Rather than drive along those wonderful, winding French roads, we decided to let someone else do it for us. We joined six others in a van to tour the French Riviera, visiting Antibes, Saint Paul de Vence (the third most visited site in France!), Nice, Eze, Monaco, and Monte Carlo. Phew!
Six of the people in the van were from Canada, four from New Brunswick. Did you know that French is spoken in New Brunswick? It’s like Quebec. Of course, the New Brunswiccans (note spelling) spoke perfect English as well. Our tour guide, Calin, decided that he would give the tour descriptions in English because why not? Only halfway through the tour, those damn New Brunswiccans complained because Calin wasn’t giving the tour in French as well as English. Mon Dieux!
So for the rest of the tour, Calin spoke English and then translated into French for those NBs. The other Canadians (Ron and Linda) rolled their eyes. “They understand English, eh?” Linda said. “Why do they insist on French?”
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| Antibes market |
On to St-Paul de Vence, one of those hill towns that you have to climb up to. Yikes, I now see how French women get those strong thighs! All these hill towns consist of 1) art galleries 2) restaurants 3) tourist shops, and 4) churches. Great views, but worth the climb?
By the way, St-Paul de Vence has hosted many celebrities. Calin said he saw Pierce Brosnan playing bocce in the town and no one bothered him. Madonna, however, came with lot of bodyguards and her entourage.
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| All the hill towns look like this! |
On to Nice along the coastal route which was beautiful overlooking harbors and the Mediterranean sea. We had a great lunch in Nice, then headed to Eze, yet another hill town. This one was quite a climb and get this! It wasn’t flat on top, either! Wow.
We briefly visited a perfume factory (Fragonard) outside of Eze where perfumes, soaps, and creams are made. It was really fascinating. Did you know that only one guy, known as “The Nose” perfects the perfume? There are only 150 Noses in the world—people who can detect up to 7,000 flower and fruit essences—and they study for 7 years to get to this point. The Nose at Fragonard works only two hours a day. Learn something new? You bet!
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| These apartments have their own private harbor! |
On to Monaco and Monte Carlo. All I can say is that if you own a Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Astin-Martin, or Bentley, make sure it’s black. ‘Cause that’s the happening color right now among the beautiful people. Also, make sure your yacht (and we saw literally thousands!) is moored in a your own private harbor, not out there in the Mediterranean. The amount of wealth in this area is truly mind-blowing.
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| Monte Carlo Casino |
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| Princess Grace was married here |
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| Grimaldi Palace in Monaco - underwhelming |
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| Back of the Oceanographic Institute |
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| Oceanographic Institute Monaco |
One yacht, the Moira, sat at the Billionaire’s Dock in Monaco. That’s right, only billionaire’s can park there! Owned by some Arab oilman, the name on the yacht is made of pure gold. Whoa. I guess when you have everything…
Next stop: Marseilles for an overnight, then an early morning flight back to Paris. We have a two-hour layover in Charles de Gaulle before our 9-hour flight to Seattle. I’m ready to sleep in my own bed!!
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| View from the Monte Carlo Casino |
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| The author in Monaco |
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