Final thoughts on France.........

On a plane again...…………..

Our twelve nights in France passed quickly.  It was a great experience from beginning to end, creating lots of new memories.  If France is on your radar screen for anytime in the future you might find some of this information helpful.
France is a large country.  Size wise, France is the third largest European country (behind Russia and The Ukraine).  That's a lot of land to cover.  While we're not experts, between this recent trip and past visits, we've now spent time in Paris, the Normandy Region and the French Riviera.  We've enjoyed all of them tremendously and would highly recommend them.  Our time in Paris has been limited, so I'll mainly focus on Normandy and the French Riviera.  One thing I will say about Paris is that it is a very walkable city and from what we saw also had a very good public transportation system.  Most of Paris's main sights are located on or near the River Seine which is a great place to  roam on foot.
French Hospitality is not an oxymoron.  There seems to be a stereotype that the French people are uppity and don't like Americans.  While I'm sure some of this exists, we've had nothing but great experiences.  Everyone we've dealt with has been very friendly and helpful.
This year is the seventy fifth anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. The French people of the Normandy Region have not forgotten the tremendous sacrifice made by American, British and Canadian troops.  As we were traveling about Normandy we noticed that American flags were about as common as French flags.  A small restaurant that we ate in served our sandwiches will small American and French flags on the toothpicks.  Another restaurant in the region had a sign engraved in their window that said "We Welcome Our Liberators".

Communication hasn't been an issue in any of the areas we've visited.  They are all "tourist regions" and while everyone may not speak English, you won't have any trouble communicating.
Getting around is easy.  Public transportation (bus and trains) is very good in Paris and the French Riviera.  Buses are inexpensive (currently in the Riviera 1.5 euros per ride).  Trains are frequent, run on time and are also fairly inexpensive.  We used the trains twice during our French Riviera stay.  Taking it from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Cannes one day and to Menton the next day.  For no additional money you can hop off and on at any stations along the way.  Don't forget to validate your tickets in the yellow machines that are usually close to where you purchase your tickets.  We used Uber to get from our Airbnb to the Nice Airport without any problems.  You can book tours in the Normandy region that will provide transportation to sites of interest, however driving in that area is very easy.  We rented a car at the Paris airport and drove to Normandy.  You could also take a plane, bus or train to the area and then rent locally.  If you want a car with an automatic transmission you'll pay a little bit more.
Money.  ATM's are everywhere and will dispense currency in Euro's.  Credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) are widely accepted.  I'm not sure about American Express and Discover.
Time of Year to Travel to France.  Being retired we're fortunate that we can travel offseason when the rates and crowds are less.  Now is offseason in both Normandy and the French Riviera.  The "weather gods" smiled on us throughout our recent trip.  The Normandy weather can be quite temperamental at this time of the year.  We had mostly sunny skies with highs in the 50's to low 60's. Shortly after leaving the weather returned to what is more normal in that area for this time of year.  High's in the low 50's, rainy and cloudy...…….we were incredibly lucky!
In the Riviera it was a little warmer and sunnier (high's in the mid to upper 60's) and there is less rain in this area at this time of year.  The temperatures in both places would dip down into the 40's at night.  Just so you know, the "weather gods" don't always smile on us.  The last time we were in Paris is was for one day.  We took the Chunnel from London to Paris.  It was cloudy, cold and rainy all day with the high temperature hovering around 40 degrees!

The flowers were in bloom in Monaco

Where to stay in Normandy and the French Riviera.  Obviously this is a personal choice.  We loved our stays in Bayeux and Honfleur in the Normandy region.  Bayeux has some interesting things to see and do.  It is centrally located for getting to the D-Day sites and a little over an hour by car from Mont. St. Michel.  Honfleur was an interesting town and is certainly good for a couple of days.
We didn't explore too much in the Honfleur area but Etretat was interesting and it looks like it could be a very good base for some other sites in that area.
We loved our Airbnb in Villefranche-sur-Mer.  This is a small, quiet city that is just outside Nice.  It has great train and bus service to other parts of the French Riviera region.  It also has a small but nice beach and plenty of shops and restaurants.  If night life is your thing, this probably isn't the place for you and you'd be happier in Nice, Cannes or some of the other larger cities.  We were happy to visit them in the daytime and return to our quiet, little, peaceful city at night.  One thing about Villefranche-sur-Mer, that we were surprised to discover was that over 100 cruise ships came into their port last year.  The first one was at the end of March and the last one was at the end of December.  While most cruisers probably head to Nice, Cannes or Monaco, the city certainly would be livelier on those days.
We love sharing our adventures with anyone who is interested in following along and are always happy to assist other travelers in any way possible!  Thanks for being part of the adventure!

