We set out early this morning on the bus, leaving Nice behind. Our first stop was a beautiful bay, the Ville Franche for a photo stop...and of course had our picture taken. We continued on to the medieval town of Eze which is perched atop a rock/mountain. We climbed, yes on foot, from the bottom all the way to the top and walked back down. The ascending "streets" with many steps and all the arches made for a challenging but fun adventure. Back on the bus and on to Monaco. Here we drove from the starting line of the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo, then climbed up to the old city. The panoramic views of both "new" Monte Carlo and "old" Monte Carlo harbors were stunning - and I'd be happy to take over ANY of those yachts! We had free time for lunch then finished the day at the Monte Carlo Casino, the center attraction of Roger Craig's 007 movie, "Casino Royale." It was a long 8-hour day but well worth it.
Tomorrow our car picks us up at 4:15 for the half hour drive to Nice International where we fly to Frankfurt - about an hour. Then we board our international flight to Miami International where we are scheduled to land about 2:30pm on Sunday.....should be home around 4pm. Been a great trip.
THANK YOU to everyone who's followed along - it makes putting in the work to post the pictures all worth while. See you on the next adventure in mid-December!
First stop - the Bay of Ville Franche
Photo op time
Eze - see the white house, lower right? Climbed from below there to the top where the cathedral is!
Sampling of the climb thru the streets of Eze
Some of the arches of Eze
More climbing
We've returned to Monaco!
The "new" harbor in Monte Carlo
The cathedral where Grace Kelly got married - inset, her tomb inside
"Bond......James Bond!" 007's "Casino Royale" setting at the Monte Carlo Casino
This morning we had a city tour of Nice. A bit of a rocky start as our AMA app had said to be in the lobby at 8:45am, breakfast at 7am. But when we went for breakfast we were the only ones. Apparently overnight they changed the app to read a 9:00am meet time. At 9am there were only four of us in the lobby and we were wondering what was going on. Finally, about 9:20 the guide appeared acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. We took the six of us - where was everyone else - and stopped at the other hotel to pick up eight more....only fourteen? At the first stop the guide with the other group got together with our guide and explained she had FORTY-ONE guests...maybe they could divide us up more evenly. Problems with organization, hmmmm. Drove around Nice for a bit, then went up into the hills to see some gardens and get a great overlook of Nice. To the one side you could see the French Alps - about an hour drive. To the other side the Mediterranean Sea. Back on the bus and drove to another high elevation for THE photo op of the French Riviera (see above). Having been here before we knew we would in all likelihood be going here so had saved our photo op for here. As we wound our way down to the city square Kim said, "Aren't we walking the old city, it's almost 11:30 when the tour is scheduled to end." Not five minutes later the guide came on the microphone and said the bus would be stopping and if you were doing the old city tour - which would last about an hour - to get off with her here...or take the bus back to the hotel. So we hooked up with the other group and re-divided up the people, we got to join our friends Suzanne and Lynn, as well as John & Rene. Walked around the old city and then at the flower markets the tour ended. It was not an easy walk back to the hotel for many - and especially the less traveled the directions were not simple. Fortunately we knew where we were. We stopped at a restaurant we remembered from six years ago right off Messina Place for lunch then walked the remaining part back to the hotel. Later in the evening we enjoyed dinner with John and Rene. Tomorrow should be a great day with lots of photo ops as we return to the quaint mountain top village of Eze and then continue on to Monte Carlo in a full day excursion, our last of the trip. Also found out today our private car to the airport (about 20 minutes away) will pick us up at 4:15am for our 6:45 flight home!
Gardens of Cimiez
Panoramic view of Nice - note Mediterranean Sea top right
Strolling more gardens
Original stones from a Roman temple preserved here (note - the guide did NOT point this out, but I knew!)
A 16th century Russian Orthodox Church
2016 Photo Op
2024 Photo Op - What A View!
Narrow streets of the old city - note the "little house" on the balcony
(inset - this house must have been owned by someone with money because they had their own little bathroom, yes on the balcony! And with NO running water, the pot would just be dumped over the rail onto the street!)
