Our final destination was Villefranche-sur-Mer just on the other side of Nice at a lovely apartment found by Sharon via AirBnB. After winding through the narrow, climbing streets and after Howard successfully (and skillfully) maneuvered the car into the underground parking garage we settled in and were immediately taken the with great view from our terrace. We needed to pick up a few items so we popped into town to grab some groceries and then stumbled across the Man U v. Man City football match playing at a pub, so we sat down to watch it and to enjoy a couple of beers on the patio to properly celebrate our arrival in the south. Back at the apartment we ate some dinner and happily indulged in some wine!
On Monday we decided to head to Monaco for the day to check out the infamous principality plopped ideally on the Mediterranean at the edge of France near the Italian border. Our visit happened to coincide with the preparations of the Monaco Yacht Show which began two days later so there was a lot of setting up of fancy tents around the port. And of course there were yachts. Giant yachts. It's quite a pretty area with the mountains against the blue water of the port, yet the architecture is a bit boring with lots of square looking buildings. There are of course some lovely old buildings as well which we saw but it wasn't the prettiest place I've been to when you consider how wealthy this place is. This wealth is surely found in the Monte Carlo Casino which we saw (from the outside) and some of the high end hotels. Howard and James were keeping an eye out for the Grand Prix racetrack which is permanently marked on the roads and we came across a famous turn which is insanely sharp!
The photo above captured one of my favourite moments: the juxtaposition of the Fairmont Monte Carlo with a pile of McDonald's garbage in front of it. Priceless! And yes, we did eat at McDo (pronounced mac-DOH in French) while taking in spectacular views of the ocean. We weren't about to pay 19 euros for soup! Before heading back to the car the last thing we checked out were the lush and serene Japanese gardens. It was a nice departure from seeing luxury brands, top-end cars and other expensive and seemingly unnecessary status symbols everywhere. I've never understood the desire or need to show off wealth, but I do love me some nature so I was very happy to take in the variety of trees, watch the fish and squawk* at the ducks (*mwak if you're Alice and Mark).
Back at the apartment after stocking up on some groceries Sharon and I made dinner for the four of us and with that we again enjoyed some delicious wine. Lots of great conversation on our terrace with those stunning riviera views!
Tuesday was our last day and since James and I were flying out of Nice that night we spent the day there. Sharon packed us all some lunches while James and I packed up our things and then we were off. Once in Nice we started by walking along rue de France/rue Masséna which is pedestrianized before finding ourselves at Place Masséna where the one and only tram passes through as part of its L-shaped track. We next headed to discover the Vieille Ville but on the way came across some construction of a lengthy public space between two thoroughfares called La Coulée Verte (green corridor, some info in English here http://www.attikainternational.com/blog/real-estate-in-nice/nice-s-new-green-project-the-coul-e-verte.html). It was set to be finished at the end of September so unfortunately we weren't able to see the final product but the idea of a more green public space in Nice sounds nice (I couldn't resist!). We walked through the old city and then found ourselves at a gate with stairs for an entrance to a park that offered a waterfall and public toilets, both very enticing, so we started climbing and were rewarded with the best views of the city and the port.
After making use of the facilities for 50 cents we sat down to eat our lunches, only to discover that we'd left Howard's sandwich in the car! So after popping over the the lunch stand in the park and getting some drinks we had a nice and relaxing lunch on top of Nice. We stopped for several photo ops as you can't help but be dazzled by the scenery around you and started to make our way down to the Promenade des Anglais. It was truly a picturesque, sunny day and there were lots of people out enjoying the late summer weather. We attempted a walk on the beach but since it's a stone beach and not sand it makes for very awkward walking, so we aborted after five minutes and headed back to the sidewalk. Back on solid ground we passed the Musée Masséna which has lovely public gardens, the five-star Hôtel Negresco (which unfortunately no longer allows free tours) and walked up to the train station before making our way back to the old town for a final meal together. James tried a salade niçoise and I had a salad with pancetta, goat's cheese and pine nuts that was divine!
An enormous thank you to Sharon and Howard for letting us join them on their vacation. James and I had a fantastic time with you guys and we were really happy you got to see Lyon! Looking forward to Christmas in Birmingham.
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