Tag: Monaco

We rented a fabulous Ford Fiesta for the last two weeks of our stay in France and are on the road.

Our first stop was the not so sleepy village of Cassis.
It’s no wonder tourists flock to this tiny enclave on the Mediterranean.

Though a bit chilly in the water, the skies were blue, the sea bluer and the boats bluest. Both a painter’s and photographer’s dream come true, Cassis has a magical charm. We definitely would have stayed the night had we not already made reservations in Nice (and boy was that a bust, more on that in another post).

Another stop with remarkable vistas – the likes of which my photography skills simply couldn’t do justice – was the small village of Eze. (see featured image above) We told our hotelier (we loved this little hotel) we were headed to Monaco for the day and she urged us to have a look at Eze. So glad she did.

Monaco, though, was a high point. Having heard so much about the excessive wealth and beauty of the minuscule country in the French Riveria, I was thrilled to visit. We visited the palace, but unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of Big sitting on a throne – no photos permitted. However, we did get a few outside and I really wanted to ask the changing guard if he’d hold it for a minute, but for some reason I couldn’t get his attention 🙂

After three days in Cagnes sur mer, a small seaside village just down the Promenade from Nice, we drove a bit north into Arles.

Arles is most known for being one of the residences of Vincent Van Gogh where he productively created some of his most famous works. It’s also apparently known for it’s exquisite gastronomy. We decided to make it a “pass through” since we weren’t terribly impressed with the village in general.

Driving through the rain, we landed in the village of Uzes with the plan to walk the grounds on which the architectural marvel Pont du Gard was built. Dark and rain can really impact one’s perspective. We checked in to a Best Western (out of desperation, but it turned out to be very nice with great staff), grabbed a quick bite to eat and went to bed.

The following morning, with bright sunshine we trekked around the village of Uzes before heading to Pont du Gard. Actually, Uzes ended up being one of my favorite villages and guess what, I don’t have a single photo from the brief visit. Uzes was super clean, had well-maintained streets and homes and had an overall cozy, quaint feel. I’d definitely go back.

The Pont du Gard lived up to it’s fame. The truly magnificent wonder of Roman architecture reminds me of the creativity of the human mind.

A trip to Provence would not be complete (at least in my book) without a stop in the vineyards of the Rhone region. So, we headed to the village of Chateauneuf du Pape for a brief lesson and a wee bit of tasting. Yum. Then we crashed for the night in the Chateau.

The days are winding down. BigEasy has had quite an adventure and has been my perfect companion. Carrying everything from my computer, camera, fruit from the market, olive oil, herbs du Provence, wine – sometimes all at the same time. The little backpack that could has held up through it all.