When life gives you lemons..........find some oranges and throw a big festival!

We broke out our fanciest clothes for the Fete du Citron!

In 1935 the city of Menton was looking for a way to attract visitors during the winter months.  Several years prior, the hotel operators came up with the idea of an annual carnival.  It was successful and they started to explore ways to make it bigger and better.  The region was already known for producing some of Europe's finest lemon crops and someone came up with the idea of celebrating the lemon.  I'm sure whoever had this idea departed this earth many years ago, but I think they'd be amazed at what their idea has grown into over the past eighty four years.
Over several weeks in February and early March the city of Menton, which has a population of around 28,000 will attract over 250,000 visitors.  According to Google Translate, "Fete Du Citron" means "Lemon Party", and some party it is!  There are parades, gigantic artistic displays made of lemons and oranges, fireworks, food, drink and so much more.
We had purchased tickets in advance for both the display garden and the final parade.  As has been the case for everyday of this two week adventure, the weather cooperated completely.  Under sunny skies and a temperature of around 60 degrees we took off from the condo around 8:30 for the short walk to the train station.  Even though it was pretty early on a Sunday morning the train was fairly crowded as folks headed for Menton.  I guess you could say we were all getting an early "tart".
The display garden had only been open for a few minutes when we arrived but a line was already forming around the entry.  As we entered the first word out of my mouth was WOW! The displays were absolutely amazing!  This years theme was "Fantasy World" and the thirteen displays, some measuring over forty feet high, were built around the theme.
The WOW I so intelligently offered up could apply to so many things;
WOW, there are a lot of people in here!
WOW, these displays are really creative!
WOW, this is bigger than I anticipated!
But mainly it was, WOW, that's a lot of lemons and oranges!
Beth and I did a little research after we got back to the condo.  To create this impressive garden takes more than 400 workers and 20,000 hours.  The frames for the displays are constructed with over 15 tons of steel.  Close to 300,000 pounds of lemons and oranges are used and are held in place by more than 750,000 rubber bands!  During the festival there are 12 people whose specific job is to monitor the fruit and replace any fruit that has deteriorated  These 12 folks are to be commended.  That's a lot of fruit to monitor, and while we didn't inspect every piece, we only saw one orange that wasn't looking real good.

After spending an hour or so in the garden we headed out to explore Menton and grab some lunch before the 2:30 parade.  As with the other French Riviera cities we have visited, there was a nice waterfront promenade.  Menton is practically on the France/Italy border.  So as we were sitting in the French Riviera soaking up the atmosphere, we were gazing across the harbor at the Italian Riviera.
As we had done for the Carnival Parade in Nice, we had purchased grandstand seats instead of opting for "standing room".  Again, the few extra dollars for the seats seemed to be a good investment, especially since the crowds in the standing room area were about 4-5 people deep.
In keeping with the theme of "Fantasy World" there were all types of mythical creatures. There were unicorns, dragons, giant butterflies and fairies mixed in among the floats decorated with oranges and lemons.  As I mentioned in the blog about the Nice Carnival Parade, I'm not much of a parade guy but in the span of less than a week I've seen the two best parades I've ever seen!

Menton waterfront

Looking across the Menton Harbor...…..that's Italy in the background

Some pictures from the parade

Thousands of bags full of confetti were thrown or shot into the crowd during the parade.

