Our last day…..

by Mandeep Gaygoat

This morning we both watched the sunrise again, it was spectacular

On a Sunday they have a flea market on the road leading up to the medieval village

Today is also our last day here, we fly back to the UK. It has been a fantastic few days and we were sad to leave this awesome location. On a happier side we are only two hours direct flight from here so will definitely come back to explore different areas.

We headed back to the hotel to checkout. Afterwards we visited a gallery where we saw a very nice painting of Eze, unfortunately it was closed. We walked up to another gallery but decided against purchasing a painting from there, not to my high standards! Well after staying at this hotel my standards have gone up!!

On the way out we met Merlin and Susie, it was great to see them again. Hopefully we shall meet soon.

We drove back to Nice taking the lower basse corniche

The drive goes through Cap Ferrat.

Cap Ferrat is situated in Alpes-Maritimes département, in southeastern France. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

Saint Hospitius lived here as a recluse during the sixth century. Thus, the cape is sometimes called Cap-Saint-Hospice or Cap-Saint-Sospis.

Once the domain of King Leopold II of Belgium, Cap Ferrat is now graced with a number of magnificent villas. The writer W. Somerset Maugham bought Villa Mauresque (originally built for Leopold’s father-confessor) in 1928 and lived there before and after World War II. He described it in a letter to his nephew, Robin Maugham, as “the escape hatch from Monaco for those burdened with taste.” Current famous residents include Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in Villa Maryland and theatrical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Driving through Cap Ferrat, one can smell the money!!

Once we got to Nice we drove around this town, a town like any other, big, busy, people are in a rush (even on a Sunday!!) we also drove around the Promenade Anglais, a celebrated promenade along the Mediterranean at Nice, France.

Before Nice was urbanized, the coast at Nice was just bordered by a deserted band of beach. The first houses were located on higher ground well away from the sea.

Starting in the second half of the 18th century, the English took to spending the winter in Nice, enjoying the panorama along the coast. When a particularly harsh winter up north brought an influx of beggars to Nice, some of the rich Englishmen proposed a useful project for them: the construction of a walkway (chemin de promenade) along the sea.

The city of Nice, intrigued by the prospect of a pleasant promenade, greatly increased the scope of the work. The Promenade was first called the Camin deis Anglés (the English Way) by the Niçois in their native dialect Nissart. After the annexation of Nice by France in 1860 it was rechristened La Promenade des Anglais, replacing the former Nissart name with its French translation.

We drove past Speak Easy, vegan restaurant in Nice

Le Speakeasy
7 rue Lamartine,
06000
Nice,
France

Unfortunately it was closed, so as we had three hours to spare before our flight home we decided on driving on to Antibes.

Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.

It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d’Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes. The Sophia-Antipolis technology park is northwest of Antibes.

There are 48 beaches along the 25 km (16 miles) of coastline that surround Antibes and Juan les Pins.

Museums

Archaeology Museum This museum sits atop the Promenade Amiral de Grasse in the old Bastion St Andre, a 17th-century fortress. The museum’s collection focuses on the classical history of Antibes. Many artifacts, sculptures and amphorae found in local digs and shipwrecks from the harbour are displayed here. The views of the sea and mountains from the promenade are also spectacular.

Naval Museum of Napoleon Housed in a 17th-century stone fort and tower, this museum presents a collection of Napoleonic memorabilia, paintings and naval models. Several wall paintings show historic moments in Napoleon’s reign and there are also pieces of his clothing such as one of the hats he once wore.

Picasso Museum This museum houses one of the world’s greatest Picasso collections: 24 paintings, 44 drawings, 32 lithographs, 11 oils on paper, 80 pieces of ceramics, two sculptures and five tapestries.

La Tour Museum This small museum in the centre of town brings the contemporary history of Antibes to life through its exhibit of costumes, tools, photographs and other objects used by the local people.

Absinthe Museum The Absinthe Museum is located in a basement in the Roman foundations of Old Antibes. It is dedicated to the manufacture and appreciation of this green liqueur.

It would be nice to revisit Antibes to look around the museums when we have more time in the future.

Here we had a hot chocolate at a nice Italian cafe

Well I had hot chocolate, Sangeet had an apple juice.

The rain had now stopped and the sun had come out and brightened everything up. It is amazing how when the sun comes out everything just looks so much better. We went for a walk along the coast

One has to be careful whilst walking here as there is plenty of renegade dog leavings. I really do not know why owners cannot clean up after their dogs!!

After a short while we headed to the airport, returned the car to Avis and boarded our plane.

Poster at the airport