Passendale & Ypers

With Dad visiting the grave of Mark Saunders. One of 12,000 commonwealth graves in Tyne Cot cemetery, Passendale.

Last post at the Menin gate, Ypers.

Nice & Monaco

Clear skies, Rafael Nadal ruling a clay court, a beautiful coastal path and the first sunburn of summer were the highlights of our venture to southern France.

After Iceland's volcanic ash prevented us getting to the same event last year, we were treated this year to the best tennis match we've seen between the great Rafael Nadal and the miserable Andy Murray. And the result this year was no different from the previous 6: Nadal was the champion of Monaco again.

We found Monaco to be a strange place with shutters closed accross the town but the people of Nice were good fun and the pace of life was pretty relaxed. And of course, we sampled the local fare: Socca (chickpea flatbread) and while we couldn't stomach €5 for an ice creams at the tennis in Monaco, we made a significant contribution to the weekend turnover of our local pattiserie.

Central Nice



Monte Carlo Masters 1000 semi-finals
(pics from Nadal v Murray)

Coastal walk

Not in any guidebooks but the costal path from Beaulieu to Villefranche via the Saint Jean Cap Ferrat peninsula was a cracking stroll through the French riveria.