Sunday Lunch overlooking the Avon Gorge

Sunday 26 February - It has been a mild winter and this weekend felt like spring had arrived. The sun was shining, crocuses and daffodils are blooming everywhere. We spent the morning puttering around the flat and then decided to treat ourselves by going to Lunch and at the Bridge Cafe, overlooking the Avon Gorge with an excellent view of the suspension bridge. We had a vary nice meal, and were even able to sit outside and soakup some sun. It started to turn cool and grey just as we were ready to leave so it was perfect timing.

Grand Gardens and Goodbye to Nice

From Roquebrune we decided to drop down to the coast and make our way back to Nice. We drove Cap Martin and stopped to look at the waves as they crashed against the rocks. Then made our way to cap Ferrat, just outside Nice. Our intention was to just drive around the peninsula to take in some nice views of the ocean but we came across the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and decided to stop and take a look. One of the best decisions we made on the trip we had a lovely time wandering through the fantastic gardens. Each garden was highly planned and decorated and represented a different country or region including Provence, Spain, Japan as well as a stone garden and an exotic garden. The largest of the gardens was the formal French garden where the many fountains were choreographed to accompany classical music. It was a fantastic setting and an amazing display. After visiting the gardens we toured the house. The audio guide was extremely thorough and interesting but unfortunately we had to rush through much of it as we were running short on time. We left just as the villa was closing and the sun setting and made our way back to Nice and managed to thread our way through the city with minimal fuss and make it to the airport in good time.

Relaxing in Roquebrune

Our trip to Roquebrune was exactly what I was hoping for in a trip to Nice. We arrived at the cheerful village, the car park strung with bright bunting. As we started exploring the town we came across a restaurant recommended by one of the guidebooks, Fraise et Chocolate. It was the perfect place to lunch, with a small simple menu of home made food and fresh juice. We sat out on a large terrace balcony overlooking the mountains and a tiny bit of the water. The sun was warm and we took our time eating lunch and then having coffee and cake. We then wandered around the village enjoying its winding streets and colourful houses and pleasant squares. We walked to the 1000 year old Olive tree and enjoying the views of the coast before hitting the road again.

Rambling and Ruins along the Grand Corniche

Monday 20 February - Our last day in Nice and we took our time getting up and checking out of the hotel. We bought some pastries and sat on the beach to eat our breakfast. We then drove over to the Cours Saleya to see the antiques market. We spent an age trying to find a parking space then finally gave up and parked in the garage just below the market itself. We wandered around for a bit and it rained for awhile and then we got back in the car and headed once again toward Monaco. This time we took the Grand Corniche to get some different views. We stopped in the town of La Turbie famous for its massive Roman Ruin the Trophy of the Alps. We wandered around the medieval village, visiting the church and cemetery which had a great view of Monaco. Then we went for a walk following a path that wound up a nearby mountain. Unfortunately the trail was not very clear and the views not very exciting so we turned back after about 45 minutes. Then it was back in the car and on the road toward Roquebrune Cap Martin.

Boder Crossing before Dining

Back in Menton we drove along the coast and crossed the border into Italy. We had every intention of having a nice dinner in Italy but when we stopped in one of the town, Ventamiglia, nothing seemed to be open. We drove back to Menton and wandered around by the port until we found a restaurant that struck our fancy.

St Agnes and more Stairs

Leaving Menton we drove up into the mountains and decided to follow signs for St. Agnes. When we arrived we discovered another quaint perched village. This one is supposedly the highest village in Europe (along the coast). It had lovely views of the surrounding mountains, topped with snow and draped in low lying cloud. We wandered around the village then climbed even higher following a footpath to castle ruins on the very peak of the mountain. The villagers have been making an effort to make the ruins safe and to rebuild parts of the castle. They have also created a lovely little medieval garden. We clambered around the ruins and the garden, getting great views of St. Agnes, the ocean and the mountains. Then as it was starting to get dark we made our way back to the car park and started the rather harrying drive back down the mountain.

A Celebration of Citrus in Menton

The main reason for visiting Menton was the Fete du Citron, another carnival in the region this one celebrates the citrus fruits with a parade of floats decorated with lemons and oranges. Again we arrived in good time to get a decent spot along the parade route and we gain tucked into a packed lunch of baguette and cheese while waiting for it all to kick off. Each float represented a different region in France or Italy. My favorites were the giant snail float and the one representing the Ile De Re area which had giant donkey in pj's (we saw the real thing when we visited a few years ago). There were also dancers, stilt walkers and bands as well as lots of confetti. Some how the parade always seemed to stop with the drummers right in front of where we were standing. Luckily in this parade they don't deconstruct the floats and chuck fruit at the spectators, at the end of the festival, in a few weeks time the fruit will be sold in a big market. We made our way back to the car and took and alternate route out of town to avoid the traffic.

