France Travel Journal - Final Installment

Posted on | July 25, 2008 |

Finally, we have reached the final “chapter” of our trip to France. Grab your cup of coffee and a croissant and enjoy!

From Aix in Provence, we had a two-hour drive to Nice. Dave and I were both looking forward to a shorter trip than we had the day before. I was quite tired and my balance was a bit off. Dave took to driving and I navigated. The drive from Aix was quite nice. The most exciting part was when we finally saw the Mediterranean Sea! Even from about 20 km away, we could see how lovely the blue was. Finally, we had reached the sea!

Beach in Nice, France

Our first order of business was to find our hotel and check in. It’s an adorable boutique hotel we had read about in Frommer’s, the Hotel Windsor. The hotel is a very artsy hotel (right up my alley!) and they had art installations in the lobby! Each room has its own theme and we had requested a room that does not face the street and has a balcony. We got the “Taste of the Orient” room. It was all white and wicker with a lovely teal and silver wallpaper. It included a queen sized bed, which was very comfortable, and, best of all, air conditioning! The staff was very helpful and the room was comfortable. The elevator was small, but has a surprise in it that I won’t spoil for anyone who might be interested in staying here. It’s a great place, and we highly recommend it.

On the streets of Nice, France

After we checked in, Dave went to park the car while I unpacked. He returned and we went for a walk in search of lunch. Now, the one thing we didn’t even expect to do in France was to eat Chinese food, but some of the restaurants within short distance from the hotel were already closed for lunch and only open as cafes or pizzerias, so we stopped by the Chinese restaurant and were pleasantly surprised. The food was good; the owner spoke great English (he has 3 brothers who live in the US!), and the atmosphere was quite nice. We were hungry and tired, and it was a nice respite.

After lunch, we decided to walk to the boardwalk, where the Mediterranean is within view. We went for our afternoon espresso. I was suddenly very tired and a bit out of sorts. The driving from the past two days had finally gotten to me. Dave took me back to the hotel and put me into bed for a nap. He went out exploring. I think he was gone for 3 hours, but I’m not sure. I slept most of that time. And by the time he got back, I was feeling much better and I had refreshed my make-up. We had 8 pm reservations at Le Petit Maison, a short walk from our hotel. Dave showered and dressed and we headed out for our evening.

The restaurant was pretty empty at 8 pm, but quickly started filling up. The food, the waiters, the ambiance, and the other patrons provided us with a lovely evening. We got to watch the “dance” the waiters do in a crowded restaurant. They all knew their menus well, and when we showed my allergy card, the waiter could tell me immediately whether they could alter something so it tasted good and met my needs. We watched the patrons and gave them back-stories as we sat and enjoyed a fabulous 2 1/2 hour meal of several courses.

Lighthouse at Cap Ferrat, Cap St. Jacques, France

The next morning we went to breakfast and watched as the stores around us opened up and set up the “outside market” parts of their shops. After breakfast, we did some walking in the market and bought a few things. We each got a hat and I stopped at a small souvenir stop that had books and postcards. I picked up a paperback that I can use for French text in my artwork. We went back to the hotel to get changed into our bathing suits.

Our view from the lounge chairs at The Grand Hotel, Cap St. Jacques, France

We had plans to spend lunch and the afternoon with two of Dave’s partners and their spouses - yes, in the South of France! They go each year and they stay at the lovely Cap Ferrat at the fabulous Grand Hotel, which is situated along the coastline on top of a cliff. We met for lunch and then sat along the edge of the cliff in lounge chairs.

Drawing of shoreline in Cap Ferrat

Sailboats on the Mediterranean in Cap Ferrat, France

After about a half hour, we walked down to the edge of the cliff to swim in the Mediterranean! Unlike along the rocky beaches of Nice, the hotel’s location on a cliff had been turned into an entry into the water, with a ladder that allowed us to step into the water. We swam in the Mediterranean. I don’t know if I can explain the excitement I felt along with the weightlessness. There is so much salt in the Mediterranean that you automatically float. And the water is so clear. I wish I had brought goggles to see underneath, but we didn’t stay in too long. Soon after we got in, I felt a pinch on my leg, but I figured it was nothing. About five minutes later, I saw a Portuguese Man o’ War betwen me and one of our friends. I mentioned it and the next thing I knew, we were all being hailed in. Soon after we got out of the water, I started feeling a burn in the area where I had felt the pinch. I had been stung by the Man o’ War. We went to the lifeguard and he gave me an ointment to put on it and soon it was a distant memory.

We left around 5:30 after a relaxing afternoon of drawing for me and reading for Dave. It was a lovely resort day and exactly what we needed after all the hubub of the driving. But we were hungry, so we figured we’d find a bistro close-by the hotel and grab an early dinner. We turned on the GPS to get us back out of the area and this is where we were completley on our own. The GPS could not find satellites. Next thing we knew, we were in Monaco. Yep, you read that right. We ended up in the Principality of Monaco. We had thought we’d go there at some point the next day, but here we were. We drove around, I took photos, and we, somehow, ended up near the Monte Carlo. People were very nicely dressed, there were some high end stores, and, lots of buildings. There was little to no coastline left undeveloped. So commercial. We didn’t feel a need to stop there and have dinner. We drove on following the signs and hoping we’d find our way back to Nice.

Drawing of Lighthouse at Cap St. Jacques, France

After about an hour of driving (which should have taken about 20 minutes), we ended up back in Nice. We parked the car and went to find a restaurant. There was a lovely Greek restaurant not far from our hotel and we had dinner there. I’m sorry I don’t remember the name of it. We sat outside and it was interesting to have dinner with street vendors walking by trying to sell things to us and people smoking and talking loudly as they walked through the outdoor part of the restaurant to their next destination. But the food was good and we retired to the hotel not much later.

The next morning we wanted to head to the Chagall museum. After the night before’s GPS mess, we asked the hotel to show us on the map. Let’s just say that it did not go well. Again, the GPS did not work for us. And there was little parking near the actual museum, so we went searching for parking. Well, we ended up more than a kilometer from the museum when we finally found parking. I was already tired, but determined. After a while, I had to stop. The entire walk was up hill, and it was a very hot and humid day. We had left before lunch, so we were tired and hungry. We headed back to the car and then to the hotel (again, after the GPS did lost us!).

Garden Restaurant at Hotel Windsor, Nice, France

We did, however, have a lovely lunch at an Italian restaurant and then we walked around Nice some more. We picked up some chocolates for Dave to have along with some gifts for people, as it was our final day in France. We went back to the hotel and made reservations in their restaurant for dinner and then we went up to the room and packed. I wanted to make sure we had everything and that our early morning flight the next day would not be stressful. We also wanted to take the car back so we didn’t have to worry about that the next morning. So we did that, took a taxi back to the hotel, and had dinner. The restaurant is in the gardens at the hotel. Unfortunately, it was not the best meal we had. It was, perhaps the worst meal we had in France. However, it was relaxing and the setting was lovely and relaxing.

We made it home safely, but our luggage was a day late. Really, that was the only thing that went wrong. At least we were headed home!

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