Train day trip...

Bev and I headed off on the train for Mandelieu la Napoule, Cannes and Antibes.  Beautiful day but windy.  I had seen the Chateau Napoule before so Bev went while I waited at the beach.  Lucky for Bev they were doing the tour in English so she was able to get so much more out of it.  Fantastic place!

Then on to Cannes...

 and then Antibes...

Gelato?  Did someone mention Gelato???

Welcome to my yacht....go for a spin?

Where are we?  What train are we catching?

Cimiez for the day

Cimiez is the hilltop in Nice...it's where the Romans settled years ago.  Bev and I took the bus and spent most of the day there.  As I had already seen the ruins and the Matisse Museum Bev wandered through these on her own.

How does this thing go together??

 We then explored the Monastere de Cimiez and the adjoining gardens. 

New recruits????

 This time the roses were in all their glory.

 Lunch in the park watching the men play petanque and then gelato for desert (chocolate ginger!!!) in the Old Town in Nice before heading back to Vence.

While walking through Nice on the way to the bus stop we heard this beautiful voice singing opera in the Place Massena.  Her voice was absolutely beautiful!

         

Fete de fountaine

Bev was helping me out with the yard....what a hard worker!

After she completed her "duties" Bev and I walked into town and there was a very impressive pottery fair in the Place du Grand Jardin.  Some fantastic pieces and we took our time looking at everything.

 We then went into the Old Town where I ran into my hairdresser who informed me that they were going to be putting on a skit. 

Apparently the celebration is called "Fete de Fountaine" which means Celebration or Party of the Fountain.  In Vence they have fantastic water that is available to everyone.  Safe, great tasting water that runs non stop. 

You can fill your water bottle from any of the fountains in town.

There was music and entertainment.









Great day.  We finished it off with a trip to Le Clerc (the local grocery store) for mussels.  Went home and had a feast of fresh, steamed mussels! 

Corsica

A trip to Corsica or Corse as they say in France was made on May 19th.  We went by Corsica Ferries from Nice to Bastia which is the north east portion of Corsica.  It was an uneventful journey over however when we arrived we were in the middle of a severe storm with fork lightening and heavy rain and wind.  Who would have guessed?  We had rented a two bedroom apartment for our stay and Beryl, the owner, picked us up at the port.  The apartment was amazing.  Great view and lots of room.

Breakfast on the terrace

 The Old Port in Bastia










Rented a car the next day and started touring.  The roads are very narrow and wind up the mountain and then down into the valleys.  Along the coast you are barely hanging on to the edge but the views are worth it.  Gorgeous colors in the water ranging from dark blue to turquoise.

We drove up the Cap by Bastia the first day and then west to Calvi the following day.

 Saw some lovely villages having lunch at the one on the left

 Had a quick drink....










And then finished our trip with a lovely dinner out on our last night in Bastia....back to Nice and then "home" to Vence.

Bev's here...off to Ventimiglia

Bev arrived on Tuesday and after she quickly recovered from jet lag we were off exploring.  We've toured the Old Town in Vence and Friday we hopped the train for Ventimiglia, Italy for the Friday market.

So many vendors....we both bought a lovely leather purse.  I managed to get the same purse that I had stolen a couple of years ago.  I was so pleased.  We went for lunch and had Paella.

Amazing how dogs can be allowed in some restaurants.  Here is a lady enjoying her lunch while feeding her dog who sits beside her!

A storm was moving in and we high tailed it for the train to go back to Vence.









Shortly after boarding the train the weather started to clear so we got off at Villefranche for an ice cream and some beach time.  Beautiful!