Ventimiglia: Ducks and desserts

 Ciao!

 After a short but very enjoyable stop in Menton I was on my way to Italy! The scenery was absolutely stunning: rocky coast, blue sea, blue sky, tall cliffs. 

 We rolled into Ventimiglia and the first thing I did was find the nearest ice-cream shop! I had banana and stracciatella and it was as luscious as I had always hoped Italian ice-cream would be. The banana was especially striking as it tasted exactly like real banana and not the artificial banana taste you often get in ice-cream.

 I wandered through the streets just enjoying being in another country and being surrounded by fast, musical Italian. I explored a market and souvenir shops and enjoyed the lovely views of houses set into the hillside rising around the city. 

 I found the sort-of-estuary where the river becomes the sea, which is crossed via a bridge. Standing on that bridge taking photos of the many wildfowl hopping and bobbing and flying about is one of my strongest memories of Ventimiglia. There were ducks, seagulls, swans and more. The weather, which had been sunny in Menton, had turned kind of moody - it felt as though a storm was coming, which made an unusual and pleasing ambience for the photos.

 I then arrived by the sea where I sat and read for a bit as I was tired out from trekking around and from the heavy air. It was nice to just sit there and relax. I returned to town and visited a craft shop where I bought some lovely carved and painted animals.

 Back in the station I just had to try some pizza at the café. I also have a lovely dessert called a Sicilian Something or Other which I can't find again but which combined pastry, chocolate, orange and cream and which was divine.

 I then went to catch my train back to Juan-les-Pins and it was then that the worst thing that happened during my Antibes fortnight occurred. My camera bag was stolen. I didn't see it being taken, I just realised that it was no longer there. 

 It was horrible: my camera, camcorder, memory cards and all my photos of the trip were gone. Naturally an awful, panicky time followed in which I contacted my mother and we tried to find out what I had to do and where to report the theft. 

 I would later go to the police in Antibes and contact various people on the railway system. I never got it back. I have a replacement now, which is a wonderful camera but I miss my old one terribly - I had had it for years.

 So, my afternoon in Ventimiglia contained one very bad memory. However, I try to focus on the good times when I remember it: the ice-cream, the birds, the craft shop, the Sicilian dessert. One day I hope to take a grand tour of Italy and see Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Naples and Sicily itself (setting of one of my favourite works of literature: Much Ado About Nothing). One day...

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Film: Elle l'adore

 Salut!

 Shortly after the departure of my mam I decided to watch a French film at the Jean Ferrat Cultural Centre in Cabestany. Elle l'adore (She loves him) looked promising.

 The blurb told me how it deals with the reaction of a superfan when her singer idol turns up on her doorstep one night. 

 It looked like it might be similar in structure and general atmosphere to Le Dîner de Cons: a comedy in which one thing happens after another in an apartment over the course of one night.

 However, that wasn't the case. I enjoyed Elle l'adore but it wasn't what I had expected at all.

 Firstly, it is very dark, which I hadn't seen coming. Vincent's - the singer's - girlfriend dies in a freak accident while they are arguing and his immediate reaction is - bizarrely - to cover up her death by driving around Paris "looking for her."

 Why doesn't he just tell the police what happened? I doubt he would have been charged; it was an accident. But I guess if he had been to the police there wouldn't be a film!

 Instead, his course of action is to turn up on the doorstep of his number one fan, Muriel, and rope her into disposing of the body.

 She agrees but then freaks out and deviates from Vincent's plan without telling him. This leads to much confusion and, ironically, to them both being questioned by the private investigators Vincent initially hired to find his "missing" girlfriend.

 The PIs, for their part, are incredibly tedious. The storyline about their romance is completely surplus to requirements: Vincent's and Muriel's relationship is the important one in the film and I would rather watch the PIs just doing their job! Plus, the guy is borderline abusive and the girl mad to put up with it. I hate how she is painted as the one in the wrong.

 So, there is much to frown upon in this film but one thing that went some way to saving it is the beauty of certain scenes - the lighting, the sound, all the elements come together from time to time to create something really stunning. I noticed this especially at the beginning of the film: the opening scene where Muriel tells her story and the scenes in the coffee shop and the beauty parlour.

 Additionally the acting is solid; I especially love Sandrine Kiberlain as Muriel. She makes the viewer feel for and root for someone whose behaviour is pretty awful.

 My final verdict: plotwise, ludicrous; cinematography-wise, pretty good. The ending was bizarre and the final few moments were so predictable but nevertheless made an impression. Ultimately this just wasn't what I was expecting but I tried to have an open mind and found a lot to like about it. However, the awful plot flaws did compromise the nice moments.

 I rate this film 3/10 which sounds harsh but I am a harsh marker for films. See my French blog film page for my rating of other films to compare.

 I recommend this film if you are open-minded, have some experience of arty French cinema and can overlook ridiculous plotholes to focus on the moments of beauty. They are there.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x