.6th Chapter – Nice Revisited
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Chapter One – Montpellier
Chapter Two – Aix en Provence.
Chapter Three – Paris
Chapter Four – Nice
Chapter Five – Spain
This is Chapter Six – Nice Revisited
Nice – Sunday May 15, 2022
We were invited over to one of Rebecca’s Alliance Française French class friends for lunch today. Ella and her husband have a nice condo with a stunning view of the Promenade des Anglais. She is a great cook and served us a wonderful meal.
We had a delightful conversation with both of them. They were married in Bali.
She taught herself to crochet and now makes well designed and crafted handbags. Visit her on Instagram at Ella Marc Handmade.
Nice – Saturday May 14, 2022
Today we finish packing for our Monday train to Bordeaux. We will be in Bordeaux for 2 months with a few day interlude to London to visit with some Chicago friends. After that we travel to Italy, Paris and then return to Nice in November.
We are storing much of our stuff in a locker we rent in Nice. We have two large suitcases we have christened ‘The Beasts”. We can only take two suitcases each on the train and our flight to Florence so we have to pack for Summer and early Fall. Our storage facility is closed on Sunday which dictates that we have to finish packing and drop everything off today.
Our one Cubic foot of stuff that will be left behind in Nice.
Monte Carlo – Friday May 13, 2022
Today were the practice runs for the Monaco Grand Prix Historique, so I took the #100 bus there from the port in Nice.
Today’s practices were free but the weekend races are quite expensive. I arrived around 10 AM and stayed for a few hours as the earlier cars were racing. They race in categories by age and performance capabilities.
I was a bit surprised that the stands were not very crowded but that could have been the time of day.
The real Grand Prix visits Monaco in two weeks.
THE 13TH MONACO HISTORIC GRAND PRIX
The Monaco Historic Grand Prix has existed since 1997. It takes place every two years before the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. It takes place on the same circuit as the Formula 1 Grand Prix with the added charm of old cars which offer us a splendid retrospective of motor racing. Organized every two years by the Automobile Club of Monaco (ACM).
Monaco is an immaculate country reflecting it’s wealth. Even the train station was very clean.
Cannes – Tuesday May 10, 2022
Today we took another short trip this time to Cannes. It is a bit over a half hour train ride (5.6 EU).
We left at 11:20 AM and arrived around lunch time. After a brief walk to the port we headed to the old town for lunch at L’Adroise. I had a large bower of mussels for 10 EU and Rebecca had a salmon dish for 12 EU. it was quite the deal.
We saw a lot of perpetration for the upcoming Cannes Film festival at the end of May. We will miss it as we leave for Bordeaux in 6 days.
The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is an upcoming film festival scheduled to take place from 17 to 28 May 2022. The festival will see a tribute to actor Tom Cruise, whose film Top Gun: Maverick is due to premiere at the festival. The official poster for the festival was designed as an homage to The Truman Show.
The beaches in Cannes are sandy white, unlike the rocky beaches in Nice. Overall we found Cannes to be a pleasant place to visit for the day. We returned around 5 PM.
Monte Carlo – Monday May 9, 2022
This is our last week for now in Nice and Rebecca does not have any French classes this week, so we decided to hop on the #100 bus and go to Monte Carlo, a little over a half hour ride along the seacoast. The views were wonderful.
We arrived at the Place D’Armes bus stop in Monaco and caught lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Afterwards we went up the hill to the fortress and palace grounds. They provide beautiful views of Monaco, including the preparations for the upcoming Grand Prix at the end of May. It seems that there is Le Grand Prix historique de Monaco this weekend and we hope to return for it.
We wandered around the streets with Rebecca looking for a lighter shirt as the day had become quite warm.
We shadowed an english tour group for a while ending up at the foot of the Musée océanographique de Monaco. We shared an elevator with a dozen members of the group and asked them were they were from. It turns out that they are part of a cruise. Great! There we were locked in a 6 x 6 elevator with a dozen members of a cruise ship. Masks up. We got off at the next floor.
After that we went into the Cathédrale de Monaco, which houses the final resting place of Princess Grace.
This Roman-Byzantine style building was constructed in 1875 using white stone from La Turbie. It houses the tombs of Monaco’s former Princes. Inside, alongside the magnificent high altar and the Episcopal throne made from white Carrara marble, stands a retable by the Niçois painter Louis Bréa, which dates from the year 1500
We then spent a hour at the Jardin Exotique de Monaco, which also offers a great view of Monaco.
