Sunday, September 23, 2018

Sunday in France, pretty much the bain of every travelers’s existence. (BTW, if you are traveling into or out of France, avoid doing it on a Sunday. I once forgot this rule and was lucky to make my flight, even though I was over 2 hours early to CDG, as they had only one person stamping passports for people to leave the country. Many others on that flight didn’t make it and after a half hour of waiting for them, the captain gave up and left, now I don’t travel on Sunday). I started out at the fish market on the pier, which amounted to maybe 3 different tables selling a few fish, then decided to try and find some good coffee. All the better sounding shops and roasters are closed on Sunday (what a winning concept for a coffee shop). So after a walk and finding a nice plaza to sit, had coffee. Then the goal was to go to the African spice market, that is also closed on Sunday. So, quick pivot and hop the metro to the SNCF station for a train to Cassis (20min). Yet another not very good idea. Turns out everyone and their dog and their grandmother goes to Cassis on Sunday. There was also some kind of bike race going on creating enormous traffic jams. By a whisker, I made it into the Tourist information office before they closed for lunch. After securing the town map and the bus schedule to get up the hill back to the train station, it was a walk around the harbor where I found a great daily special on a seafood mixed grill. After that it was time to hike to the nearest calanque. For those not up on it, a calanque is a rocky beach or inlet, and Cassis borders one end of the Calanque National Park with Marseille at the other end. I followed the advice in the Rick Steves book and of the visitor center and walked what was supposed to be about 40 minutes to Port-Miou. While on the map this appeared to be a hike through nature, on the ground, it was mostly a hike along the side of the road through neighborhoods of Cassis. Eventually it turned into gravel with little shade. After about an hour of walking, remember it’s 90 deg. And no shade to speak of, I saw some nice rocky cliffs and a boat harbor, but no promised beach in evidence. I didn’t have a suit with me since I had planned to do this tomorrow anyway. Turn around, back through the gravel and burbs to Cassis. The best beach seemed to be the first one you came to before you left town. All in all, mostly a waste of an afternoon, probably should have done the tour boat or the Petit Train tour. I’m sure Cassis is quite nice when it is not 90 degrees and completely overwhelmed with tourists, but I’m grateful that I decided to stay in the center of Marseille. This has been an interesting trip because most of the places people told me that I would love, (Eze, Cassis) I’ve found to be just OK, and the places people told me I wouldn’t like at all, I’ve actually liked quite a lot (Avignon, Nice, Marseille). The biggest surprise being that Nice was very enjoyable. Marseille so far has not been nearly as dirty or rough as it is reputed to be, but please don’t tell anyone, it would be best if it stays off the radar. I’m sitting in an upstairs bar called the Caravelle as I write this, place has tons of character and looks out on the port. Pastis!

Pastis, the traditional drink of Southern France.Calanque in Cassis.

All Electric bus in Marseille.

Marseille from the middle of the harbor.

Dinner, St. Pierre in a butter sauce. Yum!

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Took the train from Nice to Marseille this morning, about a 3 hour trip. Pretty full train, but on time to the minute. Then a quick 2 stop metro ride in Marseille to the old port and a few block walk to the AirBnb. After installing myself, down to the alley for a very late lunch. Everything looks better after a good lunch, in this case a little Gigot D’Angeau and some red wine. Then did the little tourist train tour, for orientation and it went up to the Notre Dame de La Garde, Cathederal which seems to be the highest point in Marseille. This city has a good energy to it. Lots of plazas with outdoor restaurant seating, a big harbor and many nice buildings. According to Rick Steves, it’s one of the biggest port city in Europe, but, I suspect that the commercial part of the port is elsewhere as there isn’t much evidence of it in the downtown basis.

Friday, September 21, 2018

Today I took the long bus ride to Vence. One of the better known hill towns above the riviera. Many artists used to stay here and it is an attractive old town with no cars in the center. After orbiting around, found what turned out to be a mediocre lunch, and then took the bus down the hill to St. Paul. This town is mobbed with tourists, but has a lovely aspect and still existent town walls. I walked around the walls and explored a little in the center. Very much reminiscent of some of the smaller Italian hill towns in Tuscany. Then it was a long ride home, by the time I actually got back to the apartment close to 2 hours. About mid afternoon, I generally feel like downtime as the temperature is usually a round 90 degrees. A little time in the air conditioning and a shower and it’s time to go out for an Apero and dinner. Tomorrow it’s pack up and off to Marseille for 3 nights. Found a promising looking AirBnB in the old port, see the Hotels page if you want to check it out.

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.

Wednesday, September 19th 2018

Decided to hang out in Nice today. Didn’t sleep very well as the air conditioner in my bedroom did a loud buzzing noise about every 4 minutes all night. Turns out there is some kind of pump to remove the condensate. Anyway, if I turn the living room one on strong and leave the bedroom one off, it shouldn’t continue. Very poor design, since there is a drain pipe down the side of the building that could be tapped into anyway. I went to the flower market this morning, which didn’t really have much going on, but a few booths and the usual food things. Not nearly up to a Saturday market in Arles. Then it was onto the bus to head for the Matisse museum. There was a display comparing and contrasting Matisse and Picasso. The museum was more about Matisse than a display of his work, although there were some. Very interesting comparison. I’ll run some photos of the work side by side. After that, off to the Chagall museum, with stop for lunch Chez Mireille, that only does Paella, two types, and has been in business since 1946. Way too much paella, but tasty and fresh, then to the Chagall museum. Lots of biblical themes. After that, back to the apartment to do some arranging for Marseille. Got an AirBnB, got a train ticket, good to go. Then, off to climb the big hill that overlooks Nice. Got some nice photos, and there is a convenient elevator to take you down to the waterfront. The beach is pretty much all rocks, so not particularly inviting.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Since most of the museums are closed in Nice on Tuesday, I decided to do some exploring along the coast. The train and bus system is quite well organized, so I started by taking the bus to Eze-le-Village, about 20 minutes. This is a picturesque hill town that has been completely converted into a major tourist trap and includes a perfume showroom with parking for tour buses. Nevertheless, I climbed to the top of the castle ruins for a spectacular view, and the took the Nietzsche trail down the lower town of Eze Bord de Mer. This was a surprisingly long and arduous downhill on loose rocks and sharp rocks. After a quick lunch and a check of train times, it appeared that I could get to Monaco in 14 minutes, so why not? Off I went, got off in the middle of Monaco and took one of the local buses up to the top of the Monte Carlo side, walked around and took the bus to the old side. High density, lots of condos, lots of yachts, didn’t see much else to recommend it. Got the obligatory pictures of the Casino with Ferraris in front, but they weren’t really making people welcome to come in.

View of Eze Mer from the top. Cap Ferrat in the background.

Conspicuous consumption Monaco style. Casino in Monte Carlo, check your James Bond movies.

Davidoff store, Monaco.

Monday, September 17, 2018

Took the train from Arles to Nice today, relatively painless. An hour or so from Arles to Marseille, change trains with an hour layover and then a few more hours on the train to Nice. Read my Rick Steves and new to buy the 7 day transit pass for 15 euros. Tram runs through town every 4 minutes during the day and stops about a block form the airbnb that I rented. It is somewhat basic, but has all the essentials. Did some nice walking in what remained of the afternoon, and look forward to exploring tomorrow.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

The parade from last night re ran this morning, but at the end there was a parade of antique tractors, including Porsches. Here are the photos:

Sunday September 16th, 2018

Last night ended up being fun with a large “Patrimony” day parade celebrating the rice harvest. This area is at the northern end of the Camargue, a wetland area famous for its wild horses. The parade had a fair number of extremely large tractors of different brands pulling various floats. Apparently there is another event starting at 10:00am this morning, but I can tell where it is and when it is, but I’m not sure exactly what it is. Arles feels very different from Avignon, even though only a 18 minute train ride away. Roman ruins predominate here, and the history with Van Gogh and Picasso are proudly displayed. The Patrimony days mean that all sites and museum entrances are free, so I’ve had my fill. The local market yesterday, which apparently is one of the biggest regionally was pretty spectacular. The main drag was lined 4 booths wide for about a mile, with everything from food to clothing etc. I got a little cheese and sausage as a snack before finding an excellent “plat du jour” at a place next to the coliseum, see pictures in the last entry, squid and prawns combo. I had forgotten that the Camino has a route starting here in Arles and heading to Santiago. As long as I’m here, I’m going to walk the sections through town and out the other side. It’s on my map, but not very well labeled on the ground. If you plan to visit Arles, I could imagine that it would get very very hot in the summer here. In mid September, it is still quite warm mid day. One other interesting thing, the Rhone river, quite large at the point that it bends through Arles, flows through the edge of the old town. It appears there is a walking path closer down to the river, but it’s basically all concrete berms etc, meaning there is no use, other than river boat docking made of the riverfront, no cafes, no lawns, all concrete. Rick Steves puts it well in his guidebook by saying that Arles turns its back on the Rhone.

Could I have a vacation from being Gluten Free? Hotel de la Musee breakfast.

Plat du Jour from Brasserie L’Aficion.