Today we started out local. We wanted to explore St. Jean Cap Ferrat (pronounced Sahn Jahn Cahp Ferh-rah'), the town just south of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, but out into the sea on a peninsula. FYI, any time there is the word 'Cap' in a town name, it means the tip, or cap, usually of a peninsula, e.g. Cap d'Antibes, the peninsula off the town of Antibes. Caps are usually the prime real estate where all the big villas are, usually overlooking the sea, and St. Jean Cap Ferrat is no exception. OMG, wherever you look it hurts your eyes to see such beautiful homes and gardens and vistas. Although, with all the stone walls and gorgeous and interestingly-shaped privet hedges, all you really can see are turrets and chimneys!
We got deliciously lost in all the winding roads on the Cap, but here we didn't care because we knew eventually we would come to the main road again. There is one fabulous Hotel on this Cap called Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat...check it out on the Internet. Before we left the Cap, we decided to have lunch at one of the restaurants along the port. It was very nice, although it was raining all day so things were damp and dreary. But the beauty of the area showed through, none the less.
Since we didn't have a plan today, and it was raining, we thought we'd just drive around some more, staying in the car, and see where it lead us. We started going east toward Cap d'Ail, another Cap, and one which we really like, to do some more exploring. But we ended up passing by and continuing on to the next town which happens to be Monaco. We knew we wanted to come back here and see more of it, and so this just happened to be the day.
(Doesn't this remind you of Scarsdale where, if you get in the car and just drive around, you end up in... uh...Armonk! We warn you, we got really spoiled in so many ways on this trip that we're going to be unhappy campers for a while when we return chez nous...please be understanding!)
The weather wasn't as nice today as it had been when we first came, but we drove to the first little port we came to (there are many little ports, and big ones too, in and around Monaco), and parked the car to walk around. It's the section called Fontveille, more residential and quiet, and the port is very cute. We stopped in a local cafe/pub called Gerhards Cafe, where there seemed to be quite a few English people. We relaxed there for a while hoping the rain would stop, but it didn't.
Then we got back in the car still heading east, and after going through some amazing underground tunnels and roundabouts, we ended up on the other side of Monaco in Monte Carlo. We found a good parking spot right near Hotel Hermitage and not too far from the Casino and the Cafe de Paris where we had spent hours people-watching the other day.
This time there were relatively few people walking around in the rain, so it had a totally different feeling. It was Sunday, and all the construction for the Grand Prix was on hold, so it was very quiet. We still admired all the beautiful big boats (check out the monikers on these babies below), and the amazing structures built all around the rock that makes up Monaco. We were told that, if we think these boats are big, about a week or so before the Grand Prix starts, all these big boats leave, and the REALLY BIG boats arrive to see the race. It's true...it's all relative, at any price!
We wandered back to one of the Casinos, and there's a fancy restaurant nearby called the Brasserie which was having a display of specialties from Parma, Italia, of prosciutto, salamis, Parmesan cheese, etc., and the display was from an organization called Salumeria Rossi Parmacotta. That sounded familiar to us from a place in New York by the same name and it's known chef, Cesare Casella. We spoke to the woman who was slicing the meats, and it turns out that they are affiliated and she knows Cesare, and is familiar with his two establishments in N Y. We got her picture and will show it to Cesare the next time we go to his restaurant. Small world!
By now it was almost 8 o'clock. We weren't very hungry and just wanted a little something to eat, so we decided to go back to Le Max at the port in Beaulieu and just get a simple entree of prosciutto and mozzarella di buffala which they have there...I guess we got into an Italian mood after talking to the lady from Salumaria Rossi in Monte Carlo. It turns out we were the only ones in the restaurant, but we felt comfortable there, as we've been there many times now and they know us. The Maitre d, Davide,' is the guy that we think looks just like Stanley Tucci. He brought us our usual complementary glasses of champaign.
We had a leisurely dinner and were ready to leave when Max, the owner, came over to talk to us. He is very handsome and very charming, speaks three languages, as most people do down here near the border...and we do too...but not including Russian which you hear a lot around Le Côte d'Azur. He's Italian, born in Vingtimiglia just across the border, but thinks it's better to live and have a business in France...not so crazy and chaotic...his words.
He told us The African Queen restaurant next door that is always crowded with 'le tout Côte' has been there for 45 years, and that's where everyone who's anyone goes. But his place is next in popularity...he's been there about 10 years, and he loves the business...it shows. He has two 'wives' although never been married and doesn't want to be tied down like that...No need to be. He has one child with each 'wife' and they all live right near each other on the same street. So they all see each other every day and they all like it like that and it works for them (or so he says). But he also said that if his first girl friend, who he's been separated from for 7 years now, takes in a lover, he will take their young daughter to live with him...his little girl is not going to live with any other man. Although they're all very 'liberated' here, it's still a man's world here.
Didn't mean to expound so much on the personal stuff. The gist of our conversation had to do with living and doing business in France vs Italy, running a business, how he treats employees and keeps them for a long time, etc. this guy is real and very smart. We'll see him if/when he visits NYC.
We were tired and really wanted to go home, but the next thing you know he is offering us Lemoncello. So we sit down for a little while longer, then do kiss-kiss and say Bonne Nuit.
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