Opened to the public in 1933, the Jardin Exotique de Monaco (Exotic Garden of Monaco) is a veritable Eden, built on a cliffside, overlooking the Rock of Monaco and offering, by far, the most beautiful view of the Principality. Coming from distant dry areas, the succulents, which reign by the thousands in this garden warmed by the bright sun of the French Riviera, live in perfect harmony with the seasons. Cactus and agaves from Mexico and Central America are combined with aloes and Crassula from South Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, creating a colorful flora of rare beauty.
By then it was time to return home so we walked to the #100 bus stop. Rebecca struck up a conversation with Nadia, a lady originally from Morocco who was also waiting for the bus. After a 45 minute wait she suggested that we take the nearby train back to Nice, so we walked to the station together. We made it just as the train arrived and it was packed, standing room only. We were happy to finally arrive at Nice Ville station for the short walk home.
It was another wonderful day on the Côte d’Azur.
Villefranche-sur-Mer – Sunday May 8, 2022
We walked over to our new friends, Bruce and Sheila place and then to the #15 bus stop for a short ride to Villefranche-sur-Mer. Our plan was to attend a car show sponsored by the Automobile Club de Nice et Côte d’Azur.
The day began a bit overcast. We walked to the car show at the The Citadel of Villefranche-sur-Mer.
In 1543, war broke out on our shores as 110 Barbarossa galleys landed in Villefranche, raiding, burning and devastating everything in their path. The Citadel of Villefranche-sur-Mer, a precocious example of a bastioned fortification, was built in 1554 according to the plans of Gian Maria Olgiatti, an Italian engineer in the pay of Charles V, in order to prevent any assault from the sea.
Since Savoie became part of France in 1860, the Citadelle has been used as a military base by the 24th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs. In 1965, the city council bought the Citadel. Its restoration was undertaken in 1979.
After an hour or so we decided to catch lunch at local restaurant – La Grignotiere, (3 Rue du Poilu, 06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer), The food was very good and we had a nice time. After lunch we explored the town a bit and then returned to Nice via the #15 bus.
Nice – Friday May 6th, 2022
Today we had a delightful visit with Bruce and Sheila two new friends we met through Rebecca’s French class. They were originally from Canada then the US and have recently moved to Nice full time. We made plans to visit Villefranche-sur-Mer on Sunday to attend a car show and explore the village with them.
Nice – Monday May 2nd, 2022
Just a few random shots from walking along the beach and around town.
Nice – Sunday May 1st, 2022
Today was a beautiful day, low 70’s so Rebecca and I strolled thru the Sunday market and then up to Colline du Château (Castle Hill) in Nice. It is a fairly rigorous climb up the stairs which is rewarded with great views of Nice. a park and Cimetière du Château Cemetery.
Leaving we took the back way down to the old town.
Sunday Market.
Castle Hill
Castle Hill in Nice (Colline du Château) dominates the city and divides the seaside part of Nice into two parts: the eastern part with the port, and the western part with the Old Town of Nice. The 92 m high hill offers views from all sides.
In 4th century BC there was a Greek settlement called Nikaia situated here, while the first mention of the castle and cathedral dates back to the 11th century when these buildings were the center of the town on the hill. Though it can be seen on numerous historical engravings, the castle itself was unfortunately demolished in 1706 at the request of Louis XIV after it had been handed over to the French a year earlier. Later on, a place for a cemetery was made on the hill, and a large municipal park with a restaurant was built. There are archaeological excavations currently underway in part of the park.
The Cimetière du Château in Nice, France, stands on the old citadel of Nice. Today, some sections of the massive walls of the ancient fortress remain. The fortress, which was built in the 16th century, was once one of the most secure strongholds in France. The cemetery itself was founded in 1783 and has 2,800 graves.
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat – Thursday April 28, 2022
Our adventure today was a trip to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, another quant seaside town. We took the #15 bus (1 eu) for the 45 minute ride along the stunning coast.
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2017, it had a population of 1,573. Cap Ferrat was named in 2012 as the second most expensive residential location in the world after Monaco
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is located on a peninsula next to Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Villefranche-sur-Mer and extends out to Cap Ferrat. Its tranquility and warm climate make it a favorite holiday destination among the European aristocracy and international rich who visit the French Riviera.
