We'll be here until November 16, when it is back to Maui for the holidays.
Along about the time I left off the blog in Menton, France, we had run out of wifi, staying at a couple of hotels that either didn't have it, or charged for it, and ran out of time. So if I had a choice of being out and about or spending time posting, out and about won every time. And by the time there was a bit of time and access, I was so far behind that it hardly made sense. So I'm thinking that next time I will do the best I can for as long as I can, then post brief, non-photo entries until there is time to do it right -- which may be after the trip is over. Sigh.
So here we go...post-Menton....
September 25 after the trip to La Turbie and Menton, we were tired, but hungry. We did some research, and decided on a restaurant a couple of blocks away, where the tourist shops and restaurants fill a two or three-block pedestrian-only area. We slid in without a reservation just before the fashionable dinner hour, and got a table. I ordered rabbit stuffed with fresh pistachios and celery; salade nicoise and ice cream; Tom had daube raviolis, pate and lemon tart. It was good, but very heavy. We both were so stuffed that Saturday we had a couple of snacks during the day and sandwiches for dinner.
September 26 we decided to backtrack and go to the Picasso Museum in Antibes. Once we realized how close together these various cities are, it made sense to retreat and see what we really intended to see. The GPS was invaluable getting to and around Antibes, which we found to be another small, very old town with narrow streets. As we tried to find the museum, we threaded through some very old and very narrow streets, and came across a quite active market place. We knew we were close, to the museum, but could not find it or parking. We made another loop around the neighborhood, and lucked out with free parking. We continued walking the same loop we had driven, and found ourselves back at the market. We passed through and finally found the museum, which was obscured with construction fences and signs. No photos allowed inside, which featured not only Picasso but Cezanne and similarities in their work. Outside, with an ocean view is a sculpture garden.
Before returning to the car we went back by the market, still in full swing, and featuring all manner of foods, from jams and preserves to spices and herbs, to whole piglets and almost live fish.
We found a fellow making socca, a local specialty -- a crepe-like pancake made of chickpeas, baked in a very hot pizza oven and sprinkled with pepper -- very hot, very rich with olive oil, and very tasty. We had two quarters of the whole crepe between us and that was quite enough for lunch.
But the day was young. So back to the hills behind Nice and the town of Vence. Our intention was to see the Matisse chapel (no photos, of course), and our GPS and Tom's quick thinking lead us to parking beneath the city square. When we emerged from the elevator, the square was covered in tents and displays -- we had happened on the equivalent of the county fair. We were hoping to find a small snack before heading off to the chapel, and right outside the elevator was a tenant with free samples of pizza, wine and soda.
Some folks at the fair were selling soaps, candies and other edibles, but for the most part it was a display of the traditional products and production. Tom got a fine lecture on producing eau de vie (including samples), while I checked out people repairing iron tools, carding wool and making yarn. A helpful lady in the tourism booth (from Long Island, no less) directed us to the chapel, and off we went.
Wool to yarn.
Note the pig is stuffed with processed sausage.
The traditional way to produce perfume.
Making eau de vie.
Repairing iron tools.
Lovely baskets and their maker.The chapel itself is smaller than expected, all white inside, with every aspect designed by Matisse. Sadly we have no photos of the interior. It was interesting to hear a short lecture by one of the nuns describing the choice of materials, the symbolism, and the stations of the cross, which are line drawings on a tile wall at the back of the church.
It was now mid-afternoon. The tourism folks had recommended the the village of Eze to round out our tour, so we wound our way east again.
Eze turned out to be a tiny -- very tiny -- village at the very top of a hill above the coast. We walked up a street to get to the entrance of the old village, which was much too small and the streets much too narrow to have allowed any cars. In some places, tourists had to walk single-file. We took in the sights, including the extremely ritzy hotel at the base of the village (see the fancy cars, one of which was from a yacht, and the giant chess game), and a wedding party walking up to the village for photos). Then it was back to the hotel for sandwiches in our room
A few people evidently live in Eze, but not many.
Eze from above the village.
The hotel chess set.
The license plate from one of the black cars meant that it must have been brought from a yacht.
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