Monaco

Dear Friends,

Today we had a great trip to Monaco.  We took the bus from Villefranche which goes right along the coast to Monaco.  It was a beautiful day, and the scenery was fantastic.  We got off the bus at the Monte-Carlo Casino stop which is also right next to the Office de Tourisme so we had everything that we could need.   The following is a pictorial account of our visit.

The casino was, of course, our first stop.  Here you can see Jane in front of the door, and I am demonstrating that I am about to enter into the circle of privileges which I thought was quite appropriate.

Unfortunately, the casino was not yet open so we were unable to win millions of dollars.  We walked around the point by the sea to the main harbor.  We ate lunch high above the harbor in the restaurant across the street from this hotel.

After lunch we coninued our walk around the main harbor on our way to the Oceanographic museum.  We passed a few big boats.

Once you get to the end of the point that is one side of the harbor there is a wonderful walking path around the point to the Oceanographic museum.

The museum was great.  In addition to lots of artifacts, there is a fantastic aquarium.  I particularly liked the shark tank.

There were also fish from other places.

Neither one of us wanted to try our luck eating this fish.

After the Oceanographic museum we walked through the old town to the Palace which is not much to look at as far as palaces go.

But the views are spectacular.  One seagull had the best seat in the house to watch out over the harbor and beyond.

While most days we just feel like we are living in Villefranche which is a great idea by the way, today we were just plain tourists which was fun.  We had a great adventure.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

The Light of Villefranche

Dear Friends,

One the many things that we will miss the most about Villefranche is the light.  Here are three pictures taken today.  The first was taken from our balcony when we awoke this morning.

We took a walk along the beach to the other side of the bay before breakfast.  This picture is the rising sun on Villefranche.

The last one is as we approached the vieille ville along the beach with a wonderful reflection in the water.

I apologize that our pictures do not do justice to the amazing colors and light of Villefranche.  I am not Matisse or Chagall or any of the other artists who loved this area for the light,  Nevertheless, I hope you get the idea.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

The Many Faces of President Obama

Dear Friends,

After the last midterm elections when President Obama was free to do what he truly wanted to do, he began to do things that I thought were great, e.g. the climate change deal with China and his actions on immigration reform.  Unfortunately, it appears that he is unable to chart a clear course.

Yesterday, Jeffrey Sterling was convicted of violating the Espionage Act by disclosing a secret plan to damage the Iranian nuclear program by providing intentionally misleading documents to the Iranians.  On its face it seems like a rather strange idea and has been characterised as a poorly conceived and executed plan.  Mr. Sterling went first through the chain of command to object to the program and then according to prosecutors went to the press, James Risen in particular.  The prosecutors tried for years to force Mr. Risen to divulge his source, and he refused.

Eventually, right before Mr. Sterling's trial, Attorney General Holder dropped his attempt to get Mr. Risen to testify.  So here is the first reversal.  Under President Obama's watch, Mr. Holder and the Justice Department have been very aggressively attempting to force journalists to reveal their sources.  Now that Mr. Holder is considering his Justice Department legacy, he reversed course on demanding that Mr. Risen divulge his source.  That is a good thing.  However, the Justice Department continued to prosecute Mr. Sterling.

President Obama is all about prosecuting the people that are responsible for letting all of us know the terrible things that our government is doing in our names, including Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and John Kiriakou.  Chelsea Manning and John Kiriakou have both been convicted.  Edward Snowden will never be able to come home without being prosecuted.  These whistleblowers are prosecuted, but the people that committed the crimes that were disclosed by these whistleblowers and others have never been prosecuted - the people that ordered torture, the people that carried out torture, the people that lied about and covered up the torture, the people that destroyed evidence of torture, the people that hacked into the Senate staff computers over the torture investigation, the people that ordered, carried out and hid the illegal spying on Americans, etc., etc., etc.

On another front, a couple of days ago President Obama indicated he would seek further protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve which would make it impossible to drill in this area.  That protection would be great.  Unfortunately since it requires Congressional approval, it will never happen so long as the Republicans control Congress.  In support of President Obama, one could argue that he was forcing the Republicans to demonstrate once again that they really do not care about the environment if there is money to be made by big companies.  I am afraid there is another reason.

Yesterday, President Obama indicated that he would permit drilling off virtually the entire Atlantic coast of the United States.  Big oil has been after this area for a long time, but has been unsuccessful at getting any administration to permit it.  The problem here is that President Obama does not need Congressional approval to open the Atlantic coast offshore area to drilling.  He can just do it.  So perhaps the more realistic, even if somewhat cynical, explanation for the ANWR move is to provide President Obama with cover to open up the Atlantic coast.  I can find no logic for denying drilling in ANWR and then permitting it off the Atlantic coast.