She see seashells by the seashore…
We visited the port and the seashell museum there. There were actually some interesting specimens on exhibit.
Musée des coquillages (Seashell Museum)
the Mediterranean’s largest, current collection of shells, with some 7,000 exhibits, including 400 world record-holding shells as well as an exceptional collection of exotic shells. The visit begins with a 6 minute film followed by an exhibition of 33 display cabinets with a chance to observe some micro shells.
And then a visit to the Rothchild’s …
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Listed historical monument (national heritage site) since 1996
In an Italian Renaissance style, this palace features a range of styles from various eras, with strong Lombard, Venetian and Spanish influences. The estate was built between 1905 and 1912. Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild fell in love with this magical setting, and her fanciful imagination led her to transform these 10 hectares of unspoilt land into a haven that would house her collection of artworks (18th century furniture, china from the Sèvres and Vincennes Royal Manufacturers, and many more). The Baroness was to bequeath the entire villa and all its treasures to the Académie des Beaux-Arts de l’Institut de France, which took ownership after her death in 1934. The villa is surrounded by nine themed gardens and overlooks the bays of Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
Magical musical water displays take place in the French-style garden every 20 minutes, adding to the enchanting feel.
We were told that over half of the seaside mansions there were Russian owned. I wonder how the old money feels about these new neighbors.
Villefranche-sur-Mer Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Nice is centrally located so when Rebecca returned home from French class today we decided on the spur of the moment to visit Villefranche-sur-Mer a quaint seaside town a short hop away. It is an easy #100 bus ride (1.5eu) from Nice.
The Villefranche-sur-Mer waterfront is lined with cheerful Italianate buildings, and the dock is filled with neat rows of little sailboats. Rolling hills planted with olive groves surround the village, and the microclimate is so mild here that tropical fruits such as bananas grow abundantly.
The village has a quaint historic center with a citadel built in 1580 and an impressive church. The Eglise Saint-Michel was built in the town’s characteristic Italian Baroque style.
By the harbor is the Palais de la Marine and the Chapelle de Saint Pierre des Pecheurs. This 16th-century chapel has an interior decorated by Jean Cocteau, who often stayed at both Villefranche-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. A scene from his film, Le Testament d’Orphée, was set on the atmospheric street, the rue Obscure of Villefranche-sur-Mer.
We wandered around the port and town for a few hours on a nice sunny day mid 60’s. Returning home we took what we call the Mad-hatter bus #80 which zig zags through the hills back to Nice. The bus driver cranked up the music and everyone was singing. It was a blast.
Antibes – Monday April 25, 2022
Today I took a pleasant day trip to Antibes, an attractive seaport town about a half hour from Nice by train (3.7 EU) to visit an art show and wander around town and the port. It was a nice day.
At the show I chatted briefly with a young mother from the Ukraine who fled the first day of the war with her husband and 2 year old son. It makes the news real when meeting with a person who was involved.
Cannes – Friday April 22, 2022
I hopped on the train from Nice Ville (3.20 EU) for a brief day trip to Cannes. It is a 45 minute ride along the coast.
I have to say it was worth visiting for a few hours but not outstanding. Saw many medium sized yachts in the harbor many of which were being readied by the crews. Also visited the Cannes market, wandered to the castle area and explored the market for fresh fruits and veggies.
Nice – Thursday April 21, 2022
We are almost finished with our travel plans for 2022. It looks like quite an adventure so far and ahead.
Torremolinos Spain – Jan 3 to Feb 10
Seville, Spain – Feb 10 -Feb 17
Torremolinos Spain – Feb 17- March 7
Nice, France – March 7 – May 16
Bordeaux, France – May 16 – June 13
London, England -June 13 – June 18
Bordeaux, France – June 18 – July 22
Paris, France -July 13-16 (Sarah B Day)
Florence, Italy – July 22 – Aug 22
Cinque Terre -Vernazza, Italy – Aug 22 – Aug 26
?? Lake Garda, Italy – Aug 26 to Sept 5
Venice, Italy – Sept 5 – Oct 5
Paris, France – Oct 5- Nov 4
Nice, France – Nov 4 to Jan 4
Nice – Thursday April 21, 2022
Today was a lovely day in Nice and we were feeling much better so we took a stroll around town. First to check out a potential place for Nov & Dec and then just to explore a new neighborhood.
We also booked a place in Paris for October after August in Florence and September in Venice.
