Eze

(This is the last pre-programmed post from my trip to southern France. Normally I should be back to normal blogging on Friday.)

Eze is one of the most famous villages on the French Riviera, Cote d’Azur, situated between Monaco and Nice. I hope that despite the lack of sun on my photos, you will appreciate why. This medieval looking village has probably been inhabited since thousands of years.

The wide views over the Mediterranean and the coast is of course one of its major trump-cards (epecially in better weather).

The village is very fashionably restored, has some excellent (expensive) hotels, Michelin star (macaron) rated restaurants, shops and a botanic garden on the very top of the hill.

As a final conclusion of our wonderfully by Jilly guided tours we decided for a nice lunch at one of the restaurants, starting with some champagne in Lalique glasses. The Swedish flag is probably due to the fact that the building was the home of a Swedish prince, the brother of former King Gustav VI Adolf, before it was transformed into a hotel and restaurant in the 50’s.

Fragonard has some cosmetic production on the slope of the hill, including a museum and a shop – of course.

Monaco

(I’m still in Sweden. This is again a pre-programmed post.)

During the short stay in the south, we paid also some short visits to Monaco, close to Menton (see post from last Wenesday). I posted last year about some nice moments around the Casino. This time, we concentrated a first time – under lousy weather conditions - on the Oceanographic Museum, created by one of the present Prince Albert’s ancestors, Prince Albert I, in 1910 and headed by Jacques Cousteau for some 30 years. Especially the aquarium in the basement is impressive.

I show you also a picture of the Prince’s Palace and the grave of Princess Grace in the cathedral.
The following day we passed by again and Jilly brought us to the balcony of one of her friends, overlooking the port (see top picture)...

... and also the place from where the Formula One racing cars start and arrive – see the marks on the pavement. This is a place to stand and watch when the next race takes place, May 16.

Italian villages

(I'm absent. This is a pre-programmed post. Hopefully it works.)

From Menton (see previous post), Jilly kindly brought us to the nearby Italy and some extremely charming villages.

The first one was Dolceacqua, dominated by the ruins of the Doria Castle (see top picture).

Doria was a prominent family, the most famous member being Andrea Doria, a famous 16th century Genoese admiral who gave his name to an Italian ocean liner, unfortunately especially known for a collision with the Swedish m/s Stockholm on the coast of Nantucket a dark and foggy night in 1956. The vessel with some 1700 people onboard sank, but fortunately “only” 46 people could not be rescued.

The village seems hardly to have changed since centuries. It’s full of narrow streets, alleys and tunnels. Completely charming.

We continued to another small village further up in Liguria, Apricale. We had a very nice and simple lunch, accompanied by a local wine, in a small non-touristic restaurant. Nice!!

On the way back to Menton, we stopped for a while at Ventimiglia, looking up the Roja river with snow covered Alps in the background and watching the calm sea. Two Russian girls were also there taking photos of the seagulls ... and themselves!

Jilly, our wonderful host, concentrated on the sea and the seagulls!

Menton - again ... and fortunately.

I spent a few days at and around Menton last week and met some friends, more especially Jilly, the local fantastic blogger and person! The weather was not yet quite spring, except for one day, but we had some remarkable days.

Here is a first report about Menton, which I visited and posted about already last year together with other blogger friends – Nathalie, Richard and Chuckeroon ... and again of course Jilly. I sincerely hope to meet them all again down there in a couple of weeks.

Now, I’m once more leaving you for about a week, this time for a short trip to Sweden, but here is a first report on Menton. I will try to pre-program some other posts from the south to appear during my short absence. I will however again and unfortunately hardly be able to visit your blogs during my absence.

For some of my foreign visitors I thought it may be useful to do or repeat some geography.

So, one (too) early morning last week I took the train from Gare de Lyon (see previous post) to Menton.

The hotel was on the seafront.

The yearly “Lemon Festival” was just finishing, but there were still a lot of lemons and oranges on the trees.
... and although the spring is delayed also down here, at least the mimosas were in full bloom.

Here are some general photos of the little town, its narrow streets, its cemeteries on top of the hill, its covered market.

A great number of foreigners are buried in Menton, many came here during the late 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, often for health reasons, tuberculosis etc., but of course also because it was a pleasant place to stay, if you had the means. The railroad down to the French Riviera opened in the 1860’s and the number of large palace-like hotels built during the following decades is impressive.

A special remark can be done about the grave of William Webb Ellis, an English clergyman, who is considered (false or true) as the inventor of the rugby game, the predecessor to American football. The legend says that during a football (soccer) game at his school in Rugby in 1823 he caught the ball in his arms and ran with it, not quite in line with the rules. Whether the story is true or not, the rugby world has adopted the legend and the Rugby World Cup is referred to as the “Webb Ellis Trophy”. In addition to the statue of him, there is a plate, signed by the captains of the rugby teams participating in the 2007 world cup played in France.

Rue Longue (Long Street) follows the trace of the Roman Via Julia Augusta which linked Rome to its Gallic provinces. The street is bordered by a number of old buildings, many from the 16th century, like the one pictured here (from 1533), the still private mansion house “Hôtel Pretti”, where luckily the doors were exceptionally open making it possible to take a few shots of the entrance hall and stairs.

Jean Cocteau is very present in Menton; a small museum exists, a new one is under construction. These photos were taken at the marriage hall of the Town Hall, which he decorated 1957-58.

Chez Léon

I'm back from my nice trip to the south of France, but not yet ready to post about it. Probably next Wednesday.

Some time ago I shared a lunch with fellow blogger Adam (“Invisible Paris”). He proposed that we should meet at “Chez Léon”, close to the Gare Saint Lazare. A good choice! Here you find some kind of authentic atmosphere, combined with simple but nice food at reasonable prices.

The restaurant was created in 1910 with some traces still there, renovated obviously around 1950 or 60 and hardly since.

Since 50 years it’s run by the same family and several generations are present, including the mother who appears on some of the photos (e.g. behind the cash machine). You should also notice the wooden boxes, where regular guest could keep their napkins etc... (not used today).

It seems also be some kind of unofficial meeting place for Truckers Union members and it’s one of the two restaurants in Paris recommended by a “Les Routiers” sign. You find more of these signs when travelling in the French province and you can normally be assured that you will find something similar to this if the sign is there. I recommend that you try!