SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

NICE, FRANCE

Today we actually got up at 7:00 a.m. because we were planning to take the train to see Eze, France. But when we asked our hotel desk clerk about it, he told us to just take the tram a few stops and get off and take bus 82 to Eze Village. Eze is a historic hill town which is referred to as the "Eagle's Nest." It is located on a high cliff 1,041 feet above sea level and has spectacular views of the Mediterranean. The oldest building in the village is the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix which dates back to 1306.

The small medieval village is famous for its beauty and charm. Its many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants attract a large number of tourists and honeymooners. I saw a sign that said Walt Disney spent a significant amount of time in Eze but there was no explanation why. The bus dropped us off at the base of the town and we walked over to a small cafe for a breakfast of coffee and hot chocolate and pastries. After breakfast we walked up and up weaving our way to the top. There were tons of shops and we looked in most of them but we didn't buy anything. When we got to the very top we wanted to check out the highest view but they charge 6 euro per person ($7.52) to gain access. We declined and instead stopped at a cafe for Coke Zero and Coke Light. Once again, it was good people watching!

On the way back down we happened upon a courtyard outside a medieval church which was being decorated for a wedding. It was a very small chapel but very beautiful. A fussy wedding planner and his two assistants were finishing up with the flowers when we went in. They had an arrangement of flowers hanging on the end of each pew and flowers at the front of the church and tons of white rose petals strewn about. They were gorgeous and made the church look very romantic. We did not see the bridal party but we saw a lot of fabulous cars (Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Ferraris, etc.) driving up the steep streets and we assumed they were wedding guests.

We were going to go on to Monaco after seeing Eze but decided to go back to Nice instead. We took the number 82 bus and then the tram back to our stop. When we got off the tram we were right in front of a huge department store called Gallaries Lafayette. We looked around a little bit and I bought a charm for my Pandora bracelet.

We started walking back to our hotel through the Pedestrian Street and stopped for lunch at a small cafe. We had sandwiches on baguettes and they were very good. We looked in a few more shops walking back to the hotel. When we got "home," we took drinks out to the garden and relaxed awhile while I wrote in my blog.

We wanted Italian food for dinner so we went to La Trattoria just down the street from our hotel. On the way we stopped at our favorite wine bar, Cave 35, for a glass of wine (or two). The owner recognized us and was very friendly. Once again they brought us an appetizer which was sliced french bread with cheese . . . and goose liver pate and froie gras. YUCK! It's a shame we don't have a taste for the exotic stuff. We stayed there about an hour and my cute dog friend did not show up so we left to walk to dinner. We ate outside and it was a lovely evening. We shared an avocado salad which was excellent! David had vegetarian pizza and I had a pepperoni pizza. Mine was particularly spicy and good.

We went to bed a little earlier than usual because we wanted to get up early for our trip to Cannes.

We are seriously thinking about not coming home!!!