Menton, France

We arrived in Menton last night in drizzle and fog, but awoke to mostly sunny. Almost 35 years ago, on our backpack/train Grand Tour, we were en route from Rome to Nice. Our train trip was interrupted at dawn. The train was stopped at the italian border town of Ventemiglia. All passengers were moved to another train under watch of the police. We later learned all traffic from Italy was searched for a sick old Nazi war criminal whose wife was sneaking him out of Italy so he could die in his homeland.

We were pulling out of the station on the new train when Susan discovered her high school sweater was missing - probably left on the original train in our sleepy haste. We hopped off at the first stop and awaited the next train back to the border. On the platform a curious local mec asked why in the world we would want to return to Ventemiglia. On hearing of the list sweater, he shook his head and tsk-tsk'd about our chances since it was "les Italiens" we would be dealing with.

We retrieved Susan's sweater. It was in the original train, hanging on a hook. Hurrah!

We checked the train schedule. Our travel plan needed changing, due to the now delayed arrival for the Nice. We checked the map and decided to stop in little Menton. It had a youth hostel with a great view and a beach within walking distance. The beach was rocky but wonderfully refreshing after the summer swelter of Rome!

So now here we are again. Menton is celebrating its Lemon Festival. Here are decorations made of lemons and oranges. Also pics of us with tropical birds of paradise flowers and overlooking the beach.

It's relaxing and beautiful!