately I have come a long way in the last month.

This is the first Canada Day in the 15 years we have lived here that it was cool and drizzling however we still went up to the main street to see the parade.  Every year it is different and this year ‘cute’ would be the best description.

The start of the parade.

That dog did not stay still for very long.  It had started to spit and it wanted to be warm and out of the wet.  Just as it passed us it was jumping into the front seat.

Homer the parrot was celebrating his 13th birthday, born on Canada Day.

Every float each year is always different.

There are a few of these in the park, built in the wood workshop.

Can you read the signs?  Made In Canada.  The little guy on the right went up to everyone lining the street shouting Happy Canada Day!  Precious.

For those of you who are not Canadian I just want to let you know that there is a recent movement here to only buy products made in Canada for obvious reasons 🙄

I hope that you all had a special Canada Day and will try and support our wonderful country as best that you can.