Nice continues

Weather has been cooler than normal for this time of year in Nice, but still getting out making sure we have sweaters and our umbrellas, as a few showers in the past week. The papers indicated it had been the coolest spring in 26 years.

On Friday the 24th, we took in the Nice Tennis Open, which is classified as an ATP 250 event for our tennis family and friends. We watched the two semi finals. Montanes from Spain vs. Roger-Vasselin from France.....Montanes won. The following match was Monfils from France who won against Andujar from Spain. The second match was more exciting than the first. It was a windy day, but didn't seem to bother the players. The finals were on Saturday, Montanes from Spain won in a tie breaker. Might have to look into attending the French open one of these years.

Love some of the expressions of the French. Waiters will often come to your table and say "Je vous entends" which translates to "I am listening", but sounds better in French ! When you thank a waiter or store clerk a lot of times they say "de rien" which means "it was nothing, my pleasure".

In a previous blog, I spoke about the huge numbers of people who still smoke here. The one trend seems to be a rise in the amount of people who smoke electronic cigarettes. Not sure why these have become so popular. One of the articles I read indicted they were once marketed as a smoking cessation tool, however a lot of them now have the same amount of nicotine as a conventional cigarette. They also contain propylene glycol which creates the smoke....really! They don't even look like cigarettes.
In the news this week in France, is the first gay marriage which is to take place in Montpellier. There were riots in Paris over the weekend, when the new law was passed. I think they have far worse problems in France then to riot over gay marriage!
Haven't talked too much about style in France. As everyone knows, French women have always been looked upon as very stlylish, and for the most part, that is still the truth. There is however one horrible sight these days. Women of all ages are wearing horrible baggy bum pants. If you recall the MC Hammer harem pants, these are somewhat similar. Very baggy in the bum, where the material almost goes down to the knees of the wearer, but with tighter material in the legs. Sorry, these simply do not show off a woman's figure, they look more like a baby wearing a very dirty, saggy diaper. Who comes up with these "fads". You can be well assured that I for one, will not be buying a pair of these!

We certainly get a kick out of the inventive parking in Nice as it is at a premium to find a space on the street. Cars constantly double park, park partly frontward on the sidewalk with the back end protruding on the street, or oftentimes, just cram into a spot between two cars which is usually a little too small and all cars get somewhat dented. They will also park on a corner of a curb, if no other space, then they put on their four way flashers, as if this makes it o.k.! Most cars and trucks/vans, have mirrors missing, huge dents scratches along the sides and some held together by duck tape! Glad we didn't have a car while we here. In reality, with the great bus and train system, we really had no need for one. Also, the walking down to the Old Town most days has been great exercise.

Well yet another great restaurant. On Saturday ate at "Le Comptoir du Marche". Another little jewel of a restaurant that we found via Trip Advisor. A "Lapin terrine -rabbit" shared as an appetizer, Robin had joues de porc (pork cheeks) served on polenta with a sauce and I chose magret de canard (duck breast). Saved room for desert of chocolate mousse (guess who had that!) and millefeuille. The food was well presented, reasonable portions and very tasty. Once again, great conversations with those around us. A norm in these small restaurants as the tables are so close together. An English couple on one side celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and a single American man who was attending the Formula One race in Monaco, which is taking place on Sunday. A delightful evening and a walk home on a moonlit night.

Xavier, our guide in Corsica

We received a nice e-mail this week from Xavier, our guide while in Corsica. He thanked us for the review we wrote on Trip Advisor. Guiding is his livelihood and he excels at it and we gave him a glowing review. As we use Trip Advisor quite a bit, we think it is only right that we write reviews whether the ratings that we give are good, mediocre or improvement required. He was outstanding.

This past Sunday, a beautiful sunny day, so we treated ourselves and spent the afternoon at one of the beachside restaurants that rent out sunbeds and provide food and drink. A lovely leisurely afternoon. Normally, when we have been to the beach, we have our small beach chairs and one mat which has little cushioning when to lying on the rocks.

The seaside at Menton

Monday, the 27th a day trip, by train, to Menton, the last town before you cross over into Italy. It almost reminded us of a smaller Nice and is known as the "Pearl of France". Not as big and not as touristy; which makes it quite alluring. Someplace we might look at staying in the future. Picturesque harbour and houses set into the hills. Had our first taste of paella here and walked through the old town and down the Oceanside walkway. The town is known for its lemon and orange trees. A shop in town sells everything flavoured with lemons ie: olives, vodka, cookies, cakes, soaps, etc. The town is also famous for its numerous gardens. As usual along the promenade, many restaurants flourish. The only thing which is a little different here is that the majority of the tables are on the oceanside, wherein the kitchens are across a road. Therefore the waiters run back and forth across the road with their trays. Most drivers are very indulgent and let the waiters cross the road! While having lunch in one of the squares of the old town, we were fortunate to have a young man playing a twelve string guitar who was at times accompanied by a young woman doing a local dance. Very lovely and entertaining. Afternoon train back to Nice and Velo blu bikes back to the apartment.

Wednesday, the 29th, we took the bus to Beaulieu-Sur-Mer, 10 kms. from Nice to visit Villa Kereylos which is a stunning reconstruction of a luxurious Greek palace but built in 1902 by Theodore Reinach during the Belle Époque. The home is completely furnished and decorated in the Greek style. The mosaic tile work on the floors and walls is simply stunning. Can't imagine the time it must have taken to tile this home. Columns made of Carrera marble thoughout the home. The shower was particularly interesting as it had several sets of vertical jets, not unlike a high end shower of today, well ahead of its' time. This was the dream home of the amateur archeologist, who came from a wealthy family and had helped the Greeks with the excavations in Delphi, Greece. It has stunning views of the Meditterenean.

Villa Kereylos

Then we walked along the Promenade Maurice Rouvier, into St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and went to visit Villa and Gardens of Ephrussi de Rothschild. The villa and gardens sit on 17 acres of prime land on the Cap and once again, spectacular views. It took five years to build the villa, which is in a neo-Venetian style and was completed in 1905. The home is furnished and has art work and tapestries and china collections displayed. The garden has seven theme gardens and we were fortunate enough to see the water show in the various water fountains in the garden, which was set to music. Both the Kereylos and Rothschild villas are now owned and operated by the Academie de Beaux-Arts Institute of France. So glad we took the time to see both these wondrous villas, while wondering what the poor people are doing.....oh right, we are here paying to see the villas!

One of the several gardens at Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Our last week in Nice and we found that we ran out of time for some of the areas, towns and museums that we wanted to visit. Where has the time gone?

Thursday was our last day in Nice, picked up a rental car and drove to Juan des Pins for lunch. Back to apartment to pack and leaving Friday morning the 31st for Mazamet, which s about a 5 1/2 hour drive.