Baptism in Grasse

Aston the adorable chihuahua

Up at 0400 to leave cold, cold Paris to get to sunny Grasse via train, bus, taxi, donkey if necessary. It took until 2pm to finally reach our destination which was to meet a perfumer. Spent a couple of amazing hours with her before we dragged fatigued, hungry bods into the town square where my early evening began with two vital necessities...a brick of chocolate covered nougat and a large coffee. Then along came Aston...the friendly chihuahua and we simply had to have a cuddle!

We were fortunate enough this morning to witness the baptism of children at the 12th century Cathédrale Notre-Dame-du-Puy.

Each child received a double handful of chilly water from the priest, much to the surprise of most of them. Parents were there with towels and hugs to save the day. The beautiful family ceremony at Grasse in southern France concluded with each child lighting a candle.

Really enjoying strolling about Grasse without a tourist in sight. Surely it is time for the French government to take control of taxi services outside of Paris. The cabbies at the Cannes railway station are in a word 'crooks' - demanding a price before you go anywhere and insisting on cash only. How do they get away with it in this day and age?

- compiled from Ian's Facebook posts