Bastille Day

The French Revolution started over breakfast.

Well actually I don't know if that's true. but if any of the revolutionaries had been in the breakfast room of our hotel this morning and seen what we saw, I suspect that it would have.

Some of us arranged to meet at 8am for breakfast so we could see off the people who were leaving before we went out to join celebrations for France's national day.  I arrived in the breakfast room at 8.05am to watch a busload of Eastern European tourists literally tearing the place apart to get breakfast.  People were taking handfulls of breadrolls and croissants at a time and filling their pockets.  Within minutes the entire breakfast bar was picked clean and there was nothing. No. food. left.

We sat down and waited and a girl bought out another basket of bread.  Same deal.  

I got some coffee and we waited again and thankfully found that most of the maurding hoards had eaten their fill, packed their picnic basket for the rest of the week and left.  We felt as though we should apologise on behalf of tourists everywhere for such a spectacle.  

Farewells to Maria and Laura - how ever will we do without you!  Suz and I went to do some laundry and then joined Carly on the walk down to the beach to see what was happening for Bastille Day.  

At first there didn't seem to be anything going on at all so we sat on the beach for an hour or two and soaked up the warm sun, cool breeze, blue, blue ocean and pebbly seats.  When our butts were numb, we walked along the esplanade until we found a  nice cafe for lunch.  It was owned by an expressive Italian who wandered between the tables greeting friends, singing and pronouncing his love for the female sex.  I shared a bowl of mussells and then had grilled salmon and veggies with a very welcome cold beer. At the end of the meal we were approached by the man who had been sitting at the next table, and American from Miami who had apparently been enjoying our conversation.  He was a big, gruff guy who was covered in tattoos and he looked like he'd be at home at a meavy metal gig but he informed us that he was in town to compete in a choral competition.  I do love the people you meet on holidays!

We wandered further down the esplanade, stopping for ice cream and again for coffee before settling in a bar with a bottle of chablis.  At 6pm we walked back to the esplanade to watch the parade of police, soldiers, sailors and other military types.  It wasn't the most exciting parade ever held, but we enjoyed it and the lady standing next to me enjoyed our enthusasism.  When we told her we were 'Australiee' (Australian), she got quite excited and clasped my hand and smiled.

After the parade, we went back to the bar and happened to order the most perfect bottle of rose ever. It was so nice, we had to order another one to check that the first one wasn't a fluke - it wasn't.  We had pizza to soak up the wine and were about to order our third bottle when the waiter said that it was time for the fireworks and that we had to leave now to see them.  We were a little reluctant but he insisted, telling us he would have more wine ready for us when we returned.

He was so right!  The fireworks were amongst the most beautiful I have ever seen.  Set off on boats out in the ocean, the display lit up the night sky with a million twinkling lights.  The soundtrack was beautiful and the gasps and cries of the audience made a fabulous accompaniment.  It was the perfect end to a fabulous day.  

At 11pm we returned to the bar where our bottle of rose was produced.  The streets were pumping and everyone was out enjoying their holiday.  Music played, people danced and chatted and we enjoyed our wine and soaked it all in. It was well after midnight before we finally set off back to the hotel.  

If you ever get the chance to spend Bastille Day in France, I can recommend Nice as the place to do it - just don't go out too early!

Avignon

It's festival time in Avignon.

That means that everywhere you walk you will be approached by a woman in angel wings or a man in drag, or a trio of showgirls or jazz playing quartet - all entreating you to take one of their flyers and come to their evening show.  

In the afternoon things kick up a notch as they close off the Main Street of the walled city and the performers come out in force.  On every corner or spare bit of space you'll find classical guitarists, jazz bands, jugglers, pianists, trumpeters, vaudville performers, schoolgirl choirs.  Its as exciting as it is bewildering.  

Our hotel is across the Rhone river and away from the madness, but close enough to see the giant ferris wheel on the opposite bank and head into town whever we like.  It was quite warm when we arrived, but the Mistral was blowing so strongly that you didn't notice the heat and instead concentrated on keeping your possessions strapped securely and your hair out of your eyes.

