Stony beach

We went down to the stony beach yesterday. I wasn't too keen since this beach is in shade most of the afternoon due to the old city walls [the Ramparts].
However, it was very warm even though it was shady so it was pleasant to sit there even after swimming.
You can see the Ramparts in the photo belowand the Cathedral belltower and Castle are in the background.
The Ramparts are based on Roman walls but they were repaired and improved by the military architect Vauban so that they would withstand cannon fire.




The sea was a very pleasant temperature and very clear even though it was a little bit rougher than usual. When snorkelling, the waves were picking me up and throwing me a few feet so it was invigorating - but maybe not very pleasant for weak swimmers.
The sea looks deceptively calm here but the colour is accurate. The sea here is always amazing - it goes from deep azure blue [why this area was called the Cote d'Azur] to a frothy pale aquamarine when its very stormy. No wonder so many painters have been lured here.




I was talking to my 11 yr old son about Andy Goldsworthy a fantasitc sculptor who uses natural elements, leaves, stones, ice and snow to create sculpture and we ended up having a play around ourselves.
Taran is an expert at building things and sculpture so i could definitely see him heading off in this direction if it appeals to him later. He keeps adding to his skills and has taught himself how to carve stone and has recently been taught how to make chain mail.

This is Taran's stone pile - i had to blur out the background in photoshop to make the stones stand out since he had built his stone pile close to the Rampart wall.


My pile was much more pedestrian, and smaller, though i was trying to get a sort of rainbow effect from the different colours of stones.
I liked how it turned out with the sea in the background.






When we got back to the house the sun was setting and the sky was alive with colour - beautiful salmon pinks and peach blushed clouds. It was lovely to watch the sky change colour like a kalaeidoscope - its easy to get bogged down in day to day stuff and miss these things.




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