Tuesday morning we took off for Monaco and Nice. Carol happily raced along the Motorway at 130 kms and it did not take long to get to the outskirts of Monaco BUT then we were in a long queue of vehicles for the descent into the city. On the way down we were flagged over by a pretty looking Policewoman who requested the car papers (fortunately Jeanette had given those to us) and then our passports, details of everything being written down before we were alllowed to proceed. Jeanette told me afterwards that had we not had the car papers with us, we would not have been allowed to drive off -Heaven knows what we would have done!
We eventually got within the city boundary and picked the first carpark that we saw and with directions from a passerby, we walked down into the city proper. On the way down we spotted a Japanese restaraunt and dropped in for an excellent meal.The salad had the same dressing that we had experienced in Sydney and the waitress gave Carol the ingredients for future reference. With hunger assuaged we walked downhill to the base of the Castle complex and then up to see where Royalty lived. In the Chapel we saw the tombs of Rainier and Grace. The coastline is beautiful, and backdrop of high cliffs makes a perfect setting for this millionaires playground. The marinas were full of exotic boats, the streets abounded with Bentleys/Ferraris and Maseratis -but it did not appeal to me as a placce to live. Bit like HongKong but hillier!!
Len was feeling his 76 years so we decided to catch a bus up to our carpark and it was a couple of euros well spent.
Heading out of Monaco was a lot easier than getting in! We turned north off the Motorway and headed for Vence having decided that a visit to Nice could be avoided as it was an enormous city. Almost missed seeing Vence - the roaad signs here were a bit lacking in detail, and we finished up in the Medieval Village of Tourette sur Loup. It was getting late and a quick look at the fabulous old village convinced us that we should spend the night nearby and make a more detailed inspection the next day. We found an excellent hotel just out of the village which was only 60 euros bed and breakfast with a comfortable room and first class dining rooom. My fish dish was simply superb, and the Crepe which followed was a mountainous concoction of cream ice cream and butterscotch sauce-Wow!
Back to the village in the morning and a wander through the narrow alleyways of this old settlement.It goes back to the 13th century and has been lovingly restored to give a perfect picture of it's original style. Set on a hill (aren't they all?) the village was formed in a pattern of an outer and inner wall to help in defending against all manner of invaders including Visigoths,Huns,Franks and Lombards.It is an artists complex, and here Carol bought a ceramic door sign for her father. The artist was happy to create it in the style that Carol wanted and even arranged to post it securely.
Then off towards Sigalous - a long drive over the most winding road I have ever travelled, through Grasse which is known as a centre for perfumes. As my aftershave botle had spilt into my toilet bag, and Carol's jumper was packed nearby, she smelt very nicely of Eau Savage which deterred her from any desire to investigate other perfumes! I had seen a brochure advertising WW11 museum at Le Muy and we headed there, only to find on arrival that the museum only opened on Sundays. And then we found that no one in Le Muy wants to provide lunch so we hightailed it with empty stomachs until we came to a town with a supermarket where we managed to buy a sandwich and a beer.
Thursday we went into Pierrefeu and bought some fish which Carol was cookiing for dinner that night, and then after lunch we drove to Collobrieres a little village tucked away in the hills not far from Sigalous. It is the chestnut centre for the region and with a pretty stream running through the centre which on crosses on a 13th century bridge was most attractive. There was a general store which was like an old fashioned emporium, stacked with every conceivable sort of item.We bought a bottle stopper in the shape of a grape vine,, and a jar of chestnut puree before returning home.
Friday - the last day, Jeanette took us over to Heyere's The Big Shop to visit a store where they sell weather stations. At Jeanette's we had admired the wall mounted weather station which gave details of the insidde and outside temperatures,barometric pressures and weather forecast. It opeates from a wireless sensor mounted ooutside the house. So we had to have one!
Then the usual no nonsense booking in at Heyere airport, and back to England courtesy of Ryanair. A wonderful 10 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment