Ingrid picked us up at 8:30am in her very comfortable and air conditioned Mercedes 6-seater van, and off we went for a very relaxed-paced, informative day. The focus area of today's tour was in the areas to the east of Nice.
We visited places all along the coast and back into the hills, stopping along the way to see spectacular views and take photos. We started with beautiful views over Nice itself, and then made our way to Eze-Le-Village before the crowds arrived. Ingrid was incredibly considerate of my knee and took the more gradual but also less crowded route up into this 'crow's nest village'. She was greeted with 'bonjour' and a hug by numerous people she knew there along the way. She took us along the more interesting side routes, telling us some of the history of this amazing village, built high on a rocky outcrop to avoid the pirates. There are only 33 residents here now, and some craftsmen, and most of the village now consists of two hotels, with rooms scattered individually around the steep and cobbled lanes, not all connected. A tough job for the person doing room service! She was allowed to take us into one hotel's bar area, and we also came upon a hotel baker who was making pain au chocolat and who gave us each a bit of the chocolate. We stopped for a coffee in another tiny bar and enjoyed relaxing in the shade there. I then waited there while Ingrid escorted the others (apparently steep and difficult steps for me) up into the Jardin d'Eze for spectacular 360 degree views over the sea. They also saw planes flying directly overhead and dipping down into the sea to scoop up water into the plane itself, and then take it back to fight a fire further back in the hills.
We then continued inland along some steep and narrow roads to a spot near Turbie for a spectacular viewpoint looking down across Monaco, then to see the ancient Roman Le Trophee des Alpes (this road was originally built by the Romans).
We then continued along the road, marvelling at the steep rocky outcrops, towards Sainte-Agnes (for lunch at a restaurant with spectacular views down to the coastline below).
After a lovely lunch (including ham, prosciutto and cheeses for me, lovely salmon for David) we walked back to the car past a big concrete bunker area, built as part of the Maginot Line. We then continued down to the coast again; through Menton, across the back of Monaco, and then towards Nice, coming through Beaulieu-sur-Le-Mer. We stopped at for a tour of the amazing Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and gardens in Villefranche. Ingrid was allowed to park inside the gates of the villa to save a longer walk in the heat. She then escorted us on a tour through the house and around the gardens. It was beautiful and interesting but also very hot (29C) and we were all beginning to wilt and need more water. Finally we were driven back around the port of Nice and onto the promenade area that was heaving with traffic and people on the beach (we've struck a holiday weekend extending to Tuesday).
We all freshened up with showers and then headed out to find an outdoor table at a bar, trying to avoid smokers (almost impossible). We certainly weren't hungry, but appreciated the chance to sit and relax with cool drinks. It had been an excellent day!
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