Thursday in paradise began with a Viking-sponsored tour of Nice. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I believe we've had enough of riding around in large buses deciphering, with more or less success, what a French guide is telling us. One more of this from 9 - Noon, our last one for the trip, centered on Nice and some very spectacular sites.
Nice is the capital of the French Riviera, know here by its French name as Cote d'Azur. It is the southeast corner of France and contains the principality of Monaco. Between Nice and Monaco lies Ville Franche where Cheryl's Dad spent time in the US Navy in the late 40's, and suggested we go look up one of his "acquaintainces" while we were there. . . more on that later.
About 350 BC, the Greeks were the first to settle in Nice, calling it Nikaia after Nike, the goddess of victory. Through its history, it has changed hands many times, particularly between the Italians (with Italy only a few short miles to the east) and the French, culminating in a vote where the people decided they'd rather be French in 1860. And so it has remained since.
The clear air and beautiful light has been attractive to some of the finest painters, including Chagall and Matisse, both of whom lived here for many years. And, the perpetually sunny climate (300+ days of sunshine per year) has attracted the rich from around the world for more than a century, particularly the English and more recently the Russians.
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| A view of Nice looking toward Spain and the west |
Our first stop on our Viking tour of Nice was an overlook on one of the surrounding mountains (which, coincidentally, keep the mistral reported earlier down to a near whisper). From this vantage point, the views were spectacular of the city and harbor. The harbor seemed fairly bereft of yachts, though, and our guide indicated it is very difficult to get a pass into it - no cruise ships, no large ships - intentionally.
While at this beautiful overlook, our guide pointed out at the very top of the mountain a square tower as part of Elton John's home where he's had a "little place" for more than 30 years. Our guide for Part 2 (described later) told us he'd been there once and the entrance was festooned with naked male gnomes in all sorts of dancing positions. Ah, the decadence.
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The Regina (meaning Queen) was the home for Queen
Victoria (1837 - 1876) on her many excursions to Nice |
Other sites seen on our city tour echoed both the artistic nature of Nice as well as the rich heritage of its aritocracy of the British, Europeans, and more recently the Russians. There were many, many hotels on The English Promenade (the long street facing the sea as built and developed by, you guessed it, the Brits) and throughout the city on the nearby hills.
Most of the latter have been turned into condominiums (very pricey) or apartments, including The Regina as frequented by Queen Victoria. She is reputed to have said in her dying moments, "If only I were in Nice I'd be healed!" A small condominium in the Regina goes for about 1M Euros, with monthly condo fees of course!
We spent a good deal of time at some magnificent gardens at a Franciscan monastery perched atop one of the mountains. 10 monks remain and take care of these gardens year round and the view from there was, as you'd guess, one more on the list of spectacular sites.
The scent of the roses in the garden was simply wonderful, and many colors were in full bloom. And, the church on the site was also just beautiful, conveying a feeling of God inside and out.
Back to the "old town" (medieval) of Nice to finish our morning tour, and we saw magnificant markets overflowing with produce, fruits, chocolates, and all things edible. We're very likely to spend our closing afternoon tomorrow (Friday) there and finding one of the innumerable restaurants for our last dinner in lovely France.
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Our "Day and Night" tour group in Eze
with Cheryl, Robin, Mary Lee, Ray,
and our new friends JV and Azhar Ali |
For the afternoon, I had previously scheduled a "Day and Night Tour of Monaco" for our intrepid band of four. Our guide, Robin, picked us up promptly at the hotel at 1 p.m. and off we went with another couple from Pakistan - not in one of those behemoth buses, but rather in a small, comfortable van. And, Robin himself would've been worth an afternoon of talking over espresso as he is half French, half Italian, has lived all over the world, and currently lives in Kiev with his girlfriend / fiancee. His political views on both the Russians ("hate them") and the Americans ("the Ukrainians hate them for abandoning them, but you people are very nice") were particularly interesting.
