Final image of France

Nice, from above, on a clear September day.

The sunshine of Nice

Paul and I have both loved this trip to France. But we agree on our favorite place so far: Nice. This is the last place on our tour, and it surpasses our highest expectations.




Yes, it's the Riviera. But it's not the beach that we fell in love with. The beach, in fact, is rocky! We didn't know that before. I love walking along the edge of the sea, but I couldn't do that here. It's just too painful on the feet!






However, there is a looong walkway just above the beach, and it's wonderful to walk along it and enjoy the view of the curving seaside of the Bay of Angels. Part of this walkway is called "The Promenade of the English" and the rest is called "USA Street." Our hotel was right on USA Street (Okay, in French it's called Quai des Etats-Unis), just across from the beach. In fact, when we walked down the hall toward the lobby, we could see the ocean out the glass front door.






What we loved the most about Nice was the quality of the sunshine. In late September, the sun was warm but not hot. A slight breeze made the temperature just perfect. And the bright sun lit up the pastel colors of the Old Town, where most buildings are yellow, pink or orange, with contrasting colors for shutters, usually pale green. Our hotel, Mercure Marche aux Fleurs, is right next to the Old Town of Nice, near the flower market and the fish restaurants.






Not far away is the newer part of town, also lovely. Where once a river divided the Old Town from the New Town, there is now a long park with fountains.









A few blocks down from our hotel, the beach ends and you can take an elevator up to the top of a rocky hill where Nice's fortress once stood. Now it is a lovely park with a few architectural ruins, a playground, a cafe, and the most stunning views I've ever seen. The color of the sea was so blue even a man from Nice said it was "incroyable" - unbelievable. This is why the French call this area not the Riviera but "The Azure Coast."


















We found a charming cafe right on the water, where we sipped "kir" and beer and enjoyed the sunsets.


We ate our best meal in Nice, drank the best wine, enjoyed the best views and basked in the best sunlight. What a glorious way to end our trip to France!

French shop names - guessing game!

Okay, students of French and all who are curious about the French language!

Try to guess what each of these places sells:

French poodles - and petit chat

We have seen many dogs in France - the French love taking their dogs everywhere, even when touring famous sites.

Here are two French poodles! (for you, Catherine) -

and also a kitten . . . (for Connie!)

Glitzy Cannes

It's funny - Paul and I both decided we didn't like Cannes very much, because it was too chic and fashionable and glitzy. But the photos make it look great! So maybe we'll have better memories than we thought.

We stopped for a two-hour lunch break at Cannes, where they hold the famous film festival, giving awards to the best films and actors from around the world. Once a year, in May, famous actors and directors dress in fancy clothes and walk up the steps on the red carpet in Cannes, and the photographers snap pictures. We saw the steps they walk up and the handprints of the stars in the cement.

We also saw lots of brand-name luxury goods shops, like Louis Vuitton and Ferragamo and Cartier, and women dressed in high heels and skimpy clothing. Lots of fancy cars, too.

But what I liked best was the beach! It is what you'd expect from the Riviera: soft sandy beach, crowded with sunbathers. Some of the women were topless! We took photos but won't post them here. I took off my shoes and walked in the soft sand on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Aaaaah!

They also had places where you could take your photo as if you were in a movie. Here's one of me in Star Wars - La Guerre des Etoiles!

Gambling in Monaco

Monaco is a tiny principality, nominally independent but actually dependent on, and surrounded by France. It is ruled by Prince Albert of the Grimaldi family, which took over Monaco in 1297. And he is not married and doesn't have a son to take over! What will happen next?

His father, Prince Rainier, married a beautiful American movie star, Grace Kelly, in the 1950s, and their family has been in the news ever since. Both Rainer and Grace are buried in the church in the old fortress/castle area of Monaco. We saw their graves, which have flowers on them. The grave markers are written in Latin, so "Grace" is "Gratia."

We saw the palace where Prince Albert lives, and where his parents raised their three children. Every day, at noon, there is a changing of the guard in front of the palace; we got a chance to see that!

Today, Monaco is a rich little city, squeezed between mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Its harbor is crammed with yachts.

Its biggest money-maker is a world-famous casino, in a part of Monaco called Montecarlo. The photo is at the top of this blog. Maybe you've seen this casino in James Bond movies. It is a gorgeous 19th century building, built by the same architect who designed the Opera in Paris.

Paul and I saw the outside, but we didn't go in and gamble. Instead, we had a cafe au lait in the Cafe de Paris in the square in front of the Montecarlo Casino.

Water wheel town

We're on a tour organized by a company called "Europe Through the Back Door," and they make a point of taking us to out-of-the-way places that show us a side of the "real" Europe that most American tourists don't see.

In sunny southern Provence, our guide, Arnaud, took us to a tiny town called Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. That means 'Island on the Sorgue River,' and this town is like a little Venice, with rivers and canals everywhere. The views are lovely, since the water in the canals are crystal clear.

Once, this was a mill town, with more than 70 water wheels supplying water power to mills grinding flour and making paper, textiles, silk, and wool. Today, you can still see many big water wheels scattered through the town. The running water in the rivers and canals keep them moving. Most of them are covered in moss, and none are used any more.

It was wonderful to visit this little town. We had a picnic dinner in a park alongside the river here and had fun wandering around the town.

This is truly Europe through the back door!