Great Getaway: Nice - Monte Carlo - Provence

En Provence

Nice

4- 10 August 2010

Arrived in Nice from Milan after a longer train trip than expected. According to our fellow Italian traveller, a lovely grandma who alternates her time between children in Monaco, Milan and Rome, the train track goes down to 1 line along the Italian coast and the train is often late. As it is today. So we miss one connection at Ventimiglia (Italian border) but soon get another train to Monaco. We have shared the journey from Milan with Keith and Tanya from Georgia, USA, a couple we like very much. Tanya works for Symantec (IT security) and we share ideas about how lovely the Italian life is and how it would be so good if we did not work such long hours and did get time to keep our own veggie gardens. We have made a pledge to each other to do this, so I expect to be getting a check-in email from Tanya when I get back to see ‘how are gardens are growing’.

Me at the Casino

Mel - at old Casino Monte Carlo

Keith and Tanya get off at Monte Carlo for the Symantec Conference and Mel and I change trains to do the final leg to Nice. We get into the Little Palace hotel about 9.30pm and go out in search of food and drink. First impressions of Nice are good and as these continue over the next few days we end up staying longer than first planned. The time is also extended in Nice due to the fact that our first class Eurail pass still does not allow us to get a ‘reservation’ on a train to Barcelona till Wednesday 11th, much later than we had expected, but then Nice is nice!

We love Monte Carlo - the street are clean! No doggy doo and ciggie butts everywhere...nice scenery too

Mel - in the footsteps of Maradona - perfect fit

Some serious boats here

We used Nice as a base to see as much of the surrounding area as we can, whilst still fitting the obligatory washing and homework days. Most mornings while Mel sleeps in (and I mean sleep in – it is not brunch but ‘lun-der’ as first meal) I go walking, exploring and beaching. The flower/farmers markets are lovely, but without a fridge in our room there is not much point me buying any of the fresh produce, so I opt for my regular café au lait and pain au chocolat, or whatever flavoured croissant looks good on the day. In the afternoons we do sightseeing to Monte Carlo, Provence and on our last day I go to Antibes while Mel rests. Monte Carlo is just as you see it in the movies, dripping with wealth, free and easy lifestyle and gorgeous fashion shops. We play a game of spot the Ferraris and Maseratis, there are plenty around so the score gets high very quickly. We walked along the path of fame and Mel stands in Diego Maradona’s footsteps. We pop up to the Casino and have a look but I elect not to go in with our touriste clothes on and a minor in tow. We thought we were finishing the day around 9pm with dinner by the marina and a stroll along millionaire lane, but as we got to the last boat on the row, Mel said, 'Is that an Aussie flag Mum?' To which the two guys standing near by say,’Are you Aussies’ and that was it, an hour of chatting to young Mr Bertram from Adelaide who is on the annual family holiday on Dad’s 62 foot Sunseeker Motor Launch, 'No Compromise', registered in Kingston South Australia, but permanently moored in Monte Carlo for use as required! The yacht’s South African engineer has taken leave from his company director role to come and work on the yacht and tells Mel what a great lifestyle and money making opportunity it is for when she finishes school. Mel is taken with the idea and I am expecting her to start doing some boating courses when we get home and playing her First Mate role more seriously on Betta Wetta!

Where's my kayak? - this sea is flat calm!

Checking out her future lifestyle in Monte Carlo

The Tour En Provence was fantastique, it cost us 55 Euro each to go in a ‘minibus’ which was more like a fancy new people mover. The tour caters for 8 but there was only Ann from San Fancisco and us with our 2 guides Richard and David. We went to the Fragonard perfume factory in Grasse and saw how perfume was made centuries ago and how it is made now. They have a display of where they get all the flowers and essential oils from and we were pleased that they use eucalyptus and acacia from Oz. We then zig zagged our way up the steep mountains which lead to the French Alps with a stop at Gourdon, hilltop fortress dating pre-dark ages that is like something from a movie, just perched on the edge of a rock face with a sheer drop below. As Richard explained there were no police way back when and this was a great defence point to lookout over the sea for pirates. Next stop St Paul De Vence, a very beautiful place which has lots of tres chic art dealers nestled in behind the stone walled shops. It has been the hang out for many a famous person from Picasso to Keith Richards (yeah that guy in Pirates of the Carribbean III) and Roger Moore. The scenery on the trip back was pretty impressive too with a river that flows down into the valley where young adventurers undertake canyoning (sounds crazy to me - what's wrong with a good kayak?).

I was headed for St Tropez on the last day in Nice, but my wee mouse was v. tired so I left her for a rest and hopped over to Antibes. The boaties say this place is the centre of boating in the south of France. It has some lovely little beaches and an 'old walled town' which, as we are learning, most of these old European towns do. The best thing about Antibes was meeting Amanda, Rebecca and Wendy as I got off the train. 3 Aussie chicks off on a picnic, so they invited me along. Amanda lives in Paris and we are hoping to catch up with her and try her boyfriend Michel's restaurant in Paris. Back in Nice that night Mel came out with me for tea with the gals and we drank and talked till midnight - great company and hope to see them back in Oz.

Overall, Nice was extremely pleasant and a place I would like to come back to. While the pebbles are a bit bumpy to lie on the beach is still beautiful and I enjoyed many hours just sunbaking, reading and jumping in the calm sea to cool off every now and again. The sales were on so a little bit of shopping was done too. Mel and I enjoyed the restaurants. I hadn't quite realised before coming here how strong the Italian influence would be on the food. Until the mid 1800s Italy was not a nation, just a group of regions. So the areas of Nice and Western Italy were like a region unto themselves. There is still a strong tie between Nice and Italian culture, food and fashion, so it is a perfect location.

We are now overnighting in Montpellier. It was not an intentional stop, but as there were no trains to Barcelona available until tomorrow (Wed 12 Aug) we had to stop here. We are pretty trashed after a big travel day and of course Rebecca, Wendy and Amanda forcing me to drink last night, so we haven't explored Montpellier much, but from what we have seen it is a very vibrant, attractive city. A pleasant surprise!

Next stop - Barcelona, Spain!!!

The old fashioned way of making perfume. Delicate flowers like this jasmine are pressed into animal fat and left until all the oil is absorbed into the fat. The fat is then mixed with alcohol and spun in a centrifuge until the jasmine oil is separated.