Pickings were becoming slim but we like this choice.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/54222830
Nice- Sunday, April 17th, 2022
This last week Rebecca and I have been bogged down with a Spring virus. So we have two tired coughing cranky people. Rebecca also took the week off from French classes.
Nice- Sunday, April 10th, 2022
We spent the last few days hammering away on Airbnb to fill in our plans for October through December.
We have finally settled on October in Paris and Nov & Dec back in Nice. Then 2 months back in Spain for warmer weather .
Nice- Thursday, April 7th, 2022
Today I bought our train tickets from Bordeaux to London for June 13. We have to go from Nice to Paris (Mont) take the tram to Paris (Nord) station and then the Eurostar to Paris via the Chunnel.
We will be in London for 5 days.
Nice- Wednesday, April 6th, 2022
I joined Rebecca for an outing sponsored by the Alliance Française Nice Côte d’Azur where she is taking French lessons. It was a tour of the Grotte du Lazaret, a pre historic cave site in Nice down by the harbor.
The presentation and cave tour was quite interesting and we met a nice couple from Philadelphia who offered us some very helpful tips on navigating the French bureaucracy in getting an apartment and bank account.
The Grotte du Lazaret is an archaeological cave site of prehistoric human occupation study, situated in the eastern suburbs of the French town of Nice, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Results of excavations have been interpreted as to account for the construction of shelters by humans during the Lower Paleolithic period. Research teams have unearthed more than 20,000 fossilized faunal bone fragments.
Two hundred thousand year old cranial fragments of a nine year old juvenile found in the cave suggest the presence of either Homo heidelbergensis or a proto-Neanderthal human.
Nice- Tuesday, April 5th, 2022
We added a short stay in Cinque Terre, just after our upcoming Florence visit in August as it is nearby.
Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. In each of the 5 towns, colorful houses and vineyards cling to steep terraces, harbors are filled with fishing boats and trattorias turn out seafood specialties along with the Liguria region’s famous sauce, pesto. The Sentiero Azzurro cliffside hiking trail links the villages and offers sweeping sea vistas
Nice- Monday, April 4th, 2022
Back on the travel hunt.
Today we booked a month in Florence for mid July to mid August. It will be an excellent base to explore near by areas in Italy like Bologna, Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Prato and more. Of course Florence itself is a real joy to explore.
Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto
Nice- Friday April 1st, 2022
Back in the USSR …
Today Rebecca and I took a short walk over to (Cathedrale Orthodoxe Russe St. Nicolas), the Russian cathedral
CONSIDERED ONE THE MOST IMPORTANT orthodox buildings outside the Russian Federation, this cathedral is the result of the efforts of the Royal Family to satisfy the spiritual needs of the growing Russian population in Nice.
It all started in the mid 1800s when the Russian upper class, as well as the Tsars, started visiting the French Riviera during winter, as their English counterparts had been doing for some decades before. Unfortunately during a visit in 1865, the son of Alexander II, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich died of meningitis. Some time later, after buying the land, the Tsar and the Empress ordered a chapel built in the exact spot where Nicholas died.
By then the Russian community in Nice was already growing and the need of a new place to congregate arose. The first attempt to build an Orthodox church in Nice started in 1856 by initiative of Empress Alexandra who was Nicholas’ grandmother, ultimately a church was built on Longchamp Street. By the turn of the century the church was deemed too small and deteriorated so the building of a cathedral started just a few steps from the churrch honoring the deceased Tsesarevich. The cathedral was finished in 1912 according to the designs by M.T. Preobrajensky by an assortment of engineers, under the direction of a certain Golitsyn, appointed by Tsar Nicholas II to oversee the development of the project.
The structure was made in the Old Russian style, however certain modern elements give this Cathedral its own identity; for instance, the disposition of the Greek cross plan with five domes representing Jesus and the four evangelists. The church also contains a rich iconostasis made in Russia (where else?) by the Khlebnikoff workshops.
From 1923 to 2010 the cathedral, the gardens and the chapel were under management of the Russian Orthodox Cultural Association of Nice but in 2006 the Russian Federation claimed the right to property based on the fact that the Cathedral was on private grounds owned by the Imperial Government at the time of the communist revolution.
The French courts sided with the Russian government and the church management was transferred to them (not before several appeals and refusals from the association) in 2011. Three years later, the church was closed to tourists to undergo renovations funded by the Kremlin. It finally opened its doors once again on December 19, 2015, on the feast of St. Nicholas according to the Julian Calendar.
Nice- Saturday March 26, 2022
We are noodling around where to spend our summer in France / Europe.
We leave from Nice to Bordeaux May 16 to June 13, then our 5 days in London until June 18.
After that we are looking at several options.
Perhaps Bordeaux until August, and then 2 months on Italy as we are booked in Venice for September.
Or Summer in Paris but it might be a bit too crowded and hot.
These seem to us like nice problems to have.
Nice- Wednesday March 23, 2022
Today we modified our travel plans to meet up with some Chicago friends mid June in London. We shortened our Nice trip and moved the dates of our Bordeaux stay to allow a few days in London.
Our friends are coming in for The Royal Ascot races, which we will join them at for a day.
Ascot Opening Day was immortalized by the Lerner and Loewe musical, “My Fair Lady,” which opened on Broadway in 1956 starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews.
The Royal Ascot certainly lives up to its official motto, “Like nowhere else.” A major event on the British social calendar since its founding by Queen Anne in 1711, the annual race meeting, which occurs each June at the Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England, remains a heady mix of pomp, tradition, fashion, class distinction and, of course, sport.
Officially opened each day by the Queen, along with assorted royals, the most apt way to describe the experience to Americans would be to imagine a cross between a royal wedding and the Kentucky Derby.
Menton, France- Monday March 21, 2022
I took a day trip to revisit Menton today via the train. The weather was a quite windy and cool.
Menton is a lovely small city in the south of France that has the best of everything: a warm climate year-round, beautiful gardens, excellent French and Italian food, sandy beaches at the foot of the aqua blue Mediterranean sea, and a colorful and historic old town.
A special micro-climate separates Menton from the other villages of the Cote d’Azure dotting the Mediterranean, as it has more sunny days in a year than any other place in France. Smaller than Nice and Monte Carlo but larger than Eze or Villefranche, Menton is a city with a village feel to it.
Historically, Menton was ruled by the Grimaldi family of Monaco starting in the mid-1300s.
In the mid-1800s, Menton was discovered to have a healing effect on tuberculosis sufferers, and it also attracted Russian and English aristocrats because of its pleasant climate. The aristocrats erected extravagant mansions, palaces, and luxury hotels, including many that are still standing today.
Here are a few shots
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Nice, France- Monday March 14, 2022
Today Rebecca began her daily French class at Alliance Française Nice Côte d’Azur. This will continue for a full month.
I’m proud of her determination to recapture her command of French which began in college. Already she has been extremely helpful in helping us navigate situations with her French.
Nice, France- Thursday March 10, 2022
We have had a bit of trouble with our French cell provider – Free Mobile.
Under our current plan we get 100 GB of mobile, Unlimited SMS and free calls to the US all for 20 Eu/month.
We couldn’t pay our bill on line in Spain so I had to go the the nearby by store to settle up once we were in Nice. There, I had a nice chat in English with the representative who is originally from Romania. At 25 his life story was quite interesting.
We also wandered around Nice for a while enjoying the sights and sounds.
Rebecca wants a Twizy car, I’d settle for this 912.
The Twizy will start at just €6,990 (that’s only $7,700 U.S. at today’s exchange rate). Of course, at that price, you still need to lease the battery, but Renault is charging just €45 ($50) a month for that privilege. That doesn’t include the cost of electricity.
Rebecca has signed up for a daily French class beginning on Monday for a few weeks. She does pretty good now but is determined to become more fluent. Go Rebecca!!
Nice, France- Wednesday March 9, 2022
We are getting settled in our new place. I visited our storage locker to retrieve our stored bags – Beast 1 and Beast 2 – and brought them back via the tram clearing the sidewalks as I dragged them back side by side.
Sidewalks can be a bit narrow in Nice.
Nice, France- Monday March 7, 2022
We arrived in Nice via Easy Jet. It was an 11:15 flight from Malaga to Geneva flying over the Alps.
Upon arrival in Geneva I noticed that the luggage handlers had broken my suitcase handle which I reported. Later I was able to disassemble the suitcase and repair it myself. Good as new.
Our 3:55 PM connection saw us arrive in Nice one hour later. From there it was an easy tram ride to our new digs in a residential section of Nice centrally located near both the sea and in town. We like the new place and will extend our stay until mid May.
After a quick stop at at grocery store for morning supplies we retired for the evening.