Something Fishy in Monaco

Next stop on our trip along the coast was Monaco. We made it easily enough into the city but then proceeded to circle it a few times trying to get to the Musee Oceanegraphique. In the end we gave up and parked by the port and walked up the hill to museum. The museum is housed in a beautiful spacious building with a grand entry, marble stairs and towering windows. We had a good time peering at all the fish in the aquarium and then viewing all the artifacts and specimens in the museum. From there we walked to the palace through the old city and then back down the hill. We drove past Monte Carlo just to say we had seen it before rejoining the main road and moving on to Menton.

Exploring Eze

Sunday 19 February - We decided to once again venture outside of Nice. We had a bit more luck getting out of the city this time, although it was by no means easy with all the one ways and conflicting signs. However, we made it onto the Moyenne Corniche, headed towards Monaco and Menton. The road climbs high above the ocean and winds along the mountains with some great views. Unfortunately the day was rather hazy so the views were not as spectacular as they could have been. Our first stop was the small perched village of Eze. We parked and climbed up to the medieval city and sat and had breakfast in its tiny village square which comprised a fountain, a small garden and a bench. After a packed breakfast of fruit and pastry we thoroughly explored the city. We visited the Jardine exotique at the very top of the mountain which gave excellent views of the city, the ocean and the aqueduct leading to the city. The garden itself was populated with a wide variety of cacti and succulents as well as some terracotta sculptures representing female figures from mythology. When we descended from the village we explored the small market near the parking and got some postcards before driving on.

Nice Carnival at Night

Returning from Cimiez we changed and had a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant. We had a busy day and enjoyed taking our time over a long meal. After dinner we decided to take a stroll along the promenade and see what we could of the lighted carnival parade which had started earlier in the evening. We hadn't expected to see much as it was a bit late and we hadn't bought tickets to the parade, however, there was no barrier to the parade route and the parade apparently makes several circuite like the earlier one so we were able to see everything. The floats were a bit creepy looking with all the giant heads and maniacle grins. The crowds were quite rowdy as well, harrasing the people in the parade with silly string and confetti. We saw all the floats then made our way back to the hotel.

Matisse among the Olives

Once the battle of the flowers was over we rushed to the car and made our way to the Cimiez area of the city which is on a steep hill. We parked and made our way through a very quaint park, comprised mostly of an old olive grove with a boule pitch and small carousel, to the Matisse Museum. We spent a pleasant hour wandering around the collection which was left to the city by the artist himself. It contained a few paintings, a number of models, sculptures and cutouts. We left the museum as the sun was setting and wandered over to the nearby roman ruins of an amphitheatre. Then we passed through the olive grove the Franciscan museum which has a marvelous garden. We strolled through the garden and enjoyed some great views of Nice before visiting the church and then heading back to the car and back down the hill to our hotel.

Bataille des fleures

We got to the parade course in plenty of time to stake out a good spot on along the route. We settled in and ate our lunch provisions while we waited for the parade to start. As part of the Nice carnival this parade has lots of performers like dancers, bands, flag throwers, stilt walkers and singers but is characterized by its floats which are decorated with flowers. The parade makes 3 tours of the circuit; on the first tour they throw branches of mimosa to the crowd and everyone can see how lovely the floats are on. On the second tour they start dismantling the floats and throwing the flowers to the spectators. This is where the real battle of the flowers begins as the spectators fight for the attention of the float attendants and with each other to collect the best bouquet. By the third tour the floats are pretty barren and the crowds start heading toward the exits.

Musée des Beaux Artes

The Musee des Beaux Artes is housed in a lovely old building with enormous rooms perfect for displaying the grand tableaux. We enjoyed strolling around the small but well presented collection. Large windows let in lots of light and it was a quiet and relaxing place to wander around. Once we had seen everything we headed back to the Promenade des Anglais, stopping in a small supermarket to stock up on baguette and cheese to have for lunch.

