Royal Kensington Gardens in bloom, Tales from the French Riviera andother stuff

Forgive the poor editing but if I don't get this out then I never will and that might become a habit so this will be a pictorial stream of consciousness/diary sort of thing.

This was the lovely tulip planting situated in the Italianate section of
Kensington Gardens which is by Lancaster Gate.

It's one of my favorite bits of Kensington Gardens.

Not only were there great flowers but it's birthing season.

Dotted around the Serpentine were new families of ducks.
Speaking of birthing...

And of course in the edifice on the way left is Apartment 1A which is the London home of the Cambridges.
Looks peaceful here but...
 It was surrounded by Japanese press, Australian channel 9, the AP, ITN and a few passing people like moi.

You forget it is a "royal" park sometimes but there are reminders.
Here are some guards practicing for the Queens Parade in June.

Went to the South of France for a few days.

I forgot how nice it is - off season.
Otherwise during the heights of summer it really isn't to my liking and way too crowded and all the angst and insecurity of city folk gets magnified.
Maybe it's the shedding of clothes into swimwear or the hopes and dreams of possible mating that applies to both men and women.

It's pretty now but it can get pretty ugly in other ways.

It's been years since I went.
I told myself twice I should never go again.
First was when the Siberian ex gulag prisoner / bodyguard told my friends and myself that we could not lean on a column by our table in a St Tropez nightclub because some gangster bitch (literally) had paid 250,000 euros for the privilege of dancing on the podium exclusively for the month of August.
This was a decade ago when 250,000 euros was a lot of money.
( I am being facetious people.)

Then I made an exception and went to the Riviera with Mr CSW a few years after that incident.
We were staying in a lovely hotel for some R&R and some Russian magnate insisted on flying his helicopter and parking it by the hotel pool.
With people like that, you can't exactly have a word with anyone.
But he did make us laugh because he wore animal print speedos with a sailor's cap and smoked a cigar like Popeye by the pool.

But you get my drift.

There is architectural evidence of some characters that are down these parts.
Very dirty rotten scoundrels.
Do you see the almost ancient Roman villa above and below?

It has been deserted for more than a decade because an Arab multimillionaire decided he would just build what he wanted and just pay the penalty by not adhering to planning permission.
But the socialist French council kicked in and didn't give him the easy option of paying the fines but deemed it uninhabitable and is still empty.

Was it W Somerset Maugham that said about Monaco - where the weather is sunny but the people are shady? Well with pink cars like this...

This pink building is part of the Monagesque government buildings.

Doesn't it look like it's in Vegas pretending to be in the south of France almost?
Speaking of shade, it was a refreshing change to need it.

But I rediscovered the beauty of the south of France and was reminded how it became such a popular destination.

There are lots of walks by the coast that offer incredible fresh air and views.

My friend who lives there knows a lot of spots and paths known only to locals and took me for the first swim of the season.

The Jack Russell joined us too.

It was just the three of us!
Yes the water was about 14 degrees but the plus side is we had it to ourselves.

This is what you can do in a park in Monaco.

You are allowed to walk with your dog and throw rubbish away.
It's a blast!

Here is a picture of a boat that is sinking - sorry for the blur.
But the Med is actually quite treacherous.

This is the famous hilltop villa where Karl Lagerfeld has used as a photoshoot for many of his personal work and Chanel ads.

It's one town out of Monaco.

Monaco reminds me a bit of Hong Kong.

Dense high rises and ridiculous prices of homes.

But it was quite nice to wake up to the beach.

The preparations for the Monaco Grand Prix were already in place.

These pics are for you Louise!

It was fun driving pretending we were in the race.

This next picture won't mean anything unless you play the video game.

We went to the finals of the Rolex Masters which is the Wimbledon of Monaco.

It rained and I got blamed for bringing it over.

But playing resumed and Prince Albert was there in this royal box.

Without Princess Charlene...Rumour mills are busy!

Yellow is gorgeous.

Loro Piana never gets it wrong.
Here is the yellow turned apricot with the sun blushed roses in my window box.

I have been posting pics called live rose cam on my facebook and I got a few messages from a few friends that I was turning into an old lady.

Aren't we all!?

I need a spiralizer because strips aren't the same.

But considering we got a Vitamix and now aren't using it I am reluctant.

Fresh almonds ain't all that.
Such a disappoitment.
Plus almonds use so much water so now this is the new guilt food and eating it or drinking almond milk is the new not recycling apparently.

I can't get over how much I love Millie.