Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Well today was a wonderful day....the sun was out....clear blue skies and it was warm!  Friends Elisabeth and Chris arranged to go to see the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and gardens down the coast of the Cote d'Azur in St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

The gardens were absolutely amazing.  We took our time wandering through admiring the wonderful views.  We had a small picnic in the gardens complete with wine courtesy of Elisabeth and Chris.

Built in 1905 the garden was built to resemble the deck of a cruise ship the Ile-de-France.  Ephrussi was an avid traveller.

What a view!

Sue returns home...

Well today I accompanied Sue to the airport in Nice in the early morning hours....Sue's flight left for Amsterdam at 06:20 a.m.  Had a wonderful time but I am sure Sue will be happy to be back in her own bed after 3 weeks away....what a time we had!
I then took the train to Mandelieu-La Napoule which is west of Cannes.  I met Cesare who is a person I had corresponded with from Torino, Italy.  He regularly travels to the area of Cannes and we had agreed to meet to tour the area.

Theoule sur Mer

Wonderful day....made a picnic lunch which we ate on the beach....lots of walking....cafe at the golf course and then Cesare drove me all the way back to Vence!!!  Wonderful day!

Breakfast in Vence!

Sue and I decided to treat ourselves to breakfast in Vence.  Wonderful quiche, pain du chocolate and cafe creme!  Yum!

Trip to Biot

Today is Wednesday and Sue and I took the bus to a small town called Biot.  This town is situated along the coast between Villeneuve Loubet and Antibes.   We were trying to locate the workshop of an artist that I had met before so that we could purchase some of his work.  When we got there he had closed for lunch so we found this lovely little cafe and had a wonderful lunch.

We then made our way to St. Paul de Vence so that Sue could finish up her shopping.  We were going to go for dinner in Vence but opted to pick up wine and pizza and relax back at the Villa for Sue's last night in France :(

A walk in the hills...

Evelyne is a friend that I met through a group that meets for French/English conversation called World Cafe.  Such great people.  Evelyne invited me to join her in a walk to one of her favourite places.  This is about a 20 min. drive out of Vence and then a walk in.  So peaceful.  I hope to return once the leaves on the trees are out and there is more color.  Should be soon.

Evelyne and I

Old abandoned house....talk about seclusion!

Evelyne leading the way!

The day at Monte Carlo and Eze

On Tuesday Sue and I hopped the train to Monte Carlo.  The Rolex Tennis Championship was taking place but since the Country Club where it was taking place is on the outskirts of town we weren't affected by the crowds.   Beautiful day.  We walked along the sea front to the Hotel Paris, Opera House and Casino.  Stopped for a drink at the Cafe de Paris.  Great place to people watch.

Sue in front of the Opera House

Lovely harbor.










And then we strolled around the harbor stopping for a cold beer and a quick lunch.

And then it was off to the palace and also to see the place where Princess Grace was laid to rest.  The palace was amazing.  In wonderful condition.

Then we caught the bus to Eze Beach where we caught another bus to the top of the mountain to Eze Village one of the most picturesque hilltop villages.

Seeing how it was getting late in the day we caught the bus back to Nice and from Nice to Vence.  Didn't get back home until 9 p.m. and we were pooped!  What a day!

Antibes

Today my friend Sophie took Sue and I to Antibes and also to Cap Antibes.

It was so beautiful.  The weather couldn't have been better.  Warm and breezy.  The white line in the distance are the Alps.

We strolled the Cap Antibes.  This is an area that was frequented by famous artists such as Matisse.  You can see why they found the scenery breathtaking.

Even the town is charming.  We rewarded all our hard work of walking the Cap Antibes with a cold beer!  Wonderful.

 The port in Antibes is filled with very prestigious yachts!  Oh, how the other half live.

And last but not least dipped our toes in the Mediterranean!

What a memorable day!

Busy days in France....

Sue and I have been busy touring the area since returning from Paris on April 4th.  Sue experienced the Friday market in Vence the next day where we purchased my regular portion of Paella from one of the regular vendors.  We had to return to the villa to drive the owners to the airport in the afternoon so our time in Vence was limited.   Ready to go on Saturday so we toured Old Town Vence, went for hot chocolate Cafe Viennois which was to die for!

Sunday was a day to relax so we stayed at the villa and sun bathed on the deck.  It was so nice to do nothing.  In the morning it was beautiful and then by the evening it was cool and cloudy.  Met a friend of mine (Sophie) and went to Le Victoire and had hot spiced wine and enjoyed French/English conversation.  On Monday we took the bus to Nice and strolled the Promenade des Anglais.

The market in Old Town Nice.  The building at the end of the street is where Matisse lived for a period of time.

So many wonderful products for sale at the market in Nice.

There were some great musicians in the Old Town Nice.










Shopped the many stores and had to restrain ourselves from going crazy!  Tuesday we went to St. Paul de Vence and visited the many stores and galleries.


 




Sue at the wall in St. Paul de Vence

Had a lovely lunch at the Artiste.

This had to be the most space efficient sink toilet combination I have ever seen....this little sink operates on the tank of the toilet!  Who thought of that one?










Wednesday off to Nice and strolled the market in the Old Town.  Caught the bus to Cimiez which is the hilltop area of Nice which was originally settled by the Romans.

Beautiful gardens overlooking Nice.

Explored the ruins, visited the Matisse museum and then stopped for a sweet and coffee in a small outdoor restaurant in the park.

Decided to walk back down and visit the Mark Chagall Museum.  Continued on and purchased a few items for dinner and caught the bus back to Vence.  So tired!  Wine and cheese for dinner!

Paris! Ooooo....la...la!

Exploring Paris was fun.  Luckily it was sunny but very cold.

Typical shop on Rue Monge just down from our apartment in the Latin Quarter.

Street entertainment....earning his money as it was very cold!

Visiting Notre Dame on Easter Sunday....the bells were ringing and they had a large screen set up and bleachers outside the church so everyone could hear the service.

Sue's heritage....very old book shop in Paris.

The Seine

On our way to the Louvre

The Louvre

We climbed to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower and that was high enough to see what we wanted to see!

The Eiffel Tower

We went to Montmarte...this is Sacre Coeur!

Took the train to Versailles...this is part of the Palace of Versailles

The fountains and gardens of Versailles are amazing on their own.

What a beautiful day to explore the grounds.

And then we were on the train back to Vence.  Very relaxing and the countryside was beautiful.