This float shot out "snow" (soap bubbles)

The crowds were huge and had arrived over a span of several hours.  We knew that once the parade was over everyone would want to leave at the same time so we headed out just a few minutes before the end.  As our full train pulled out of the station we saw long lines for the next train which wasn't due to depart for 30 minutes.  We celebrated our decision with one final ice cream at the store conveniently located between the train station and the condo.
There was one final burning question about the festival we had to answer.  What do they do with all those lemons and oranges once the festival is over?  Beth quickly found the answer.  The lemons and oranges that have deteriorated, which is around half of them, are hauled away for composting.  Those that are deemed to be in good shape are sold at a deep discount!  According to what she learned, in recent years the going price was around .50 euros per kilogram, which works out to roughly sixty cents for 2.2 pounds.  Hundreds of people line up and the fruit is quickly sold.
Tomorrow is moving day.  We'll pack it up in the morning, enjoy a few final minutes on the terrace overlooking the harbor, before heading for the airport.  We'll spend tomorrow night at an airport hotel in Paris before heading back to the US.  There are so many wonderful places to visit.  This adventure has let us revisit a few of our favorites from the past as well as discover some new ones.  The journey continues...……...

Roaming around Monoco, Antibes and Cannes!

Doing what we do best......this time on the less uppity side of Cannes

We've really been pleased with the location of our Airbnb in Villefranche-sur-Mer (population around 5,000).  As usual, I can take absolutely no credit for finding it.  Beth does all the hard research and does a fantastic job.  I'd hate to think where we'd end up if I was in charge of that part of the operation.
Our place is a one bedroom, with plenty of space and a terrace overlooking the harbor, that is about as large as the indoor space.  It has a full kitchen which has allowed us to prepare one or two meals per day here.  Eating out is fairly expensive, but there is a local market nearby where we've shopped several times, and their freshly baked baguettes cost less than a dollar!

The condo is in the building in the middle

We've also enjoyed this location because it is in one of the smaller cities along the Riviera away from the hustle and bustle, but with great access to the other larger cities.  There are frequent buses going towards Nice and Monaco (#100 & 81) as well as a train station just a 10-15 minute walk from the condo.  Of course, as mentioned in previous blogs, there are scenic coastal walks that will take you towards Nice in one direction and the swanky peninsula of Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat the other way.
Yesterday we wanted to give our legs a little rest after the poundings we had put them through the two previous days.  After an early lunch at a small outdoor café at the marina ,which is located just a few hundred yards from our condo, we set out for a low key afternoon adventure.  We caught the #100 bus to Monaco.  Now if there is a drawback to where we are staying it's that the main road and the bus stop is located at the top of the hill, 277 steps away.  We made it up with only a couple of stops to admire the beauty (and catch our breath).  The bus wasn't crowded so we were able to enjoy sitting and taking in the views on the 15-20 minute ride.

Lunch at La Baleine Joyeuse

Monaco is described as an independent city-state.  I'm not really sure what that means, but it could also be described as one of the playgrounds for the "rich and famous" in the French Riviera.  Although its population is around 40,000, it's only a little over two square kilometers in size, making it the most densely populated country in the world.  We had been there twice previously but it's always nice to see how the top half of the top one percent live.  Monaco is one of those rare places where the row of car dealerships along the main road are Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and Bugatti.  Nice cars, but our 2005 Honda Accord is still running just fine!
Monaco is also the home of the famous Monte Carlo Casino.  There are no flashing neon lights like the Las Vegas strip, just a classic palace that has been happily taking peoples money since 1863.  Just for the privilege of walking in the door will set you back ten euros (around $12).  Although we were sure that it was pretty nice inside we also felt it was nice to save that money for more important things like ice cream.
We did venture up to the walkway to the Princes Palace and the Cathedral Notre Dame Immaculee where Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly were married in 1956 and where they are now buried.  From high up on this bluff you can get a great look at the marina, as well as the expensive apartments and mansions in the hillside.  It was a fun afternoon of roaming around and reminiscing about past visits

Princes Palace-Monaco

Cathedral Notre Dame-Immaculee

I'm not fluent in French but I think this sign was advising tourists not to walk around in their underwear

Not sure who that is in front, but it's the Monaco Harbor in the background

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Today we roamed the opposite direction, passing through Nice, for the cities of Antibes and Cannes, both of which have populations of around 75,000.  To get there we took the train from the Villefranche-sur-Mer station.  We purchased a round trip ticket to Cannes which is about an hour away.  The ticket allows you to get off and on throughout the day so we decided to make a stop in Antibes before continuing on to Cannes.
Antibes is less known than it's neighbors on either side, Nice and Cannes.  The old town is enclosed by a protective wall that was built in the 16th century.  There was a nice open air market filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and flowers that we enjoyed strolling through before heading down to the waters edge.  Along the waterfront we could look back towards the east and see the snow covered French Alps in the distance.  Although time did not permit, there is a Picasso Museum in Antibes that gets high marks on Trip Advisor.  Picasso was a resident of the town for six months in 1946.  He donated all his works from that time, which are now on display at the museum.  We really liked Antibes, it was unpretentious, peaceful and a nice place to roam about for a few hours.

Beth surveying the goods at the Antibes Open Air Market

Antibes, with the French Alps in the distance.

Once back on the train it was only about a fifteen minute ride to Cannes.  The train station is just a few short blocks off the waterfront so we headed in that direction.  At the end of the road and directly on the water was a huge auditorium, the Palais des Festivals, the home of the annual Cannes Film Festival.  This is where every year the Hollywood types from around the world come to preview new films, party and tell each other how wonderful they are.  Turning left along the water we were in the Croisette Beach area where the boutiques like Chanel, Michael Kors, Armani, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and many more were lined up side by side.  We enjoyed looking at the displays and prices (a whole lot of 0's on everything).  Unfortunately, the beach in this area is currently undergoing a major renovation so there wasn't much more to enjoy.  I'm sure the cranes and bulldozers will be long gone by the time the film festival kicks off in May.

Palais des Festivals-Home of the Cannes Film Festival

The beach is a "work in progress" 

Beth had read that the waterfront in the opposite direction was also nice so we turned around and headed that way.  Just past the film festival auditorium I spotted a McDonalds.  This brought a smile to my face and I told Beth we were now back amongst "our people".  Again, her research paid off and we enjoyed a long, leisurely stroll along the waterfront.  There were outdoor cafes and small shops on one side and the amazing blue water of the Bay of Cannes on the other.  We caught the 3:15 train back to Villefranche-sur-Mer.  Our walk back from the train station took us by the ice cream shop we had discovered the day before...……….a sweet ending to the day!

Me and Leo in one of our more famous scenes from Titanic

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

We walked so much I was seeing triple!

Today's plan was to hike along the trails of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a peninsula located just east of Villefranche-sur-Mur.  It's within easy walking distance from our condo but it's a world away when it comes to cost of real estate.  Saint_Jean-Cap-Ferrat is known as the "billionaires cape" and the "temple of luxury real estate" due to it's beauty and ideal location between Nice and Monaco. It boasts some of the highest real estate prices in the world.  According to one article a "fixer upper" sold for over 40 million euros.  Bloomberg reported one house, the Villa les Cedres is the most expensive residential property on the planet.  It has 14 bedrooms, a ballroom, a stable for 30 horses and a 35 acre private garden that is overseen by fifteen full time gardeners.  If you buy it, your next door neighbor would be Andrew Lloyd Weber.
The homes are mostly tucked away behind gates and walls but we were able to catch an occasional glimpse of a few of them, including one home that had been owned by David Niven (Around the World in 80 Days and The Pink Panther).  Towering high above the other swanky mansions is the Rothschild Villa which took seven years to build.  It was owned by a member of the Rothschild family, a prominent French family that made their money in banking.  The villa and the gardens are now open to the public, for a small fee, of course.

The Rothschild Villa

We left the checkbook at home so we didn't do any house hunting, but we did enjoy the walking  paths that hugged the rocky coast line.  We enjoyed them so much that by the time we retreated back to our cozy condo the little gizmo in my I-phone told me that we covered 12 miles and 41 floors.  I can't vouch for it's accuracy but it felt like at least a twelve mile day!
To get there from Nice:
It's a short ride on either the #81 or #100 bus.
There is a small town that has several restaurants along the marina.  We enjoyed the pizza at Madamepizza.
Maps are available at the visitors center.
The trails are for the most part paved with stones or rocky.  Some are fairly narrow and along cliffs with steep drop-offs.
Here are some pictures we took along the way:

Lunchtime!

Balancing a lighthouse on your head is never easy!