As you may have realized, today is also May Day in Europe, May 1st. It is sometimes said to signify and commemorate the Bolshevik people's movement, a proletariat uprising, that began to develop in the early 1900s, giving workers a voice against the czars. Sometimes it is referred to in Europe as their Labor Day. In any case, we were told that everything would be closed on this workers day. Since we really didn't know what to expect, and if any cafes and restaurants would be opened, we decided to stay close to home and just check out the area some more. It turned out to be another glorious day.
First we went over to St. Jean Cap Ferrat to see if we could get a better look at the huge Celebrity Equinox cruise ship that was anchored in the bay in view from our terrace. We drove around all the windy roads on the Cap to see which one would end up giving us the closest vantage point, and we found the perfect spot.
This was where a huge villa under construction, on the west side of the Cap where the ship was moored, with no entrance gate installed yet. So we were able to park on this narrow road and walk to the top of the driveway where we could look down, with no obstruction from walls, hedges and cedar trees, over the huge swimming pool of the estate perched at the edge of the cliff, and gaze out to the ship. It was all an amazing sight...the huge villa under construction on the cliff, the immense swimming pool hanging over the sea, and the gigantic cruise ship poised outside this estate from which we could hear a loud speaker bellowing out some information to the passengers. It was almost other-worldly.
After taking many photos (wish we could show you here but not yet), we tootled around this magnificent Cap Ferrat some more and ended up finding a parking spot down by the port, not an easy thing to do on a bright sunny holiday day. Low and behold all the restaurants along the port were open and doing a bustling business...so much for Labor Day holiday. Some acquaintances we met at the Gran Cafe, Charlie and Nicky, the English couple, had recommended a restaurant at this port, also called Equinox, like the ship. The sun was shining and this restaurant looked classy...it was so inviting that we just had to have lunch there...salmon tartar, risotto fruits de mer, and fresh strawberries with home made vanilla ice cream...what could be more perfect?
We walked around the port some more, out on the docks ogling at the yachts, and talking to some boat owners. One English woman told us she is preparing to do one leg of the around-the-world sail, with 20 other people, from New Zealand to San Francisco...doesn't everybody do stuff like that?!!
Then we thought we'd continue to take advantage of the sun and go into Nice and do a passagiata along the Promenade des Anglais.
As we approached Nice, the traffic got horrendous, and we found that about 100,000 other people had the same idea. So the crowds, there for the May Day marches, even before the start of the real season, made us decide that this was too much of a hassle.
So we turned around and headed back to Beaulieu. Just before we got there, we passed our neighboring town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, where we had dinner once but never really spent any time there, so we ventured down the windy roads to the sea-front to see what we could find. As luck would have it, there was an outdoor market going on, stores were all open, and that cruise ship had ferries bringing its passengers into this port so the people can do "sightseeing" (shopping). With all this going on in this tiny town, not like the crowds in Nice though, needless to say we were lucky to find a parking place. We then did the tourist thing a little ourselves, but it was all very small-town and low key, so it was very relaxing and fun.
Right along the port all the restaurants were open here too. We ended up having dinner in a really lovely one, L'Oursin Bleu, sitting right out next to the water's edge under big market umbrellas...the scene was right out of a Woody Allen movie, so beautiful and romantic. (Next week when we're back home, maybe we'll be able to go down to the port in Mamaroneck and have the same experience, n'est-ce pas?!) We sat there on the port in Villefranche-sur-Mer and dined for several hours, as the Celebrity Equinox cruise ship pulled out of port, the sun went down, and the lights began twinkling everywhere, on land and on the sea, and all over the surrounding mountains. We needed someone to pinch us to tell us we weren't dreaming.
What a perfect day, a 'staycation' close to 'home,' and a wonderful way to spend one of the last few precious days of our 2-month sojourn in France.
Bonne nuit tout le monde.
Right along the port all the restaurants were open here too. We ended up having dinner in a really lovely one, L'Oursin Bleu, sitting right out next to the water's edge under big market umbrellas...the scene was right out of a Woody Allen movie, so beautiful and romantic. (Next week when we're back home, maybe we'll be able to go down to the port in Mamaroneck and have the same experience, n'est-ce pas?!) We sat there on the port in Villefranche-sur-Mer and dined for several hours, as the Celebrity Equinox cruise ship pulled out of port, the sun went down, and the lights began twinkling everywhere, on land and on the sea, and all over the surrounding mountains. We needed someone to pinch us to tell us we weren't dreaming.
What a perfect day, a 'staycation' close to 'home,' and a wonderful way to spend one of the last few precious days of our 2-month sojourn in France.
Bonne nuit tout le monde.
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