We walked into town to get some lunch and took our picnic to a little park to eat in a sheltered corner.  Our picnics have become a favourite group activity.  We head out together to the supermarket and trawl the aisles looking for delicious treats.  People call out as they consider purchases: "shall we get cherries or blueberries?"  "Do you want brie or some of that washed rind?"  "OMG I just found Lindt rasberry ganash - it will go perfectly with a red, can someone pick up a bottle of pinot?"  Lunch isn't a quick snack on the run, its an epic event where everyone sits around companionably, passing cheese and baguettes and pouring bottles of wine.  Between us, we have a packet of serviettes, multipack of wine glasses, a bottle opener and knife for cheese and salami.

Next we walked down to the river to walk out onto the famous Avignon bridge.  I wrote about it on my last visit last year so I won't go into it now except to say that it was WINDY! I was very glad to be wearing trousers.  

Then we climbed up one of the towers to the gardens above. These were closed due to rain last year so I was glad to see them.  The wind was even stronger on the outer edges of the park, but reasonably sheltered once you got in among the trees. We wandered around for a bit and then made our way down the other side of the hill to the Pope's Palace where the group seperated to do our own thing.  Some of us went into the Pope's Palace (see last year's notes) before finding a cafe for a coffee and a sit down.  Then we wandered the streets and watched the street performers till it was time for dinner.  

We ate at a little sidestreet cafe and enjoyed creamy pasta with truffles.  The food was very simple, but absolutely amazing and it was the best truffle pasta I've ever had.  Finished up with Creme Brulle, and a jug of wine and we were all very happy and tired.

Avignon is a charming city and its great to be back. 

It was a bit windy!

Come to my show!

  

Nice and Monaco

Welcome to the Cote d'Azur.  We've arrived in Nice which is one of the citiies that circle the southern coast next to the Mediterrian. 

The beaches along the coastline are so different to those back home.  There is very little shoreline and most are made up of rocks and pebbles.  The waves don't really crash, but lap and splat against the shore.  People bring yoga mats and beach shoes so they can sit comfortably and although the sun is very hot, it doesn't have the intense bite of southern sun.  

We bid a sad farewell to Avignon this morning and hopped on a train to travel down to the coast.  The wind had dropped off and the temperature picked up - it's definitely summer now!  We arrived just before lunchtime and walked down the Main Street in search of food; ending up at a kebab shop.  

Florian had very kindly offered to share his afternoon off with us so instead of exploring Nice, we headed back to the station to jump on a train to Monaco.  I'd considered staying an extra day in Nice to go there but had decided against it so I was super excited for the chance to see this tiny principality that is so well known.  

The train only took about 20 mins to arrive and we set off into town to explore.  You need to be seriously wealthy to be able to live in Monaco proper and even the basic homes and flats are worth millions.  The streets were filled with every kind of luxury car you can imagine and everything was very cool and quiet - and very clean.  No cigarette butts in the street, no lurking cats, no flyers advertiing festival entertainment.  We walked down the hill and out into the square where the casino is located and stopped to look.  A selection of the best cars in the world were parked out the front. A selection of the most expensive stores in the world were grouped around the outside and the whole thing reeked of  privilege and wealth. We didn't actually see any of the said wealthy or privileged - they must have been inside spending their inheritance.  Everyone outside seemed to be a tourist who was looking for someone famous.

We walked down to the harbour and caught a boat to the other side and then walked around the cliffs to see the palace.  Then we caught a series of lifts to the top to look out on the view of the harbour.  It really is a spectacular city!

The group enjoyed our farewell dinner that night at a restaurant down at the harbour in Nice.  It's been a terrific tour and everyone has got along so well that we were very sad to say godbye.  We lingered as long as we could over dinner and then found a cafe for post dinner drinks where we watched Germany win the World Cup and people celebrating or commiserating in an exuberant and noisy fashion.  We wanted to stay as long as we could before we had to say goodbye but exhausion was taking hold and eventually the group broke up and we headed back to the hotel and bed.

 Casino in Monaco.

Monaco harbour.

 Nice beaches.