In Menton - 3 Avril

Way back in the day, like 80 or so years ago, my grandmother (this is Paul writing) would travel to the south of France for trap shooting. In addition to shooting birds--they used live pigeons at the time--she would also shoot photos,  some of which she later developed in large, twelve by sixteen inch, format. 

About 20 years ago Alaine selected a couple of these photos for framing as a surprise Christmas gift for me. The one below is a quickie photo I took before we left of one of those framed originals that we have on our dining room wall--

About two years ago, while doing some research on my grandmother, I came across a list of place and event names that I recognized as matching up with the large photos, and the mystery of where this scene was-- was no longer a mystery. The photo is of Menton, France. Thanks to hints in the photo, and the fact that Menton is not that big, and with the wonder of Google street view, I soon found the somewhat harborside corner. And I never thought that, a couple years later, I would stand in the same spot.

Granted, the romance of the time is somewhat lost-- the city having chosen to fill in the harbor at that corner and moving the waterfront further south. But still, the roof lines and the shapes and the concept of this place where my grandmother spent some time-- it's still there.