(Yes, we are still here! I have been late at posting this as we have had visitors, been traveling, and thinking about our rentree to the US (like looking for a job--).
A little short and late --but beautiful pictures!
The land of the Alpes-Maritimes is where the Alps descend to the Mediterranean and the culture along the coast has a definite Italian flavor (well, it was part of Italy until the citizens of Nice voted to join France rather than Italy during the Risorgimento (in the late 19th century and to some never finished!), and broke Garibaldi's heart --he was born in Nice... but, this is the French version...the Italian version blames Cavour for ceding the area of Nizzo in exchange for military support.
This is a corner of France and through into Italy that we have never visited--and why did we wait so long? It is the land of dramatic vistas, sparkling sun on the Mediterranean, small towns perched on steep cliffs, the ambiance of Provence and the food inspired by its Italian roots --heaven, in the off season!
We arrived in Antibes --and il pleut des cordes-- raining cats and dogs en francaise --raining ropes/cords.... Antibes is a quaint and charming old port city founded by the Greeks and occupied by the Romans. It is also home to some of the biggest yachts that I have ever seen. (While walking among similar bateaux in Monaco, Philippe asked if we smelled it... smelled the money!) There is plenty of it along the Cote d'Azur!
Many artists have come to the Cote d'Azur and there are many museums dedicated to them... Antibes has a Picasso museum, Biot--Fernand Leger, Nice-Matisse, Menton --Jean Cocteau (he designed the museum from a 17th century fortified building). Our favorite was the Fernand Leger...
Picasso is not unlike the US auto makers --he produces a great quantity and some of it is great, but lots is not... and he leaves owing vast amounts and leaves what he has not sold in lieu of taxes --perhaps there are artistic possibilities in those acres of unsold pick-up trucks and SUV's... there's a bailout plan!
After the rain, the sun dazzled us for the weekend and we visited some of our favorite --and most amazing style-- French hilltop towns that cling to the sides of the hills with steep and narrow streets and a view around every corner... the town of Gourdon....
It is more difficult to see in the vista photo, but that is the Mediterranean in the distance (we were told that on cold clear winter days you can see Corsica).
Our excursion took us to Nice, Monaco, Menton, Cannes, St.Paul en Vence, St. Tropez, and my favorite town, Ezes...
Visiting the Cote d'Azur in the fall is a good choice. We enjoyed mostly pleasant weather and we could not imagine how much traffic there could be during July and August on those narrow, winding roads... at least there was a great view while you sat in traffic!
1 comment:
So many beautiful landscapes but no people! I hope that you guys get IN some of your amazing photos so we will have proof that you were there together!
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