Adventures with the Neighbours! (Part 1)

Friday 19 June

Up and away early this morning to meet our Fyfe's Road neighbours, Cheryl and Christie, at Nice Airport - they flew in from Amsterdam to join us on a bit of an adventure in Italy.  I must say that this is a tiny part of Cheryl and Christie's European adventure which includes a daughter's wedding in France, a visit to their ancestral home in SW England, a train journey touching on Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and Holland, not to mention a hiking sojourn in the Cinque Terre!
This morning the traffic was manageable and the flight was on time so a happy reunion. Because of their early arrival, today is about packing in as much of the French Riviera as possible without driving too far.  It is only 30 km from the airport to our overnight stop in Menton but there are endless possiblities for sightseeing along the way.  What to choose?

Caroline had spotted the hilltop town of St Paul de Vence on our drive downhill from Vence and thought it looked worthy of investigation so we made that our first stop.  This is the area so loved of artists both today and in times gone by - something about the quality of the light and of course the scenery.

St Paul de Vence

 The old town is a maze of pedestrian streets and art galleries - all genres represented!  It is also very pretty, flowery and quite crowded with day trippers.  Nevertheless it is easy to see why Matisse, Chagall, Miro etc lived and worked in this lovely ancient town (one of oldest on the French Riviera).

Christie - St Paul de Vence

 We spent an hour or more wandering the streets, window shopping (mostly - did make some olive oil/chocolate purchases in one lovely specialty store).

Olive oil shopping - Caroline and Cheryl

  We are so fortunate with the weather - gloriously sunny and warm.  Being early summer the vegetagion is lush and green and the flowers are in full bloom.  The scent of jasmine fills the air.  I do love a Mediterranean climate!

The quintessential French window - St Paul deVence

I'd like a mail box like this!

Flowers, art galleries and lots of steps - Caroline and Christie, St Paul de Vence

St Paul is not only home to many galleries but also some quirky art and sculpture in the public areas - a town that certainly lives up to its reputation - touristy but not tacky.  It is a place that art lovers could no doubt spend many happy hours.

Scultpture - St Paul de Vence

  Feeling like a group tour guide, I hurried the girls along, having promised Cheryl a visit to the Fragonard perfume factory in Eze, a stunning village high above the sea behind Nice.
We drove through the centre of Nice - a bit slow going but allowed for a gimpse of this large city and then headed for the heights of Eze - plenty of photo opportunities as we drove.

View to St Jean-Cap=Ferrat from the Corniche Moyen 

Enjoying the view en route to Eze

Eze is a medieval village perched on a craggy hilltop with a sheer drop to the sea below.  It is a stone village of winding lanes and stairs and home to a couple of stunning ( and expensive) hotels.  Today it was not overrun with visitors and we loved ambling about, wondering what would be around the next corner.
Oh yes - first stop Fragonard - a bright yellow modern complex at the foot of the hill. Inside, what a delight to the senses - fragrant and visually appealing.  Like kids in a candy shop we eagerly browsed the aisles of luscious perfumes, soaps and candles, sampling everything and trying to decide which to choose.  Can I take them all?

A little corner of Fragonard

  Selecting perfume is somewhat time-consuming but we finally made our purchases and as the day was getting on decided to forgo the factory tour (next time) and find a spot for lunch.  The car park offered us a shady resting place for the Peugeot and we decided to eat at a pleasant terrace restaurant at the entrance to the village - good choice - tasty pizza, a nice glass of wine and a great view to the hills above Eze.
We all loved Eze - the charming little twisty streets, the glimpses of the sea between the little stone houses, the intensely coloured flowers (especially the hydrangeas and oleanders) and without any motorised traffic, the feeling that time has stood still for centuries.  Of course it hasn't - the plethora of galleries and little shops almost hiding behind tiny doors and solid stone facades bring one firmly into the 21st century.

Streetscape - Eze

  We tried sneaking into the courtyard of the Chateau d'Eze hotel for a minute to photograph the stupendous view - firmly but politely told that it was reserved for guests - fair enough.
Later we climbed up past the old cemetery and looked way down to Eze-sur-Mer and across to the hotel which is perched on the cliff side.

Chateau d'Eze Hotel clings to the cliffs of Eze

Rounding a corner of one of the little streets I was mesmerised by a painting hanging outside one of the galleries.  It really tugged at my heart strings - well long story to short, that very painting will be on its way to Fyfe's Road in mid July.  Something to remind me of France everyday!

Little lane in Eze

Of course all this sightseeing always takes longer than one might think so it was getting on in the day when we left Eze and drove down the Corniche Moyen to the heart of Monaco - just to say we had been there!

The small nation of Monaco

  Monaco has a spectacular setting between mountains and sea but for the city of Monte Carlo itself there is little to be recommended - unless you like hi-rise apartments, super yachts and designer stores.  We found a park for the car - surprise, surprise and strolled along the waterfront - peaking into the super yachts - such an ostentatious display of wealth! Most of them appear to be charter vessels, complete with uniformed crew.  The occupants certainly do not seem to mind living life in full view of the passing parade of sight-seeing tourists - not my cup of tea!

Monte Carlo

Our final destination for the day was Menton, a short drive along the coast towards Italy.  Another lucky break with parking right beside the charming Hotel de Londres - one street back from the sea. We cleaned up a bit and took ourselves to the seafront promenade to check out the restaurants most of which were doing a roaring trade.

Seafront promenade, Menton

  Looking back towards the hills, the town of Menton appears as a charming, unfussy town with a more laid back ambience than the busier areas of the Cote d'Azur, and the colours in the evening light - superb!  Very Italian influenced architecture and all awash with oranges and lemons and ochres (Menton is famous for citrus fruit and the town buildings seem to reflect this).

Menton

Along the way we stopped to chat with a couple of cute white fluffy dogs whose owners turned out to be English part-time residents of Menton.  After exchanging dog stories we accepted their recommendation for dinner and made for the El Dente - situated upstairs overlooking a pretty garden and the sea.  The owner was Sicilian, his wife French and at the mention of our English friends we were seated at a front row table with a lovely vista.  The food was Italian and yummy, mine host serenaded us and we had a thoroughly delightful evening.

El Dente restaurant

 Strolling back to the hotel we were amazed to see the number of busy restaurants on little squares all along the main street.  Such a great vibe to this place.

Colours of Menton

  We were well satisfied with our choices this evening - the location, the hotel, the dinner - wish we were staying longer!  A really big day out - especially for some of us who rose at 4 am to fly here today.

Menton - a Franco/Italian gem!