We had early tender tickets to get into Cannes with
Kelly, David, Earnest, April, Debbie, and Barb. Our tour was with www.rivierapremiumtour.com and
Victor picked us up on schedule. Off we “flew” to Nice in a comfortable van,
not far away. The weather was sunny and warm.
Cannes, located in the French
Riviera, absolutely sparkled as we drove through. It is a busy tourist destination and host of
the annual Cannes Film Festival. The city is also famous for its various luxury shops, restaurants, and
hotels. We saw plenty of that on our way back through to the ship.
Nice is a special city with beautiful geography. Culturally
and architecturally enriched over time, today Nice has become a truly
cosmopolitan tourist destination. The spectacular natural beauty of the Nice
area and its mild Mediterranean climate came to the attention of the English
upper classes in the second half of the 18th century. The city’s main seaside
promenade, the Promenade des Anglais (‘the Walkway of the
English’) owes its name to the earliest visitors to the resort. The area has
been of particular appeal to some of Western culture’s most outstanding
painters, such as Marc Chagall and Henri
Matisse. We stopped to see the world renowned Nice flower market and then
Tim and I quickly walked to the beach and gathered a quart plastic bag full of
green, turquoise, clear, and amber beach glass! My slacks got soaked from the
warm Mediterranean, but I loved it! Tim was not quite so pleased with wet
shoes.
We visited the Fragonard perfume
shop near Eze—a little tour of how perfume is made and then a “smell” test.
This was my 3rd visit to Fragonard. I bought a luxurious royal jelly
face cream. No more wrinkles!
We traveled on to Eze, 1,401 feet above sea level
on the French Mediterranean. It's so high that the Catholic church
(Notre Dame de l’Assomption built in 1764) can be seen from very far away. The Phoenicians
came to the location first, but now it is known as a medieval town, perched so
high with narrow cobblestone streets and passages.
We traveled along the Middle
Corniche and passed familiar towns, like Cap d’Ail, Cap Ferrat, St. Paul de Vence,
Villefranche (Tim remembered this port from his U.S. Navy days), and other
villages I visited during my year in France.
Monaco/Monte Carlo was another stop. Tim
and I had lunch at Tatti’s—coucous with chicken, tomato and lettuce salad,
pomme tarte, éclair, and Coke Zero for 25 Euros (about $33). We sat outside and
observed the afternoon lunch crowd. Couscous was my favorite dish in France,
especially cooked by the two ladies with whom I lived in 1968.
Our group went to the casino area.
We sat there for a while to observe the cars, Porsches, Bentleys, BMWs, Ferraris,
a ’58 Buick, all between the Hotel de Paris and the Casino. We took a peek at
the majestic casino area—white marble, tall ceilings, golden features. Very
posh.
This evening we had a celebratory dinner
onboard the Epic at “Taste” with David and Kelly Sias (Huntington Beach,
California) and April and Earnest Coker (Dallas, Texas). They are returning
home on Sunday. We have become good friends since Barcelona. We had a good
laugh at how we met so early in the morning, Cokers just flying in and all of
us exhausted last Saturday. Both couples
are in their 40s.
We strolled around the ship and then
returned to the stateroom to get ready for Marseille/Aix!
Janie’s Take: I sure do miss our family!
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