September 4, 2012 - Monaco & the Cote D'Azur

Third time is a charm again!  The last 2 times we’d been to this part of the world we had miserable weather.  Last October we had rains of biblical proportions and winds to match.  Not so today!

We docked at Monte Carlo this morning with a spectacular view of the Casino to our starboard side. The ship was cleared quickly and we were off shortly thereafter.  

View of the Opera House and Casino of Monte Carlo from our balcony

With our fellow cruisers we linked up with our guide, Sylvie DiCristo, and  were on our way to St. Paul de Vence.  St. Paul is a medieval walled city dating back to the 13^th century.  The city and walls are largely intact .  In the early 20^th century it became a favorite place for artists.  One of them, Marc Chagall, lived there for many years and is buried in the cemetery.  The cobbled streets are lined with art galleries and stores selling interesting jewelry, olive oils and perfumes from the local area.   We wandered for awhile and then had a Salade Nicoise and some very nice Rose wine from the area at a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the surrounding countryside.  Before we left we stopped and bought a painting done by an artist  from whom we’d bought a painting the first time we went to St. Paul.  It’s being shipped home and may get there before we do.

A lovely square off the main street in St. Paul de Vence

Our next stop was Les Hauts de Cagnes,  another medieval town perched atop a hill closer to the sea.  This was the site of a castle belonging to the Grimaldi family (the current rulers of Monaco).  It was built in about 1306 as a defense against the Grimaldis’ western enemies.  The houses inside the walls were originally built for the Prince’s soldiers.  Today many foreign retirees have come to live in the old houses because the climate is good and there are not many tourists.  The oldest house has a plaque indicating it was built in 1315.  Unfortunately the museum in the castle was closed today so after having a nice walk through the town we headed to our next stop, Eze.

The oldest house in Les Hauts de Cagnes - 1315

Another medieval city  atop a hill overlooking the sea, Eze was built of the native stone and so, for marauders coming from the sea, it was difficult to see.  There are only 31 residents in the town which has twisting, steep streets (no cars here!).  There are two  hotels in the little village which are ranked among the best in the world.  Al found a new walking stick made of olive wood for his collection.  There are many olive trees in the area.  In fact some families who have olive trees on their property take their olives to a coop press to get olive oil for their personal use.  The stick will come in handy on some of our upcoming tours as we travel through ruins in Athens and Ephesus.

A View of Eze and the Cap Ferrat from the Moyenne Corniche

After a nice visit in Eze, we headed back to Monte Carlo on the Moyenne Corniche ( Middle coast road) .  Along the way we passed through the town of La Turbie where there is a spectacular restored Roman monument commemorating Rome’s conquest of the area.  Sylvie  also had a couple of marvelous viewpoints where we stopped to take photos.  From the first we were able to see Eze and a place called Cap Ferrat, which has some of the most expensive real estate in Europe.  From the other we looked down on Monte Carlo, all one square mile of it, with views of the Old City, the harbor and the Casino.

The Roman monument commemorating Rome's conquest and greatness. It once stood 150 high with 24 columns and topped with a staue of Octavius Augustus Caesar

Us on the Moyenne Corniche overlooking the sea

The weather held out with only a couple of sprinkles.  Now we’re headed across the Ligurian Sea at a very slow pace for our next port of call, Livorno.