So nice in Nice! ;]

A cool, wet Avignon bid us farewell when Daniel dropped us at the TGV station on Thursday morning.  Our journey to Nice was pleasantly uneventful; I had time to read a book that Dr. Brown was kind enough to give me, and Hollywood put into words the last few days of our adventure.  Upon arriving in Nice, we wandered in the rain for a bit - looking for the tram which would take us toward our hostel.  Mission accomplished, we then shivered while waiting for the hostel shuttle to pick us up.  I'm glad we did, for it was quite an uphill trek!  After settling in, we were ferried down to the Casino Supermarche to pick up the makings for dinner.  Pasta was the ticket, with curry sauce and a mixed green salad.  We enjoyed a nice inexpensive bottle of local red, and vanilla yogurt for dessert.  We turned in soon thereafter to rest up for a day of exploration...

Sunshine greeted us for our trip along the coast to Cannes, with a stop in Antibes.  The French Riviera is quite beautiful, with each seaside town full of charm and vistas to help relax the soul: the sun was soft upon our faces, the waves lapped at our feet.  Antibes was quite similar to other seaside towns we've seen, with a castle on a hill, a harbor full of boats, and narrow winding cobblestone streets in the old town.  We wandered in search of the Picasso Museum, along the waterfront and past quaint shops.  Mother Nature did her best to entertain us, throwing out a few lightening bolts in the offshore storm.  Upon locating the museum, we realized it was lunch time and we would have to return later in the day when it re-opened.  So we scurried back to the train station and continued on to explore Cannes.

Just 10 minutes further along the coast we disembarked in Cannes, full of excitment to see the stars!  Unfortunately they were not out...as the Cannes Film Festival does not occur during the beginning of December...when is it??? Well - we won't be there!  We made our way to the sea, and sat on the shore to enjoy the view and a picnic lunch.  Fishermen were trying their luck, but I think the shags were more successful.  Once sated, we headed for the hilltop castle, oooh'ing and ahhh'ing at the yachts in the harbor along the way.  The museum housed in the castle was closed, as many things have been, for remodeling or the winter season.  So we made our way back to the train for Antibes to view some of Picasso's later works of art.

We arrived just shy of sunset and were able to enjoy it on the terrace of the museum.  Sculpture by sunset is lovely...  Hollywood is a big fan of Pablo Picasso, and I found a new favorite myself, Georges Mathieu.  Bright and bold colors, striking brush strokes and textures of thick paint.  I fancy I could do that too....ya right!  The museum sat atop a hill, inside Chateau Grimaldi, overlooking the harbor, and from our elevated vantage point we could see Nice, the airport, and all the way up the seashore to Eze.  Beautiful twinkling lights, reflecting off the Mediterrean for as far as the eye could see.  We were perusing the gift shop when it came time to leave, and were silently encouraged out.  We thought of stopping for a Guinness while admiring the Christmas lights decking the streets, but decided to return home for more pasta and vino.

Sunrise was ignored...and slight technical deficulties ensued!  After our complimentary breakfast at the hostel, we hopped on the tram and barely missed the main bus to Eze.  So we boarded the bus to Monaco, which has a stop in Eze, Bord de Mer (on the sea).  Well, since we were a bit off kilter, we missed that stop but got off at the next and walked back.  Eze is a hilltop town high above the water, and we discovered that the hike up the hill could take up to an hour and a half...so we took the bus.  No Half Dome's this trip!  Atop the hill was a castle...imagine that!  The highlight was the Jardin Exotique that crowned its peak and the views it afforded.  Exotic? I suppose cacti are exotic to some, and adorned with beautiful sculptures of women, elegant by vurtue of their simple designs.  We consumed a picnic lunch of pate, chorizo, bread, hummous and nutella.  Eze has a history of greenhouse floral production and is home to Fragonard, a well known perfumery.  Fortunately we yearned for Monaco more than the expensive smell-good stuff, so off we went! 

Soon we stood gape mouthed and wide eyed at the over-the-top wonderfulness of Casino Monte~Carlo, Hotel Paris, and the Theatre.  The front gardens were super festive with multitudes of christmas trees and colorful cyclamen.  The 'parking lot' was a who's who of elegant rides and speedy sportsters.  BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Lotus, Ferrari, Bentley, and believe it or not - Ford!

 Not your run of the mill of course, we're talking Shelby GT 500 and a classic Boss.  Ok - enough of that!  Once again we found ourselves drawn to the seafront, strolling through a rooftop garden (we encountered Adam and Eve), overlooking fishermen and the harbor.  Ohhhhh....the yachts!  Along the harbor we wandered through the festive stalls and enjoyed a crepe and a cup of tea.  This time we were in search of the hilltop Palace (since we were getting tired of castles).  So up we climbed to discover a beatuiful courtyard, with a guard posted at the entry.  We observed the low-key changing of the guard, and another beautiful sunset. 

With grumbling bellies we headed home, but were thwarted by the local soccer match being played in the stadium at the bottom of our hill.  We took the long (and unknown) route home, where we enjoyed one more delicious meal of pasta, bolognese this time, with broccoli and a split of red.  Off to bed after packing, since daylight would take us on our next adventure.