Post by Ella Musée Réattu, housed in a 15th century building, was delightful. We might have skipped it but for the steady rain. This was the first break in our perfect weather streak so not complaining. In fact, torrential downpours and thunderstorms had been forecast but the waterworks never got more intense than a steady…
Author: Ella
Ghostly sense of humor
Post by Ella Did they slither up from below the ancient Roman walls of Arles?
A cozy French dinner
Post by Ella In our corner of Arles, the restaurants open for dinner at 7:30pm. Which is not unusual for a lot of countries. I booked a table at the intriguing Le QG. All the restaurants are small, it was Friday night and even though we’d seen few tourists, I was guessing this area was…
Moving on to Arles
Post by Ella Early risers we were. Got out of the apartment by 9am. Whew hu! It was an easy walk with our luggage to the tram stop. Well, except the tram station for this stop turned out to be underground…down several flights of stairs. Easy 25 minute ride to the airport. We found the…
A late lunch at Le Tapenade
Post by Ella After we’d visited the monastery this morning and walked the 2 miles down the hill (yeah, okay, we did take the bus UP the hill) into the old city we plopped down at Le Tapenade, a tiny cafe with maybe 6 tables outside and a few more inside. I did have a…
Flowers aren’t crazy
Post by Ella We visited a monastery this morning. Or more correctly, a Franciscan friary. Grubb is posting about that. But I could imagine a life of quiet service. And I learned the difference between monks and friars. There was a Welsh woman helping in the Monastery Museum. All the placards were in French. Her…
A quiet day
Post by Ella A lazy, languid day with an overtone of sadness. I’ve already talked about that. So now the lazy, languid part. We took the train to Menton. A 36 minute train ride east of Nice. Three stops past Monte Carlo and the last stop before crossing the Italian border. As we stepped off…
It’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to
Post by Ella I can hardly ignore what happened yesterday. I know things go in cycles but I am sad to have to live through this one. And that my kids and grandkids have to live through it. We have elected, not a Republican of yore, but a man who is of no party but…
Dining at Le Frog
Post by Ella Dinner at Le Frog in the Old City of Nice. A few tables on a side street off a side street. I ordered a cocktail called Fresh Frog. A gin & tonic with the addition of kiwi syrup. Lovely and refreshing. Grubb had his usual big bottle of sparkling water. A lot of…
Lots of views
Post by Ella In trying to ignore election news today (we voted before we left), we spent a few hours tucked away in a medieval village situated in the hills east of Nice. For those of you glued to the results and polls as they come in, take a moment to breathe with us on…
Accommodations Paris and Nice
Post by Ella Our AirBnB in Paris was in the African quarter. The accommodation itself was “lived in” so the host’s belongings did clutter up the space. It was two bedroom, one bathroom with a separate toilet. I’d put it in the category of “ok”. One of the beds was pretty uncomfortable but the other…
Small but mightily wealthy
Post by Ella The Principality of Monaco. The country is barely a dot on the map, occupying only 2 square kilometers. What country is smaller than Monaco one might ask? Only Vatican City. Previously annexed to the First French Republic in 1793, Monaco successfully gained independence in 1814. Monaco is a constitutional monarchy. Located 17km…
Nice in photos
Post by Ella We have been in Nice since Halloween and have a few more days here. Here are some photos taken around Nice.
Two carousels and a blockhead
Post by Ella Carousel de Nice. The first two level carousel I’ve ever seen. Music by Frank Sinatra. Carousel Garibaldi. A little more traditional with some bizarre accordion music. And then there is blockhead (aka square-face) titled “Thinking inside the box”. This massive thing stands 85 feet high and contains three floors of books, Designed…
The French do love a good carousel
Post by Ella Walking by the 10th or so carousel I’ve seen since coming to France, I wished I’d been taking pictures. Each is unique. The Carousel of Extinct and Endangered Animals that I posted about in Paris was probably the most unusual. Way back in sixth century Byzantium (today’s Istanbul), the concept of the carousel…