(SEE BELOW FOR PRIOR DAYS JUST POSTED DUE TO TECH DIFFICULTIES Today we took an optional morning excursion to two small towns, once fishing villages and castles/chateaus: St. Paul and Eze. The Corniche drive along the coast was magical. Our guide pointed out all of the "Hollywood" and famous people connections along the way, including Elton John's house high up on in the hills with gorgeous views into the alps (right below the white observatory dome), the hospital where Angelina Jolie gave birth to her and Brad Pitt's twins, Dali's home where he and his leopard lived and even Napoleon. This is where many artists such as Matisse, Renoir and Monet got inspiration for lightning and flower paintings. The jasmine was in bloom, creating a wonderful aroma throughout the towns. Then it was a tour of the Fragonard perfume factory, very short, but interesting about all of the different countries where the essences came from, pine among others from the U. S. And talk of the "noses," who are paid quite a bit. It takes 3 tons of rose petals to make on liter of essence. Of course, we received the sales pitch at the end. I purchased some soap for my friend Vicky who loves this brand. A local guide gave us a tour of St. Paul, a fortified hillside medieval town. Then it was off along the Basse., Mayenne, and Grande Corniche roads with wonderful views along the coast to our lunch spot in Eze, which included the traditional salad Niçoise, basically a creamy vinaigrette salad with tuna and hard-boiled eggs. After lunch we took a bit of a siesta before heading out on our own to explore the old town of Nice and hike up to the top of a hill that had an old cemetery and chateau at the top, not to mention fantastic views over the old and new towns and the lovely blue bay. Unfortunately, both of our days in Nice were a bit rainy, so the nice blue skies that give the name Côte d'Azure (Blue Coast) it's name did not come out for us. The cemetery was very interesting, having both a Christian and a Jewish section. The Jewish section had a memorial to the heroes of WWII, those in the resistance as well as an urn with ashes from Auschwitz.
1 Comment
8/6/2018 12:16:16 am
Wine, for many years, has been included in most household kitchens and bars; festivities and celebrations are not complete without a bottle or two of wines being poured. And if you're among the many who have grown to love the taste of wines, then perhaps you'd love to go wine tasting.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |