Thursday September 20, 2018

Today’s project was to take the bus to Cap Ferrat and explore. Rick Steves recommended getting off at the historic Rothschild mansion and gardens and then walking down to the town of St Jean Cap Ferrat. The mansion was quite well situated, but the gardens were really the star of the show. Different areas including a Spanish and Japanese gardens, then a central fountain with choreography to music. After that a walk down to the town. As the temperature rose, I headed towards the Plage Lapaloma. Had an expensive salad for lunch, in a lovely setting. Took the bus back and got off in the port part of Nice. Lots of boats and yachts etc.

I was thinking a bit about travel as someone posted in the Join us in France closed group about how they had a miserable visit to Paris. This in-spite of claiming to be a French major and having extensive travel experience. When people offered commentary, she got very defensive and eventually decided to exit the group. I will say that I thought many of her criticisms of Paris were valid, AND, I think she chose to focus on things that made her miserable. One of the problems she had, and don’t do this when you travel, was she hadn’t enabled her phone, so finding places to eat, she was unable to check reviews etc. You spend about $1,200 per year at least to keep your smartphone going, don’t try to save $60 by not enabling roaming when you travel. When you are traveling, knowledge and information is gold! Second, her itinerary was pretty much all tourist sites, and I suspect that her poor dinning experiences had to do with eating in the vicinity of these places. I’m spoiled, but I’ve been to Paris often enough that I no longer have to go to all the tourist places, and can just engage in my joint passion for being a flanneur and being a Boulevardier. If you’re going to Paris for a short period of time, try not to spend it all going to major tourist sites, it won’t be fun. Third, her complaint was finding meals that didn’t take hours, and finding bathrooms. So, in Paris, pick any cafe with an outdoor terrace, buy a coffee or just walk in and use the bathroom, no one is likely to bother you about it. For meals, there is a hierarchy of restaurants in France. If you want a quick meal, you need a cafe or possibly a brasserie or a creperie. Don’t go to a fancy French restaurant if you are in a hurry. Remember, the word “Travel” comes from the word “Travail” which in addition to meaning difficulty was a type of medieval torture device. (Probably the precursor of the coach airline seat!)

That’s Eze at the top of the hill in the distance, Eze Bord du Mere at the bottom, no wonder that was a strenuous hike!This is what $100 million buys in yachts, looked it up online, British Billionaire.Japanese Garden at Rothschild Villa.