Medieval Air Conditioning! Nearly all doors had this open-air arch above the door to allow the cool, sea breezes to filter in and cool the home. Hard to see, but the stone work under the arch reads "1597" - this is one of THE oldest homes in Nice
The Nice Cathedral
A medieval Jesuit Church
The church is adorned with 200 angels like this one
Last night we had our "Farewell Dinner" and were sad to say good-bye to our pals Steve & Mary who did not do the post-extension to Nice. We were up by 7am and on the bus by 8am for the nearly four hour journey. We stopped around 11 in Aix-en-Provence, a quaint French town and had about a 30 minute guided walking tour of the old town. We were then given "free time" to explore the various cafés and have some lunch. Regrouped, hopped on the bus and drove another couple of hours before arriving in Cote d'Azur, the province of the French Riviera. We quickly could see the Mediterranean Sea on the horizon and as the guide explained about the area we were soon right on the shore line in the middle of Nice. Our hotel is right in the middle of a beautiful district and within ten minutes walking right down to the Promenade de Anglais, the walkway that runs right along the water. So Kim and I headed down to stretch our legs and admire the view. Later in the evening - on the advice of the AMA hostess we ventured out for dinner at a local restaurant. Tomorrow is a half-day tour of Nice and the surrounding area!
Farewell Dinner
Note the Atlas sculptures holding the balcony - a common decoration
Secret passage to the markets
It was "Market Day" in Axe-en-Provence - soooo many open air markets!
A typical market stand - this one, obviously for cheese
City Hall - from the 1600's and the Clock Tower from the 1500's
A Roman column 2000 years old!
Lunch at a French café
Mont Sainte-Victoire...painted by Cézanne (inset) 67 TIMES!
We've arrived at the Boscolo Hotel & Spa (our room-inset)
Heading to dinner in the old town - thru Messina Square at dusk / returning after dark
La Foya - recommended by the AMA hostess - oh my was it wonderful
During the middle of the night you could hear the rain, and all day as we sailed south towards Vivier it was U-G-L-Y and cold outside. But no sooner had we docked a little after lunch than the clouds parted, and the sun came out making for a gorgeous day! But before we go any further - a HUGE shout out to our very own Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers who are hosting the Boston Bruins tonight on Opening Night where they will raise the Stanley Cup banner. We hate missing games, especially Opening Night....but having a such a wonderful time, we'll make the sacrifice. But we'll be at the next home game next week!
On with the tour....I'd remembered this town before, and what I remembered most were three things. How windy the "Mistral" was; the barren trees lining the walk to the city square; and the gradual climb to the Cathedral with the amazing overlook. Well....two of the three were the same :) We no longer met our guide, Alwine (put an "H" at the front and it's produced "Halloween") than we turned into the tree covered lane, and voila....NOTHING BUT GREEN leaves. I later asked Alwine about this and she said oh for sure they are completely bare in the early spring - when we were here before. One thing I just love about cruising the rivers of Europe are the medieval towns with the old streets that make you feel like you are back in time over 1000 years ago. Very much like this today. We saw two old, medieval houses of note. One was a butcher's house - one of many that were identically designed for the family and the animals - and the "House of the Heads." The latter was a huge complex owned by a rich man who wanted so badly to be a noble. His story ended when he led the townspeople to overthrown the Catholic church & cathedral. But when the Catholics were restored to power he was arrested, beheaded, and drawn & quartered....YIKES! As we gradually climbed higher and higher in the village we came to the guardhouse and gate in the fortress walls surrounding the cathedral and then climbed to the cathedral itself. It is THE smallest cathedral in all of France. But it has a very interesting story as it's architecture mirrors the history of the village. Then we went outside to the terrace overlooking the village and the river. Hard to believe how high we had climbed. Descended back to the ship to top a lovely afternoon, chatting with Alwine all the way down :)
The tree-covered walk - inset: what it was like when we were here in March 2016
The village streets of Viviers
The butcher's house....shop on left; animals on right; living quarters above
The "House of Heads" - you can see why with close-up inset
The guardhouse & fortress walls
Approaching the cathedral
First look at the cathedral
Cathedral interior
Remnants of a fortress tower & "Ego tower" built by "House of Heads" owner JUST to show off
Left - "We're going up there" said Alwine...seemed very high to walk,
....the view from the top (that's our ship sitting in the Rhone River)
The view of the tree-lined street from atop "the rock" of the cathedral
Descending thru the passages & alleys of Viviers
Right after we finished our dinner we set out on the "Vivier Ghost Walk" excursion. To be honest there wasn't a lot of "ghosting," but it was exceptionally entertaining! And while our in-character guide took us on largely the same tour we'd been on this afternoon, she did have a different spin, we did see some things we didn't see before, AND we were highly entertained by actress Claire Harrison on two separate occasions, the last one of which was with our great friend Steve playing a major role. It was great fun on a chilly night and an excellent end to a very good day.
Tomorrow we sail into Avignon for a morning tour of the Pope's Palace & City Tour; then sail to Arles, our final destination for a city tour that will feature a Roman coliseum.
Our guide, Lady Elizabeth, encounters the ghost (Claire)
