One of our vacation days was spent in a trip to Biot, a nearby town famous for its artisans. Unfortunately, many shops, museums, and restaurants are closed on Monday and Tuesday. Also, they seem to close from 12:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon. Some are also closed on the weekends. By my calculations, many French laborers seemed chained to a grueling 18 hour work week! Nevertheless, we found many things of interest in Biot. [Click any picture for a larger version]
 

Approaching Biot from the winding mountain road, it is as it appears, a compact and easily defensible medieval city located on a strategic bluff.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

One of the places that was open on our visit was the Verrerie de Biot glass works, a workshop and showroom for their distinctive hand blown glass. In this picture a craftsman has just finished shaping and reheating a glob of glass in preparation for blowing it. He will do so by blowing on the long hollow tube in his hand
 

Click here on the movie reel for a view of the glass blower!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The final stop of the day was at the Musee National Fernand Leger, an artist perhaps known for his ceramic murals. The museum offers a complete retrospective on the painter's work, from early pen and ink drawings and sketches, oil paintings, tapestries, sculptures and of course murals of all sizes and mediums.