Someday President Obama has to make up his mind what he believes in, what he stands for, how he views the Constitution and for whom he is working.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

Les legumes de Villefranche

Dear Friends,

As you know by now there are many wonderful things about Villefranche.  One that you may have picked up on is the fresh produce.  It all seems to come from various places around the Mediterranean. I will say that the clementines from Israel are considerably more expensive than those from Spain but all are very good and mostly seedless.

There are many great places to get fresh produce even in this small village but our favorite, as I have written before, is a man who puts his produce out on a square between the butcher and the traiteur (the closest translation is a delicatessen).  He is very nice, speaks French to us and compliments our French.  We even joke with him from time to time.  He also seems to want to be sure that we are pleased with the produce that we buy.  A prime example was our purchase of an avocado.  Jane picked one out that looked good, but he asked us whether we were planning on eating it that night or the next.  When we said that night he selected another one that was absolutely perfect.  It was I suppose a win, win situation.  He wanted to sell that one because it would have been a little over ripe the next day (not that we would have noticed), and we wanted an avocado that was perfect for that night.

For the last two nights we have been particularly focused on local veggies.  On Sunday night we had artichokes with tomatoes, zucchini, leek and onions along with our pasta and tonight we had long Italian green beans also called romano beans and romanesco broccoli along with our chicken cordon bleu and mashed potatoes from the traiteur.  Here is the uncooked romanesco broccoli with the artichokes.

The cooking of the artichokes, tomatoes, zucchini and leek.

And tonight's meal as served on my plate.  We are walking a lot so we need to eat to keep body and soul together.

For purposes of comparison, here is Jane's plate.

We also had dessert from the patisserie.  I had a religious chocolat seen below with some éclairs, but I did not have éclairs with mine.  

Jane had a citron tart with meringue.

Bon appétit.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

Foundation Maeght

Dear Friends,

Today we took an excursion inland.  We headed first of all for Grasse.  We stopped just outside of Grasse at a golf club for a coffee.  It was amazing there was nothing particularly French about the club house or the grounds.  We could have been at any golf club in the United States except that everybody was speaking French.  There was nothing in particular that we wanted to see in Grasse and the Fragonard museum and shop were closed so we continued on to St. Paul de Vence which was the place that we wanted to go to the most.

St. Paul de Vence is a very old fortified city near Vence.  It became a border town and was first fortified in 1388.  The fortification that you see today were built in 1538.  It was a favorite town for artists, and Marc Chagall lived there for 19 years before his death in 1985.

From this picture you can see what a beautiful town it is perched on the top of the hill.  You can also see the incredible color of the blue sky.  The light in the south of France is absolutely fantastic.  You will note the mural by Chagall on the side of a building in this little school.  Never did I attend a school with a Marc Chagall (or any other famous artist) mural on the wall, much less an exterior wall where it is accessible to all.

As soon as we arrived we had lunch at at wonderful restaurant just inside the walls of the fortified city called Le Tilleul (the lime tree).  We sat outside with a view of the valley below on a gloriously sunny day.  It was the third time that we have had lunch at this restaurant.  The food is very good, the service is wonderful and the view is fantastic.

Unfortunately, after lunch we had to choose between walking in the old city or visiting the Foundation Maeght.  While we had to miss a stroll in this beautiful old city, for us there was no question, we had to go to the Foundation Maeght.

We have visited this museum on numerous occasions and have loved it every time.  If you are ever in this area, it should be on your list of places you must visit.  Here is the link to the website.  It describes the place better than I can.

The Marguerite and Aimé Maeght Foundation is a unique example of a private European Foundation. Inaugurated on July 28th 1964 by André Malraux, then Minister of Cultural Affairs, this architectural ensemble was entirely conceived and financed by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght to present modern and contemporary art in all its forms. Painters and sculptors collaborated closely in the realisation of this Foundation with Catalan architect Lluís Sert by creating frequently monumental works integrated into the building and gardens: the Giacometti courtyard, one of the world’s most famous ‘in-situ’ works, the Miró labyrinth filled with sculptures and ceramics, the mural mosaics by Chagall and Tal-Coat, the pool and stained glass window by Braque, the Bury fountain…
A true museum in nature, the Maeght Foundation is an exceptional site that contains one of the most important collections in Europe, with paintings, sculptures; drawings and graphic works of modern art from the 20th century (Bonnard, Braque, Calder, Chagall, Chillida, Giacometti, Léger, Miró, Ubac…) and contemporary artists (Adami, Calzolari, Caro, Del Re, Dietman, Kelly, Mitchell, Monory, Oh Sufan, Takis, Tàpies...).

Last year when we visited it was drizzling, and there was rather dense fog which gave a completely different feeling to the outdoor sculptures and other works of art.  Today, there was a brilliant blue sky and bright sun so we had a completely different experience.  If you pay an extra 5 euros you can take pictures.

Today was a day of great beauty and culture.  How lucky we are to be able to get such joy from these wonderful works of art installed in nature.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal