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Travel : Cote D' Azur

Jetaime! I have fallen in love with the French Riviera!
We arrived at Nice - Cote D' Azur Terminal 1 - on Saturday morning (3 May 2003) and took the shuttle bus to the Avis car hire desk where we were pleasantly surprised with an upgrade to a C200 Diesel Mercedes from our original booking of a Renault Megane. This was "The French Riviera" after all and was all about style.

We took the A8 (blue highway)to Juan Les Pins which is approximately 20km away as we lost our way (too many road works) in trying to find the N7 coastal road (green highway). Managed to locate our hotel Le Pre Catelan fairly easily (in fact Nicky the Navigator was by now on top form and using her mobile phone and map). Our 3 star hotel was literally 200 metres from the beach set amongst lush palm trees. The courtyard consisted of a gazebo and beautiful wrought iron garden furniture with lovely cushions of Provencal design. Our room had a lovely balcony which looked out onto the palm trees and courtyard. An additional feature was a lovely swimming pool to relax in and enjoy the sunshine.

Here is the website of our hotel:
www.hotels-exclusive.com/hotels/pre_catelan/pre_catelan_photo_ind_en.htm

It didn't take us long to settle in and stroll to the beach as it was such a beautiful sunny day. We enjoyed a delicious tuna nicoise salad and a few beers at a beachfront restaurant and finished off the meal with a coffee and rum and vanilla aperitif (house speciality) before lazing by the waterfront. Matt enjoyed a refreshing dip in the Med but I think he was stung by a jelly fish as he came out of the water with an eye the size of Popeye's. Passed the afternoon away by relaxing and reading in the sun and exploring the beachfront and quaint shops. The people were just so relaxed and friendly - unlike the Parisians, perhaps it was because we said we were South African rather than English. For afternoon tea we enjoyed a mouth watering Grand Marnier crepe from the many creperies.

That evening we enjoyed a delightful seafood dinner literally on the beach (tables and chairs either on the deck or in the sand) and was so lovely to gaze out at Ile Ste-Marguerite in the distance and listen to the gentle lapping of the Mediterranean waves. It definitely is my kind of lifestyle! Ile Ste-Marguerite is 1km from the mainland and is famed as the place where the enigmatic Man in the Iron Mask - immortalised by Alexandre Dumas (1802-70) in his novel Le Viscomte de Bragelonne (1847) - was held in the late 17th Century. Behind this island is another island called Ile St-Honorat which is home to 30-odd Cistercian monks. These two islands make up Iles de Lerins. After our crème brule dessert we were invited to join the owners of the hotel for a few glasses of champagne as it was her 50th birthday. So interesting to hear about their lifestyle and how they run their hotel.

On Sunday after a delicious continental breakfast we headed for Monaco and in particular Monte Carlo which was only an hours drive away. When we arrived we were quite amazed to see how pristine and immaculate all the buildings and gardens looked and finding parking was not a problem - there was underground parking everywhere. We parked near the Casino (Europe's first - built in 1865) and made our way down to the esplanade where we caught our first glimpse of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit. It dates from 1911 and is the world's most glamorous race in May consisting of 78 laps, each lap 3.328km. After a few posing snaps we came across an exquisite Japanese garden so spent some time taking a few snaps of the beautiful shrubs, flowers and ponds

We then ventured over to the Port de Monaco and could not believe the glitz and glamour that oozed from those luxurious yachts. What a pleasure doing business from your yachting quarters while sipping on your gin and tonic. One does have to wonder how it feels to enjoy this wealthy lifestyle...... The decor on these boats were just amazing too with fresh bouquets of flowers beautifully arranged. We enjoyed another lunch consisting of cider and salad (too hot to eat anything else) at a harbour restaurant with spectacular views of the Palais du Prince high above. The Grimaldi standard was flying from the top of the palace tower which meant that Prince Rainier was at home.

The next and last stop in Monte Carlo was the Casino. On our way there both Matt and I conjured up all sorts of grande plans and dreams if we were to win the jackpot. Unfortunately poor Matt could not enter the Casino as he did not have any ID on him so it was up to Nicky the Lone Gambler to take her lucky 10 Euro and enter the majestic casino. Never seen anything like it - it was so beautiful inside with huge bohemian crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. There were not too many people gambling, perhaps it was because the doors had just opened (2:00 pm). So having observed 2 tables of roulette I decided to hand over my 10 Euro and play the slot machines. Sat myself down at my lucky machine and proceeded to feed in my coins. Won a few coins initially but soon was running out of money and time (was meeting Matt in the Casino gardens at 2:30 pm). Soon I was down to my last 2 coins and you won't believe it but I won 50 Euros with those last 2 lucky coins. How extraordinary that while I was stuffing my handbag full of coins (did not have a bucket) people of different nationalities came up to me and asked how I was playing to win! Of course I did not have a clue and was playing for fun so that was my point of exit! So ended our day trip to Monte Carlo on a good note with a petite plan to enjoy cocktails and dinner that night.

On our drive back we went through Cap d' Ail, Eze-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, St-Jean-Cap Ferrat and Villefranche-sur-Mer. Most of these coastal villages were holding their Sunday art and antique markets. St-Jean-Cap Ferrat really appealed but proved too popular as we could not find any parking to stop for a coffee. It was once a fishing village and lies on the spectacular wooded peninsula of Cap Ferrat, which conceals a bounty of millionaires' villas and a start-studded past. We continued our drive to Nice and drove along the Promenade des Anglais which is a palm-lined Promenade of the English, paid for by Nice's English colony in 1822 as a shoreside strolling path. The view of the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels) was stunning and we noticed that Nice's beaches are covered with smooth round pebbles rather than sand.

We eventually found the perfect spot in Cap d' Antibes on Plage de la Garoupe for our long awaited coffee. Cap d' Antibes is a select peninsula where larger than life villas and pine trees loom above you at every turn and the southwestern tip is crowned by the legendary Hotel du Cap Eden Roc, the Cote d' Azur's most exclusive hotel. We took a drive into the hotel grounds and my word no wonder the likes of Madonna, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford have stayed there. Cap d' Antibes is only about a 5 minute drive from Juan Les Pins so we arrived just in time to visit "Pam Pam" the most exotic and potent cocktail bar I have ever been to! Their cocktails come in an array of colourful shapes and sizes including bongo drums and coconut monkey heads. The first drink I chose was a boabab which was absolutely delicious but certainly needed watering down. Later in the evening we enjoyed some live music and the singer looked just as exotic as the cocktails dressed in her feather headdress and skimpy bikini. Hunger pangs soon consumed us so we meandered down to another beachfront restaurant and enjoyed a delicious plate of pasta and pizza complemented with a bottle of good French red.

Monday was a bank holiday in the UK so we woke up late and lazed on the beach on a sun-lounger and soaked up the rays. The Med was like a glass mirror that day. Took a coastal drive in the afternoon to Golfe-Juan and Cannes (only 7km away) and watched some kite surfing as the wind had picked up. In fact saw the No. 2 kite surfer in the world, Adam Koch who was pretty impressive. Continued with a drive along the length of la Croisette, the Riviera's classiest promenade. Unlike Nice, Cannes is endowed with sandy beaches.

Our last night before our early morning flight back to work was spent in a lively back street restaurant which served traditional Provencal cuisine and delicious French wines. (Note to myself - must learn the names of some French wines). Instead of being placed on the beach we were placed on the pavement with a pot plant between us and the street. I most certainly could return to this part of the world, perhaps exploring further south towards St Tropez and Marseilles.

Au revoir le Cote D' Azur!