The Third Best Restaurant In The World

There is a web site out of the UK - it's been around for awhile - called The 50 Best Restaurants In The World. Of course it is controversial and subjective but, if they are to be believed, we had lunch yesterday at Number Three, Mirazur here in Menton. Of course it's expensive but not that bad at lunch. Let me put it this way: it's a lot less than tickets to Hamilton on Broadway.

It is on a hillside overlooking the town of Menton and the Mediterranean, right on the Italian border. I can't begin to describe all the things they served us. Let me just note that the picture on top shows two martini glasses containing jellied tomato water (!) topped by tiny flower petals. And I've sure never been given a text by Pablo Neruda with the bread.

This was a chef's choice tasting menu. Impossible to remember all the details but they gave a little card with what we were served (see below). Lastly, a little box with exquisite tiny cakes. We will save then for Ellie.

I felt a bit embarrassed afterward. My palate is simply not this sophisticated. 

Til The Cold WInter's Through

This was the most difficult show I shot at The Fringe, both because of the material and a serious lighting problem that interfered with photography. These are the best I could get. The program describes it:

'Til the Cold Winter's Through, a new dramatic work by Shannon Geier and River A. Dowdy, explores the devastation surrounding the issues of human trafficking and child exploitation, by tracing the stories of those who have suffered and survived. The many facets of these modern tragedies are examined in a way that gives voice to those who are often silenced and raise awareness of issues that are often deemed too painful to explore. Mature Audiences Only.

This is probably the last Fringe material for a while. Other adventures await.

Racecars and Romance, Part 2

Another set from Racecars and Romance. As the story progresses, the has-been race car driver wants to get back to the top, and is also interested in Roni, the female master mechanic who has somehow ended up working in lipstick and eyeliner at an oil change shop. She thinks he is going to ask her to marry her but, instead, asks her to be his crew chief for the big race at Talladega Speedway. Improbably, he wins, but pays more attention to his own glory than to Roni, who helped get him there.

I have a bunch more photos from the show to edit so there may be one more set of these. Fifteen pictures from this set will go up on Facebook shortly.   

Racecars and Romance, Part 1

I am so far behind in my editing. Two heavy weeks at work. Now the pressure is off for a while. However, Mrs. C and I will be leaving Tuesday for two weeks away and that will be a substantial distraction.

Finally to the other Fringe feature presentation, Racecars and Romance. The Fringe program says:

Race Cars and Romance is a fast-paced, hilarious, rom-com that tells the story of a young woman mechanic fighting to earn professional respect in the male-dominated world of stock car racing. She is torn between her desires to find love in a traditional relationship and the reality of her agitated, greasy, masculine working conditions. Her fortunes turn for the better after an unexpected meeting with an old foe and down-and-out race car driver leads to a winning relationship on the track but troubled romance off the track. Meanwhile, traditional relationships are redefined when her best friend, the playful Louraine finds her first “respectful” relationship, former shop owner Paw Paw offers dear Grandma Myrtle appreciation that’s long overdue, and other colorful customers find their connections while keeping the oil change business in non-stop laughter.

It was a fun bit of fluff. I took way too many pictures. There will be more of these on Facebook in a few minutes and another set tomorrow, time permitting.         

Grim Tales, Horrific Vignettes

From goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night
Good Lord, deliver us!

                   - old Scottish prayer  
 

Fringe mainstay, Pete Papavlasopoulos, and company put on five mini horror plays. In a home for patients with advanced dementia, one gets up when no one is around and smothers another. A bottle contains a mystical  fluid that, when drunk, might give you eternal life, might kill you or might kill someone else.Then there's Death And The Maiden. 

There was a play on Broadway in 1965 called Things That Go Bump In The Night. Although it only lasted for 16 performances, I saw it when I was in high school. Different experience from the Fringe.      

Political Snarkasm

The program sums it up well:

A One-Night-Only Cabaret with Sandi and Richard Riccardi. A dynamic comedy and cabaret duo, the Riccardis mix solid musical chops with satirical lyrics to lightly skewer contemporary society. It's all done in good fun, but with a definite attitude. Their show "Polical Snarkasm" will be featured at the Fringe Festival. This show is intended for Mature Audiences.

Well, that's a bit of an understatement. This was brilliant musical satire aimed, for the most part, at Trump and his minions. Non-stop laughs beautifully performed. And no, I don't remember why she was wearing the hockey team's jersey.

Ectopic

The word ectopic, according to Google, is defined as being in an abnormal place or position or as in ectopic pregnancy, a fetus attaching to the wall of a fallopian tube rather than the uterus. That's a very dangerous condition. The program tells us that:

A young woman dances around the issue of her hypersexuality as it starts to affect her various relationships. Does everyone around her simply reflect a culture that dislikes exceptional sexual behavior or is she hiding something deeper behind the facade of sexual exploration? Written and Directed by Taylor Gruenloh, featuring Laurell Stevenson & Darrious Varner .

This is a family-friendly blog, so to speak, and some of the images I got are too steamy for publication. But that's the Fringe.