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…
Up among the friars
The Cimiez Monastery in Nice tops a hill above the park by the Matisse museum that has paths named after American jazz legends. The original monastery was founded in the 13th century and has been rebuilt many times over the years. It was run by Franciscans most of whom were friars. So instead of being cloistered…
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…
To the border of Italy and back
Today’s trip along the coast took us to Menton on the border of Italy. We wanted to get away from busy promenades and we succeeded. Menton has all the attributes of a French Riviera town minus the crowd attractions of a famous casino, cathedral, or film festival. It does have the Jean Cocteau museum in a former…
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…
Following the Zarathustra parade
When we took our #82 bus to the town of Eze high up in the hills on the coast overlooking the Mediterranean I thought today we’d be, well, at ease in Eze. So the minute I stepped off the bus I plopped down at a nearby café and ordered cappuccino along with the rich pastry du…
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…
My regards to Lady Luck in Monte Carlo
And that’s all she got, my regards, since we roamed the Monte Carlo casino before it was open for gambling. The Beaux Arts cathedral of high stakes betting was featured in Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, “Casino Royale.” It wasn’t in the eponymous movie, but it turned up in another Bond film, “Never Say Never…
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…
Chagall, Castle Hill, & harbor flea market
Sunday we left late morning to catch a bus to the Chagall museum. On exhibit were large canvases of Old Testament scenes. With Chagall there are usually spirits flying around his canvases, so with my graveyard visitations from Paris still fresh in my mind I think I was more open to his angel-inflected Biblical paintings. Then there…
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.