June 21st - 24th Cote d' Azur/ French Riveria

After a leisurely breakfast at 10am, shock /horror, we left Cagnes-sur-Mer on Saturday morning after making our final goodbyes to our cycling companions. Took a taxi the 16km to our Airbnb in the old area of Nice where we are based until Thursday. What an absolute delight to have a spacious apartment on the 5th floor and be able to unpack for at least 5 days.

View from our balcony towards the tramline behind the trees. Very quiet area with all the essentials nearby.

Sunday was a stooge about the Cours Saleya market by the beach. Usual fabulous array of yummy fruit and vegetables. Also the "best" Boucherie in Nice. Walked along the Promenade des Anglais which was put in by the English in Victorian times to, you know, promenade. There is a lookout called the Castle Hill (only remnants left after Louis X1V destroyed it) with fabulous views over old and new Nice towards Antibes. We scaled it before the heat of the day sapped one out.

So many spices to choose from at Cours Saleya market.

Pottles of mouth watering strawberries.

Moi purchasing baguette.

7km of beach of which there is a mixture of public and private beaches.

View of old Nice in the foreground, no black or slate coloured roofs in this town.

Marina on the east side of the hill. 

Classic Riva boat style made famous by movie stars in the 1950s who holidayed on the French Riveria, usually Cap Ferret.

Retiring to the beach from 3pm seemed a good idea along with many others but very convivial. Nice beach at the old area is covered with small river stones so not the most comfy lying on our Katmandu hiking towels or trying to walk in bare feet but one suffers for a swim in the Med huh! Water is like a tepid bath so nice and very clear.

Umbrellas are at a private beach, the rest of us to the left.

Himself a very happy bunny.

Monday we had booked a day tour of Antibes, Saint Paul de Vence, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Eze etc the French Riveria in one day in a aircon minivan with 6 others. Guide was Ukrainian, a very competent woman regarding information and a skilled driver. There was a family of four from the USA, an eccentric Australian woman and chap from Bristol. 

Antibes is on the west side of Nice and quite low key. Quite liked the feel of it.

Some clever sculptures dotted about, this one reminded me of the sculpture in the Wellington water front.

Many, many boats moor at Antibes because it is cheaper than Nice or Monaco.

Yet another market stumbled upon in Antibes. The size of the raspberries that actually taste like raspberries.

Rampant Oleander and Bouganvillia

Next stop Saint Paul de Vence a cobbled hilltop town known for resident artists. Was too touristy for us but had the old pearl.

Bugatti made from stainless steel.

Oh to be a goldfish when it is 29C

Inside an artist studio 

Very good sculpture.

Moved on to Monaco and Monte Carlo. This is when we learned the American couple with two children loved Disneyland and loved Casino's. They usually holidayed near either or both. He was really excited about hitting the Casino for the allotted time while we were overwhelmed by the excesses of the whole area, ugly just did not cover it. Could not wait to leave the place. We did get to ride over some of the 3km Monaco F1 track in the minivan which is on the waterfront as part of the roading network absolutely jammed with everyday traffic.

Monaco marina

Just a few run abouts

Near the start of the Monaco F1 race.

Another classic Riva boat dwarfed by one of the many behemoths at Monaco.

We learned that 50,000 people come into Monaco by train, scooter etc to work everyday from surrounding area but mostly Nice. Bringing in a car is prohibitive at €75 per day for parking. Monaco sits on 2.08 sq kms with a population 39,000. They are building apartments on every available space such is the demand in this tax haven.

Eze was another hilltop village dating back to the middleages. Touristy with a hilltop Jardin (garden) known for its commanding views. We stopped on the way back to Nice at a lookout over Cap Ferret known as a very chic area with eye watering property prices. The privileged location affords privacy to various celebrities.

Cap Ferret

Today we took the advice of John Crick, one of our cycling companions to visit Menton. 40mins by train very near the Italian border. It was all John had enthused about being very beautiful, peaceful and lovely gardens. Menton is known for "The yellow stairs" so tackled that first then mooched about the very smart shopping area and had a baguette in one of the gardens. Got the train back and went to the beach 5pm.

The Yellow Stairs

Beautiful town of Menton

Basillique Saint Michel

Menton harbour, swimming beach flat and sandy unlike Nice.

Our lunch spot

Tomorrow is our last day in Nice. Intend to hit the beach for our last swim in the Med. Budapest, Prague and Edinburgh not known for 25C sea swims. Will then tidy up our Airbnb and have a meal out at Le Gambetta ( recommended seafood restaurant has been in business 100+years). We have eaten in our apartment all four nights in Nice as we can with our own kitchen.