Beaulieu, April 12 - 14

On April 12th, we drove around between Beaulieu and Monaco. It was raining, but we tried not to let us stop exploring. Around 2, we started for the airport in teaming rain to pick up Jane and Norman who were arriving from Boston, via London. The parking lot was a challenge as it is under construction and the rain was bucketing. But, Mark found a spot and we went in to wait. Their flight was delayed a bit in taking off in the foul weather and then, the pilot had to abort the first landing. Yikes. And, it took them time to get through customs and pick up luggage. They were weary, for sure. Then, of course, there was the somewhat harrowing drive in rush hour traffic across Nice. We left them down the block at their apartment, and, after they settled in, we had a dinner of finger foods. Their flat is nice, but their wifi is not working.

  On April 13th, we woke to better weather than we have seen here since we arrived. We walked about 2 miles to start our day, half way to Cap Ferrat and back. Later, Jane and Norman joined us, hopefully starting to adjust to the time zone change. We packed baguette sandwiches and took off for Eze-le-Village, but...were unable to find a parking spot at all. So, we took off for La Turbie on the Upper Corniche and, ditto, no parking spots. So, we wandered along and found a little track to park and decided to just find a place to have our picnic.

    By great luck, we happened on a dog walker who guided us to a great view over Monaco - and, even better, in an old Roman quarry. So, we set our sandwiches on an old abandoned piece of a Roman column! The day improved immeasurably with this. Afterwards, we drove home as they had an appointment to see their realtor about the wifi. (Did not get fixed)
   We took a walk down around the Marina and watched boats being readied for the season - huge boats. It was very interesting, a glimpse of a totally different world. Afterwards, Barbara, Jane and Norman took a walk around Beaulieu, stopping at the Tourist Bureau and then along the promenade to Place David Niven and back. (Barbara - 8 miles of walking.)  Then, another dinner together, cobbled together - spaghetti, salad, bread, pate, cheese.... We planned to try to visit Eze-le-Village again tomorrow, but get an early start in hopes of finding a parking spot.

  On the 14th, we did get an early start and drove to Eze-le-Village on the Middle Corniche Road. We got a great parking spot and we all walked through the medieval village to the church at the top. Great views, great walled city and cute little nooks and crannies made into shops. We stole a glimpse at the inside of the 5-star hotel the "Chevre d'Or" or Golden Goat. As it was so quiet, there were not crowds and we did not get kicked out. Very posh and amazing views.

    After that, we drove to La Turbie and our luck stuck with us. We found a parking spot and walked near Caesar Augustus's Triumphal Arch. (We did not want to pay the rather steep price to go in). Then, we ate at one of Stan and Craig's recommendations there, Cafe de la Fontaine. Mark had a delicious chicken meal and Barbara had a leek tart. All very good.
    Later in the afternoon, the four of us walked on the marina in Beaulieu-sur-Mer.