The French Riviera feels like a place that does not really exist. It is so beautiful and quaint and so lively. The people are polite, the shopping is amazing and the sites are even better than all of that. We left Thursday evening around 9pm to go on a 6.5 hour bus ride. We managed to get into our hostel around 5:30 am. Of course, nobody could sleep because the birds were already chirping at that hour. So we got up to enjoy a day in Nice. We went on a walking tour at 10am and learned a lot about the city and the history behind everything.
In downtown Nice, there is this fountain, which happened to be full of foam (someone pranked the fountain?). It is a based off of Roman forms and animals. It is in the center of a large courtyard that had multiple fountains and areas to sit out and enjoy the city.
As our guide told us on the walking tour... You have to walk the promenade. So we did. Nice is called Cote d'Azur which means Blue Coast. And the water is beautiful. The beaches unfortunately or fortunately whatever you may prefer are topless. So I will limit the photographs of that.
Matisse lived here. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is a very famous painter and he studied in France and painted most of his life in different parts of the French Riviera.
This is the Cathedral in Nice, much different than the cathedrals that you see in Italy, which was a nice change of scenery.
Granny's Restaurant. I saw this and it was a perfect photography moment.
This is more of the promenade on the other side looking down at the line of palm trees. Don't you almost feel like you are in California at the beach?! I did...
The one photo that I will post is of the rocky beaches. Most of the beaches in Nice are rocky but they are not that bad to lay on. We managed to do it!
Another fountain that we found along the way while we were shopping (made some excellent purchases there :)) This was more in the inner part of the city, not the central courtyard areas. The next day we did some different type of activities.
In Eze, which is known to be a medieval city, they took us to a famous parfumerie. It is called Galimard. It is the oldest perfume factory in the French Riviera. These are some of the items that they offer. We took a tour of the area (small) and learned how perfume was made and the special things that they had to offer. Of course I had to buy a bottle of French perfume. How could I not? and yes mom, I will share some with you :)
The outside of the building is not as quaint as the inside of the structure.
Still in Eze, we climbed up a straight mountain to get to the top to go to the gardens. I decided not to go into the gardens because it was extremely hazy at that point and did not want to get angry that I could not see any of the beautiful views. As the time went by, the sky opened up and this is what the hillsides of Eze look like. Oh and for those of you who don't know how Eze is pronounced it is Ez. Very simple.
This is a Church on the top of the mountain, the inside is very plain and simple but very gorgeous. I don't think I took too many pictures of the interior of the space but as you can only imagine its no Santa Maria Novella or the Duomo.
Moving into Monaco, I was the most excited about this town. This is where all of the Prince Albert's get married. The interior is mistakenly cold and sort of ugly if I am allowed to say that. Not what I had expected thats for sure!
Prince Albert lived here.. now Grace Kelly owns the place and is renovating it so thats why it is not that pretty.
Just a beautiful view from the top of Monaco looking down at all of the yachts and expensive boats.
My favorite place of the vacation because I cashed out at 54.50 euros!! This is the Montecarlo Casino. It was 10 euro to get into the tables so we did not do that, instead we hit up the slot machines and I ended up winning some money. What could be worse!
In front of the Montecarlo Casino :)
This is a restaurant that has ice cream. 17 euro so about $30 for an ice cream sundae. Even with my winnings I was not going there for ice cream.
A Ferrari! I wonder whose it was!
The sign for the Montecarlo Casino entrance.
A Masarati, I might need one of those.
A beautiful butterfly sculpture in the middle of the park outside of the casino.
A Vespa for the 'Pretty You' store. They had a handbag in their window for 8900euro. So make that about $10,000 bag. I guess if you win big across the street then you can come over there to shop!?
Saturday night ended poorly. I found out that my Grandpa Alan had passed away. I was so upset and all I want to do is be home with my family and taking care of what we need to take care of. But unfortunately I am in Europe and don't have the ability to get home. Rest in peace Grandpa. Love you.
Sunday it was hard to get up and go through my day knowing that something was missing in my life. Whether or not I speak to him daily, just knowing that I can call him or email him and he will answer makes me feel better. We started with going to Antibes which is in the Riviera as well.
There was a yacht show going on that I did not take part in but I heard was really interesting.
They had a wonderful central market that had spices, flowers and lots of fruits and veggies and some meat products. Kind of like San Lorenzo's open market but not quite.
I obviously indulged in a nutella filled crepe. How could I go to France and not get a crepe. So worth the 5000 calories.
Some yachts that were being sold. I wouldn't mind one of these and these were the small ones!
The beach in Antibes was a lot less rocky but it was overcast while we were there and got sunny just as we were leaving.
Some more pictures of the gorgeous beaches in Antibes.
Overall it was one of the best vacations I have ever been on. I would love a summer home there and would love to go back and visit. Unfortunately, my vacation did not end how I wanted it to. But as Dad has been saying, celebrate his 87 years and enjoy yourself, and as Grandpa Alan would say, enjoy yourself but don't have too much fun! Love you.
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