DAY 52 - SUN 4/21 - Fondation Maeght

Today the weather forecast calls for rain, so we decide to go to St. Paul de Vence where the museum Fondation Maeght is located. It's the museum we never got to yesterday because of our change in plans...we're determined to get there today.

First we stop in the old village of St. Paul and have a bite to eat. Then we trek up a steep incline to the museum. It is famous for its architecture by the famous Catalan architect Josep Lluis Sert and its gardens, combining the building indoors with the natural environment outdoors. 

    

During our time there today the weather was glorious and it didn't rain yet, so we got the full impact of the fabulous beauty of the art, mostly large, outdoor sculptures, set in nature in the gardens, as well as the unique museum building itself.  The art in pools was so charming, some subtle, and all perfectly placed.

It has the richest collection of modern and contemporary sculpture in all of Europe, with its permanent collection including Chagall, Miro, Giacometti, Leger, Braque, and many more, along with temporary contemporary exhibitions that change over time. 

    

    

 

    

       

    

When you see the outdoor sculptures from afar, and from different angles and with the sunlight peeking through from different exposures, they are truly mesmerizing and amazing...you almost can't help but be brought into the artists' worlds after seeing so many of them here, particularly Miro.

    

    

The indoor part with changing exhibits is also wonderful...all-in-all, a very fun museum.

It was now late afternoon, and we still had time to do more exploring. We decided to go to the nearby town of Biot where they are known for glass blowing, and you can actually see them working in their studios. When we got to several of the ateliers, they were all closed because it was Sunday, although the books seemed to indicate that they worked on Sundays too. So we were able to see just the finished products in some of the showroom stores. The pieces were exquisite...we will come back another day to see the artisans at work.  This one is the artist Robert Pierini and his son Antoine.  Some of their work is very Chiluli-like...

    

    

By this time Marty was getting a little tired and we needed some coffee to perk him up for the drive home to Beaulieu. We drove into the centre ville of Biot and found this quaint little village right out of an opera set. We inquired at a cafe if they could make a cappuccino fredo (iced cappuccino) which we had to explain how to make. The waitress was charming and she tried to make it, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as in Italia...what did we expect!?! But it did perk Marty up.

  

Biot is not in the 21st century!

By now it was nearly 7pm and finally starting to rain, so it was time to leave this cute little town. We got on the road and decided to go right to the port in Beaulieu-sue-Mer to one of our favorite local restaurants, Le Max. When we got there we changed our minds and decided to try the hippest place in town, The African Queen...it's where all the rich and famous go to eat here. Because the weather was bad the place wasn't full so we were able to get a table. It's very nice, the service is very good, and the food OK. Next time we go there we will have one of their famous hamburgers and wood fired thin crust pizzas that they are also known for...it's a fun place, although pretty swanky.

We got home at a reasonable hour tonight, and so we did some FaceTime with the kids and will get to sleep earlier than usual. Hopefully we'll get an earlier start tomorrow than we did today.

Bonne nuit...