Sunday, March 11, 2012

Festival du Citron - Menton


Are you fooled into thinking I took a quick trip to Paris this weekend?? Look again closely and you will see before your very eyes The Eiffel Tower made entirely out of........lemons...and it doesn't stop there either.........................


There are Loire Valley Chateaux, Alsace architecture, Brittany lighthouses, rural churches, Riviera resorts, and even Mont Blanc high in the Alps ready to be scaled.......


The city of Paris has been recreated with The Eiffel Tower, metro Stations, and cafe street scenes...


And all these "sculptures" are made entirely out of oranges and lemons creating a surrealist kitsch park of  magic realism - the first time I have been reminded of Mexico City here on the French Riviera.....


Where exactly are we on the Riviera??......Menton of course at the annual Festival du Citron which runs for two weeks from mid February to the beginning of March. My favourite scene is this large bottle of champagne continually filling this pyramid of glasses accompanied by a soundtrack of popping corks and that pleasing gurgling sound of glasses being filled.....


In a few of the photos (such as the one above) there are tiny people which emphasise the sheer scale of these constructions!! Let's take one last look at the Loire Valley Chateau...incredible aren't they???.....


Menton is easily reached by train or 100 bus from Nice, and is a beautiful town to visit in its own right with many other attractions - but if you visit in February be sure to check out the Festival du Citron...Enjoy!!

22 comments:

Angie said...

These shots & the orange & lemeon sculptures are amazing!

French Girl in Seattle said...

This is in-cro-ya-ble Catherine. Merci for these cheerful shots! I had to repost on my Facebook page! Bonne fin de weekend. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

Sylvia K said...

These are incredible, Catherine!! You got some fantastic shots! Thanks so much for sharing this! Amazing! Have a great week!

Sylvia

Catherine said...

Hi Angie, Veronique and Sylvia - looking at them again out of their context they are pretty amazing - where else in the world would you see something like this??
regards Catherine

Fly Girl said...

Love this! Leave it to the French to combine art and beautiful citrus fruits. I bet the aroma is wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous!!

Jilly said...

Lovely shots of the displays, Catherine. Like you, my favourite was of the champagne. Next year, come to the parade -

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

I'm sure I would have neither the patience nor the requisite skill to make even a tiny castle out of lemons or oranges, but I admire those who do!

Shadowy Reflections

Full-On-Forward said...

Fruity!!!

Love it!

John

Costin Comba said...

Beautiful and colorful pictures. I am invite you to subscribe to my "Life in Pictures" meme. Have a nice week. Greetings from Romania.

LV said...

I had the opportunity to visit Paris many years ago I never saw anything this amazing. Thanks for your visit and comment.

Halcyon said...

I have been to this before, it's really impressive what people can dream up. Nice shots of the citris sculptures!

Anonymous said...

Major points for originality!

Lynne with an e said...

Wow! Why pay any attention to the old adage, "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" when you can use those lemons to create a giant champagne bottle pouring into a mountain of citrony glasses.

PeterParis said...

I suppose you must now have established the contact with our lovely friend Jilly! Menton is a really nice place, the lemons are sweet and good!

To ansewer your "question" on my blog: Of course I would be more than happy to meet you when you visit Paris. Please contact me: peter.olson@hotmail.fr ... and we can fix date and place to meet.

Malyss said...

Hi! I'm glad you could see the Fete des citrons, I thought you were away during this time. Could you see Carnaval too?
To answer to your question: yes, it was in "Les Hauts-de-Cagnes". I wanted to visit the house of Renoir but it was closed for renovation.The village is not very far from the house, and I like to go there ..in winter!In summer, it's impossible to park the car , and streets are full of people!
I hope you enjoyed your trip in Provence!

EG CameraGirl said...

OH MY! This is absolutely amazing!

Matt Jones said...

I love your photographs! I lived in Nice 2006-208 so it's a joy to see all the places I too visited and some new ones

Catherine said...

Thanks for all your lovely comments this week - much appreciated

namaki said...

wow ! I live in the back country of Nice and missed it ! Next year ! your pictures are great ! thanks for sharing !

Crafty Green Poet said...

I visited menton once - its alovely place. These citrus creations are amazing - do people eat the fruit afterwards?

Wendy said...

What a wacky wonderful festival. Would love to see it.