Fête du Citron

This weekend we visited the cute little town of Menton to witness the annual Fête du Citron, an amazing display of giant fantastical sculptures that are completely covered with lemons and oranges (which happen to be in abundance in this region). The festival was started in 1875 by local hoteliers to liven up the somewhat sleepy city by throwing a carnival to attract customers during the slow winter months. Today, it's one of the most popular events on the French Riviera, second only to the Carnaval de Nice.

Witches flying over castles, Arabian princesses dancing. Why not?

This year's theme, Des Mondes Fantastiques (fantastical worlds), gave the artists free reign to create an impressive collection of strange and fun fruit-laden structures. The montage included a phoenix, a caveman with a dragon nesting on his head, druids, Arabian princes and princesses, as well as fairy houses and other abstract building.

"I've got this great idea. Let's make a caveman head with a cave for a mouth, a dragon nesting on some eggs in its hair, and an owl roosting on its ear to tie it all together!"

The park was packed, and the Italian digestivo Limoncello samples were flowing. Perhaps the lemon liqueur had something to do with the inspiration of these funky designs.

Any ideas why this Druid sorcerer's left hand is just a bunch of sticks?