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22.05.2017 - 25.05.2017 
My sister, Linda and her husband, Philip came to visit us for a few days at the start of their 40th wedding anniversary European celebration tour and Orient Express train ride.

The 1st day we met Linda and Philip at the airport with a car. They were delayed because a piece of their luggage didn't arrive (the airline had ensured that all the bicycles for a bike team were loaded first). Fortunately the airport delivered their luggage a few hours later. Philip and I talked and Facebooked until the luggage arrived.

The 2nd day we had a big American breakfast at home and then we all took a bus to Castle Hill (Colline Du Château) near the port and saw the monument, human sundial, waterfall and gorgeous views of the city and coast. John and I had previously been to Castle Hill but this time Philip found the waterfall for us. It is a very nice waterfall. Thank you Philip!

After visiting the waterfall we went to Old Town and Place Massena. There is a huge statue of Apollo in the middle of a large fountain. The size of the "member" of a male statue indicates the stature and sophistication of the person or god. However, the modest ladies of the Riviera (hold on a sec while I guffaw), had their sensibilities offended by the huge member of the Apollo statue so, in the 50's the local religious folk whacked down the size of his wee-wee. Later the entire statue was hidden so no one would destroy it over the same immodesty issues. Eventually the statue was displayed again at the location where he now stands.

The 3rd day we had petit-déjeuner at a sidewalk cafe a block away from the apartment. A couple of cups of strong coffee and some pastries. It was a nice break out on the sidewalk under an umbrella (to protect from pigeon poopie, I presume). The weather was great everyday our guests were here.

After breakfast I talked Linda into going swimming with me in the chilly Mediterranean. We both laughed, giggled and squealed every time we moved an inch deeper into the water. I had fun.

In the afternoon we visited the Musée d’Archéologie site de Cimiez and the adjacent ruins of Roman baths. We had been there before -- a couple of months after we moved here.

The 4th day we all walked to the train station and then hung out while waiting for their train. It was a new route for me and had a lot of cool restaurants and businesses I didn't know about even though it was a very short walk from our apartment. They took the TGV to Paris for a 3 day stay and then on to Venice for a week among the islands. John and I only went to the main island but we'll visit Burano (lace makers, colorful architecture, best food in Venice) and Murano (glass blowers) when we return.

BTW the French Riviera and the Côte d'Azur are the same thing. The boundaries are the Italian border to the East and (it varies depending on the source) just prior to Marseille or just after Marseille to the West.

We had a wonderful visit with Linda and Philip and I look forward to the next one.

Ruth, Linda and Philip looking at the Port of Nice. Clear waters of the Mediterranean Memorial to the Resistance at the Monument aux Morts de Rauba-Capeu
Linda at the sundial on a perfect Nice day. Looking east from the port Linda with some of the decorative mosaics at
Colline Du Château
Philip and Linda at the Colline Du Château with the Nice beaches in the background John and Ruth Philip and friends
Philip, Ruth and feathered friends The steps had beach pebbles embedded for strength The beautiful Mediterranean
The waterfall that Philip found Sisters Stairway in the Vieille Ville
Ruins of the Roman baths at
Musée et Site Archéologique		 Stairs in a 2,000 year old shop Exhibit of how the Roman baths functioned
Ruth tries on a Roman helmet in the
hands on section of the museum		 Another great old building in Nice





08.05.2017
We just experienced our first major election in France! In 3 years and 5 months we will try for dual citizenship so we'll be able to cast our own votes during the next French Preidential election.

The final election results are Macron 66.14% and Le Pen 33.86%. Not even close. Predictions were that Macron would win because most of the nation would vote against the fascists here. But the strangeness of the result of the U.S. Presidential election had people a little spooked. The French Presidential election blow-out was predicted by all the polls. French pollsters have been very accurate for a very long time. It was unthinkable(!) that the pollsters would get the results so wrong (and yet some of us did think that). In the end the polls were correct, nothing to worry about. Let's see how things develop from here.

Here's a map of how France voted. The map doesn't look good for the Mediterranean coast. St Tropez is one of the most conservative towns along the coast.

Our friend Marion sent us a link to the French Presidency 2017 second round results city by city. Macron won 90% of the vote in Paris. Here in Nice, Macron won 60% of the vote which is pretty good. Not as good as Paris(of course), but not bad. TO TRANSLATE: if you use Chrome browser, right-click and choose translate to English. For other browsers you can translate by entering the web address in Google translate.

Macron is a centrist, not a liberal. His net worth is €284 million. Last year his salary (as an investment banker) was €83 million. He was the finance minister in the cabinet of our current President (Hollande, a Socialist) but he quit last August to begin to separate himself from Hollande. Macron was the architect of several anti-worker policies which were very unpopular. I think Macron got a pass on some of that once he separated from Hollande.

The main attribute for Macron was that he was the only viable candidate who wanted France to stay in the EU and to continue using the euro as its currency. That itself is a concerning story. The political future of Western nations has been interesting in recent times and will continue to be so.

Emmanuel Macron will take office as France’s next president on May 14.

Near future tasks for Macron: choice of a prime minister and recruitment of candidates for the legislative elections of June 11 and 18, when all 577 seats in the National Assembly, the lower, more powerful house of the French Parliament, will be up for grabs. The Senate, the upper house of the French Parliament, is indirectly elected by elected officials. Half of the Senate seats are up for election every three years; the term of office is six years.

Senators are elected in each department by an electoral college consisting of: deputies and senators; regional councilors of the departmental section for the department; delegates of municipal councils or alternates to these delegates.

Here's an interesting tidbit: Currently, all French citizens reaching the age of 18 are automatically registered to vote.

Below are several images of revelry of supporters around France,  a victory celebration at the Louvre, newspapers announcing Macron's win and future plans, obstacles, voters in Nice and images of the polling station. There's even Macron's High school yearbook picture (just for fun). A few newspaper headlines proclaimed Macron to be Le Big Mac" (a la Pulp Fiction?).

On election day John and I took a walk to do a little neighborhood shopping, visit the beach and check out the polling station nearest to our home. The station was in the Musée Masséna (a palace) which is located on the Promenade d'Anglais. Now, tell me -- when was the last time you voted in a palace? Some lovely images of the museum palace are shown below. The weather was gorgeous on election day and most days for a few weeks prior. I love the warmth and the sunshine but even dead of winter here is not too bad. John loves rain. I don't mind the rain as much here because it happens less often than it did in Eugene. When the rain does fall here it is rarely a fierce experience.

John and I wandered along the Promenade for a while watching people sip champagne in the outdoor area of a cafe and eat ice cream Sundaes at another. A couple of women were topless, one stretched out near one of the restaurant areas. She clearly isn't always topless on the beach (white triangles). I didn't see anyone bottomless - female or male - on the beach that day.

Previously we had watched parasailers taking off and returning to the beach. This time there was only a lonely kite and bench-like seat spread out on the beach. No boats, no customers ... just a HUGE kite.

Entrance to voting at Musée Masséna Torn election posters speak to the tempers and fears that marked this French election. One of the rooms of the Musée Masséna, the local polling station.
Another room of the Musée Masséna Voters lining up in the Musée Masséna Exterior of the Musée Masséna.
Macron supporter celebrating outside the Louvre. Macron's high school photo Le Big Mac
Macron wins and Europe breaths a sign of relief. The French Parliament Parasail laid out for the next customer.
Hôtel Negresco on election day.