Only in France !

Once again, the streets of Vallauris were closed to traffic. This time in honor of the yearly pottery festival.

Street potters gave away their wares and kids everywhere lined up for the chance to take home a pot. Made right there in front of them. And if they wanted to paint it afterwards, paint and brushes were all supplied.

Of course, that left hordes of parents gingerly carrying their offspring's freshly acquired pot down the street as the kids ran off to play. There was plenty of opportunities for refreshment in the many cafes and bars along the road though.

A street festival isn’t complete without a parade, and one was duly provided. A mixture of religious groups, Majorettes and Brazilian Carnival made it an interesting parade. Drums beat, horns blew, batons and flags flew in the air and everyone had a good time.

And then the coup de grace. At the bottom of the street were pieces of pottery hanging from a frame over the main street. Only in France would they take a ten-year old child, blindfold him, give him a heavy stick with a metal end, twirl him around to disorient him and then tell him to swing the stick to smash a piece of pottery hanging seven feet off the ground. I’m not sure what that was all about, but all the kids enjoyed it and no-one got hurt.