Up Hill and Down

Having made slow and careful progress up the hill we were rewarded with excellent views of Nice and the Bay of Angels. We wandered around the small park at the top of the hill and saw the ruins. On the other side of the park was an excellent view of the Nice port. We wound our way through the park and then back down into the old city. We stopped along the beach to buy our tickets for the Flower parade later in the day then thought we might try and catch a bus to the Matisse Museum. After a brief attempt to try and sort out public transportation we decided to visit the fine arts museum instead which afforded us an opportunity to stop at the hotel and regroup.

A View of the Vieux Ville

Munching our pastries and fruit we wandered through the old city. Stopping to peruse an old book market and trying to avoid the numerous tour groups that were clogging the tiny streets. The Old city is a maze of tiny streets and alleyways full of little shops and restaurants. The buildings tower around and most are colourfully painted with bright shutters. We made our way through the old city to the base of the hill on which the castle ruins sit and after admiring the view of the bay we started up the numerous stairs to the ruins.

A Market in Bloom

Saturday 18 February - After the debacle of the first day we were not keen to get back in the car and so decided to spend today just exploring Nice at a more leisurely pace. We made our way to the old city and the Flower Market at the Cours Saleya. This was one of the sites I definitely wanted to see in Nice and all it takes is a market to cheer me up. We wandered through all the stalls brimming with exotic flowers, fresh fruit and veg, candies, soaps and other goodies. We bought some lovely strawberries and some blood oranges and then went in search of pastries to complete our breakfast.

Goings on in Grasse

We got a bit lost and turned about trying to navigate Grasse and find the Perfume museum. Eventually we parked in a Garage and walked to the office du tourisme to get our bearings. We visited the perfume museum which had displays on scent, perfume production and the history of perfume. There were lots of lovely bottles and perfume paraphernalia as well as a charming little orange garden. Once we had fully explored the museum we made our way across the street to an exhibition on the women in perfume put on by the perfume producer Fragonard. They had a wonderful display of women's clothing and jewellery from the 18th and 19th century, charmingly displayed. From there we took a short wander around Grasse but were not very impressed. We returned tot he car and tried to make our way to the Fragonard factory just outside the city but were soon caught up in traffic once again. We finally found the factory despite a number of contradictory and misleading signs. We took a quick tour then hoped back in the car hoping to drive along the coast back to Nice. However, it was getting dark and we could not get to the coast road and ended up taking a few wrong exits and so it was a long and frustrating trip back to Nice. Back at the hotel we rested a bit before heading out to see the opening ceremony of the Nice carnival. We got a preview of some of the carnival floats and a watched a brief fireworks display before getting dinner and back to the hotel to recover from our first day.

Modern Traffic and Medieval Cities

Friday 17 February - Our first day didn't turn out as well as we had planned. We thought we would jump in the car and head towards Grasse, stopping in St Paul du Vence for breakfast. However, we soon got mired in some horrendous traffic and stuck on the wrong road due to road works. After an hour of slogging through a most unpleasant traffic jam we pulled of the highway and wound our way up the hills to the tiny town of Carros. We got directions and info at the info du tourisme than wandered around the quaint medieval city before getting back in the car and taking the winding mountain roads to St Paul. St. Paul is a medieval perched city that is a maze of art galleries, gift shops and restaurants. We wandered around the narrow streets for awhile, enjoying the views and the sunshine before heading back to the car. We made a quick stop at a roadside restaurant for lunch then carried on to Grasse.

Nice to be in Nice

Thursday 16 February - we had an evening flight from Bristol airport into Nice. We got in a shortly after 8pm, picked up our rental car and made our way to the hotel. We were located right on the Promenade Des Anglais, across from the beach. We settled into the hotel than wandered along the sea front to the old city where we found a nice little restaurant for dinner. When we woke up the next morning we had a great view of the city and the ocean from our tiny balcony.

A Golden Tea

Saturday 11 February - I met up with Sam to catch up and finally exchange Christmas presents. We visited the Arnofini and then wandered around some of the shops in city centre. Then we made our way to Harvey Nick's (a posh English department store) for afternoon tea. Sam likes the restaurant at Harvey Nick's because it is decorated entirely in gold. One wall is entirely glass so it is a light and warm environment. All of the items on the tea tray were mini, so the sandwiches were like sliders and the scones about the size of a half dollar. The food was very good and we had an excellent time chatting and catching up. After eating we met up with Ian at Carluccios deli where Sam bought some cakes to take home to Jez and we enjoyed some nice juice and gave Sam the quilt I made for her, which she was quite pleased to get.