Off we went in Robin's van toward the Golden Corniche (the highest of three roads connecting the cities, and built by the Romans) with a first stop at yet another magnificent overlook. Photos galore were taken and we all hopped back in the van for an incredibly windy road with very tight turns along the cliffs leading to Monaco. I honestly couldn't look over the side because we were very high up and I have a thing - not a good one - for heights.
A next stop was at an ancient castle atop a mountain where, according to Robin, was still fully intact because the French troops who occupied it throughout its long history had never fought a battle to protect it.
According to him, when the Germans arrived in World War II, they simply opened the gates and told them to come on in. It has only been recently opened to the public and, curiously, required one to buy a ticket for entrance from the Tourism office in the city, so all we could do was walk around it and, for me, keep to the path while Cheryl danced around the edges with a sheer drop to a certain death.
A few more miles on the Golden Corniche (and not many because it is only about 15 miles from Nicefto Monaco) and around the corner appeared Villefranche. As earlier noted, Cheryl's father, Ray Creamer, has remarked a number of times about his days as a young American sailor and the apparent good times spent not only there but elsewhere in the Mediterranean. From a high mountain vantage point, it, too, was just beautiful and we could easily see why a young man from West Virginia would be completely charmed by it and perhaps a French girl or two.
Our first stop after Villefranche was Eze, France, a small town dating back to 600 BC and perched atop a mountaintop about 1,600 feet above the Mediterranean. Now it is a mass of small artisans and restaurants, and both Cheryl and Mary Lee dropped some euros on some fine custom jewelry, tablecloths, paintings, etc. and undoubtedly could've spent a lot more if not for my watchful eye (with at least my wife . . . .ML I couldn't control so where was Ray when you needed him?).
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| Mr. Nose sits in the midst of all of this, developing scents |
Barely 100 yards down the road from Eze was our next stop, the Frangongard parfumeur. We had a tour and got the explanation on the process, including their own "Mr. Nose" who designs their fragrances.
Apparently there are only 50 - 100 "Mr. Nose(s)" in the world and the training is long and rigorous. Both Cheryl and ML found perfumes, soaps, and skin creams that they couldn't live without, so the bags began piling up in the back of Robin's van. I make light of it but it really was quite a place that any woman would loved to have seen.
Finally, on to Monaco, a principality occupying less than one square mile of land on the Riviera, with Monte Carlo as one of five "districts" and home of the annual International Gran Prix for Formula I racing. The big race was set to occur in about a week so signs of it were everywhere.
Originally founded as a Genoan colony in 1165, a member of the Grimaldi family posed as a monk and was allowed into the walled city. In the dark of the night, he went to the gate and allowed his accompanying band of mercenaries inside where they quickly took charge and established their rule for the next several centuries. Today, Prince Albert of Monaco (Grimaldi) is the current man in charge, but Americans know Monaco from his father (dashing Prince Rainier) and his very beautiful mother, American movie star, Grace Kelly, who died in a car accident nearby in 1982.
Our walking tour of Monaco included beautiful seaside gardens, the cathedral where Rainier and Grace Kelly were married (and now buried side-by-side), and the open courtyard fronting the palace. I was surprised at the relative plainness of the palace, but I'm sure it is magnificent inside. It was fronted by a good deal of security, but I have to say that, compared to Buckingham palace and its grenadiers, it was pretty low key.
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| A view of Monaco from the courtyard outside the Palace |
Our final stop in Monaco was the magnificent opera house and dinner at the Cafe Paris. While expensive, it was good and how often does one get to eat al fresco in a foreign country?
Robin brought us home after dark on the lowest corniche, but not before making a round on the streets that comprise the upcoming race. At one stop sign (that obviously won't be there for the race), I told him to "gun it" and he did so, but the van didn't have much power and it only provided a laugh from all of us.
Home to bed after a very long day, reflected by
the length of this post. Tomorrow is our final day here and then off to the good old USA on Saturday morning. I'll have a post of our final day, so please stay tuned, and thanks for reading
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| A small (un peu) amount of sweetness for dessert after dinner at the Cafe Paris |
