If it’s Friday, it must be France …
I love being in France for June 21! It’s officially summer, for one thing, and the longest day. Although I must admit summer seems to have been well established on the Côte d’Azur for several weeks now. The weather has been magnifique!
Not only do we welcome the Summer Solstice at this time, but throughout France, since 1982, La Fête de la Musique is celebrated in every community big or small. From a single performer on a street corner to groups of all sizes … choral, instrumental or a combination thereof … there is music. The whole town turns out and age is not a factor ~ young or old, it’s usually a late night filled with laughter, song and general bonhomie. Great fun!
All this week, Place Massena has been closed off as the stage for the biggest concert of the fête was being constructed. Security measures were also being put in place to ensure the safety of everyone.
We decided to watch from the comfort of our living room as the entire event was televised. The weather was perfect and everyone appeared to have a fine time right up until it ended around 1 a.m.! It was a pleasure to watch such a joyful event. You can get an idea from this shot taken of our television screen. The lighting became more spectacular as the evening wore on. A fête indeed. Bravo, la ville de Nice! 
I‘m excited about the new exhibit “Matisse, Picasso and their models“, opening tomorrow at the Musée Matisse. Click this link for an excellent website, Best of Nice Blog, to see what options you have for getting to the museum. Whatever information you would like about Nice, can pretty much be found here.
It’s a beautiful building, n’est-ce pas? Well worth a visit at any time. Matisse had such a history with Nice and the surrounding area. This excellent article from The Good Life France gives you more details about the legacy he left here.
And not to be outdone in the excitement department 
, I’m happy to be participating in an author event, being held in Nice tomorrow. Here’s the info and if you are available to drop by, please do!
There are just a few days left to take advantage of this Amazon promotion. Once you’ve read Book 1, The Promise of Provence, you won’t want to miss the rest of the adventure!
Bon weekend tout le monde! Enjoy your weekend everyone!
I love your books, Patricia, I hope others will click the links and have the same pleasure when they download your books.
Thanks very much, Anneli. I hope so too!
Looks like fun. Although I’m not much into loud crowded concerts so I probably would have watched from my room as well.
Happy summer!!
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Watching from home was definitely best for us geezers!
I hope you are having a lovely summer at Baer House and finding time to relax
in between taking care of all your guests!
Enjoy your stay in France, Patricia. The book event sounds lovely and I LOVE la fête de la musique. It started when I was still young and I enjoyed amazing concerts, whether in Paris or elsewhere throug the country. I can see that the program announced is pretty cool. Bel été à vous!
Merci, Evelyne ~ It’s been a busy few weeks and the time is flying by far too quickly.
I hope you are enjoying a lovely summer too.