Joie de Vivre on The French Riviera

The red and white flags from the new Princess's homeland

Interesting mirror in front of the Casino

Stunning Hotel De Paris

Millions of dollars worth of boats

After walking up all these hills - just in case!!

The high rises are so close that gardens are on the roof tops

This morning we docked in Monte Carlo, our last tender port for this trip. I had organised two groups for private tours at this port, so I sweet talked to the head honcho at the purser’s desk and he allocated us to the first tender - what fabulous service - we even had an escort to walk us from the Magnum’s bar to the tender before the ship’s tours. Being the first to arrive it was easy to find our guide, Sylvie and get under way. The harbour is filled with fabulous over the top yachts - some even have matching helicopters and cars stored under the decks - the mooring fees start at $4000 per day - no wonder Princess choose to tender - too expensive to dock for the day!! 

One yacht, called the Lady Moura is owned by a Saudi Arabian businessman - he has five wives and their names start with the letters - M-O-U-R-A so he named the ship after his wives. Funny thing is that I noticed in Istanbul harbour - most of the boats were called ‘The Mistress” - is there a message here??

Before we started, Sylvie discussed the plan for the day, and we decided that after three very hectic Italian ports we were happy too miss the visit to Antibes, and have a more relaxed day in Monte Carlo, Eze, Nice and St Paul de Vence - excellent choices we realised as the day progressed. 

Pole position and the finishing line

A section of the waterfront track

Our first stop was Monte Carlo - the wedding of Prince Albert was last weekend, so all the flags and flowers were still around - creating a festive atmosphere. We drove up into Old Monaco, past the Palace and homes of Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, the cathedral and a photo stop at the lookout. Because it is a very hilly area, with lots of steps to provide access between streets and housing blocks, a defibrallator is located at the top of each flight, obviously not for the faint hearted.

Ray is a real car enthusiast, and since it was early morning and no traffic about, a lap of the Monte Carlo grand prix circuit was requested  - just add one  Grand Prix t-shirt - and Ray was happy and smiling for the rest of the day. 

Views of EZE - the Eagles Nest

Next stop was a visit to the stunning village of Eze, known as the Eagles Nest - whoever first had the idea to settle up here must have had his sanity questioned - it is a medieval village set up in the mountains, where 20 people still live permanently  - just gorgeous - even better because there weren’t any other tourists (and most shops weren’t open) so we could explore the little winding lane-ways to our hearts content. We had a great cup of coffee and paid 5 euros for a visit to the scenic lookout and exotic plants garden at the very top of the mountain - the views were well worth the money. From the lookout, we saw a line of buses arriving - the bell in the clock tower rung out - Sylvie said that it is rung to let the shop keepers know that it is time to open up cause the tourists are coming - not to let the residents know the time!!

Sean Connery once lived here

Sylvie and the boys - note Ray's new t'shirt

Stunning water of the French Riviera - couldn't get any close ups - too many boobies on show - sorry boys!

The waterfront of the old city of Nice and the fresh flower and produce markets were fabulous - we voted to buy fresh food for lunch rather than have a sit down meal in a restaurant - and give us some more time for sightseeing - Sylvie took us into the local Bolangerie and explained all the beautiful pastries - savory and sweet - we had samples of a Swiss Chard slice - delicious - and chocolate bread rolls - only the french could combine chocolate with bread rolls!! Yummy. The display of fresh produce in the farmer’s market was amazing - superb quality - everything from fruit, vegetables, cheeses, cold meats, glace fruits, pastries, breads, flowers, herbs, and spices - I love this way of eating - buying fresh food daily at the local market. We bought beautiful french rolls with ham and cheeses and salad, large mouth-watering cherries and peaches and cold fresh juice - a picnic feast! Fabulous - and a great change from the pizza of the last few days.

Fresh herbs

Glace fruits

Fondant cake decorations

Mouth watering fruit

Home made sauces

Realistic marzipan fruits

Cow's heart tomatoes

Over 100 ice cream flavours

After lunch we went to another historic village - St Paul de Vence - another spectacular old walled village in the mountains with beautiful ocean views which is host to a colony of artists, and most of the shops sell artistic pieces - paintings, sculpture, jewellery, sketches - some fantastic - and others - well let’s just say that they ‘not to my taste’!! 

St Paul de Vence - artisans village

Even the letterboxes are 'works of art'

The church has many famous people buried in the chapel - this is an interesting headstone

Apparently more well known artists have died and are buried here than anywhere else - not because they have been murdered - seems that they retire here because of the climate and wonderful light and scenery which is inspirational for their creations.

We went inside the beautiful old church of St Paul where the florists were just decorating for a wedding - what a beautiful romantic setting - high on a cliff top in a centuries old church. I was even able to communicate in my limited french with the florist - and he replied in perfect English and a big smile - such fun!! 

Sculpture studio

An interesting array of artworks

Hand made puppets

Sylvie was an excellent tour guide - maybe she should train other guides - we had the best day  - and I would highly recommend her to other visitors to the Cote D’Azur. We had the time to soak up the vibe of the region combined with the perfect blend of information, tastes of the local specialities, shopping, a little gossip about the owners of the fabulous houses (she whispered “that yellow house on the top of the hill is owned by the real queen of English - Elton John!”) and of course the gossip of the royal wedding!! We even stopped at a newsagent and Sylvie  ran in to buy a magazine cause the ladies all asked her for details of the wedding dress - we hadn’t seen any news reports - so were curious! 

Another fabulous day - and now we move on to Barcelona. 

Cheers