Entre Azur et Maures, ce sont trois chambres d’hôtes charme et design dans une splendide villa d’architecte, entre Provence et Côte d’Azur. Harmonie subtile de tradition provençale et de modernité, elle bénéficie d’une superbe vue panoramique sur le charmant village de La Garde-Freinet situé au cœur des sites les plus prisés du Var.

La région

Entre Provence et Côte d’Azur, ciel et terre, mer et forêts de chênes lièges, Entre Azur et Maures est une splendide villa contemporaine, située à la porte du Golfe de Saint-Tropez, à proximité du charmant village de La Garde-Freinet (1,5km), niché au cœur du massif des Maures dans un écrin de verdure et de maquis.

Nature luxuriante et préservée, vignobles, littoral protégé, plages de sable, eaux turquoises, villages perchés constituent les atouts de ces lieux magiques de renommée internationale.

La maison

Dessinée par l’architecte Maurice Sauzet, vous y découvrirez une conception architecturale unique, parfaitement intégrée et respectueuse de son environnement, harmonieuse alliance de tradition provençale et de modernité empreinte d’écologie : grands toits de tuiles, enduit ocré, patios paysagés, sols dallés de pierre, chauffage et rafraîchissement géothermique par le sol.

En position dominante, la maison jouit d’une splendide vue panoramique, des lointaines crêtes de la Sainte Baume au village, situé à la croisée des sites les plus prisés de Provence et de Côte d’Azur, à deux pas du petit port mythique de Saint-Tropez.

Entre Azur et Maures vous propose trois chambres spacieuses, alliant confort, élégance et simplicité, offrant toutes de très belles vues sur le village et les crêtes lointaines de la Sainte Baume. Elles sont équipées d’une literie récente et confortable et disposent toutes de salles de bain (tadelakt, douches italiennes) et sanitaires particuliers. Un plateau de service à disposition vous permettra selon l’heure ou l’humeur d’apprécier thé, tisane ou café. Chaque chambre dispose entre outre de sa terrasse privée.

Envies de longues siestes sur les plus belles plages du Var (Pampelonne, L’Escalet, Port-Grimaud, Gigaro ou Sainte-Maxime), de superbes randonnées le long du sentier du littoral, dans les Maures ou encore en Provence verte, envies d’errance dans les ruelles ombragées de villages provençaux au charme préservé (La Garde Freinet, Grimaud, Ramatuelle, Gassin) offrant de leur perchoir rocheux de magnifiques points de vue sur la méditerranée toute proche jusqu’aux Alpes lointaines, ou encore de petits marchés odorants et colorés ou bien encore de folles soirées tropéziennes ? Et pourquoi pas encore une escapade urbaine vers Nice, Cannes, Aix en Provence ou Marseille ? Tout est permis !

Au cœur d’une nature luxuriante, encore sauvage et préservée, Entre Azur et Maures se présente comme le camp de base idéal de vos vacances, dont vous savourerez la quiétude au retour de vos promenades ou au bord de sa piscine.

are viv + i?
“bonjour mon ami…” from southern france!

 using “rick steves’ provence & the french riviera guidebook“ (a.k.a. our “other” bible in southern france), vivien outlined a tour de southern france via our avis rental car: an opel. definitely a different experience for me… cause when i vacation, i tend to stay in one hotel/location for the duration of the stay and take a taxi. the long, windy and scenic roads from town to town were pretty fun to drive.

bonjour from hotel negresco in nice! le'g+v...

not knowing what to expect for the city driving/parking conditions, it was crazy and stressful! the streets were SO narrow and often-times one-way and it was shared by cars, bicyclists, scooters, cats and dogs all at the same time! in most intersections, they had these roundabouts that were a bit confusing as well… and just required you to pretty much close your eye and jump into the circle of death and drive around until you find the right road to get off to! you just had to pay attention to the many arrowed signs and pray you chose the right one!

when in doubt... always head toward "centre ville"...

total distance driven: 1234km = 766.772 miles
total spent on diesel: €106 euros = $158.73 USD
total number of swear words dropped: 11 “mutha F-bombs” :|

thank the Lord that there were so many things to ease my driving stress… paellas, poissons and pâtisseries, oh my! 

the places:

- paris

then a short flight to provence (southeastern region in france on the mediterranean, adjacent to italy):
- marseille
- aix en provence:  a happening place where one can enjoy people watching and modern shopping all while checking out some great museums dedicated to van gogh + cezanne.

fountain de la rotunde in the city center...

night time stroll down aix en provence's city center...

- arles:  van gogh called this place home for some time. here is where we also experienced “le mistral” for the first time. passing through the valleys of the rhone and durance rivers, the wind that blew through the streets and the open courtyards were UNREAL! there were times when i opened our rental car doors and really believed the door would rip off from the sheer strength of the mistral!
- st. remy:  great cafés and even greater chocolates! (and van gogh committed himself to an insane asylum in this city).
- les baux

home of "château des baux"... a fortified castle built in the 10th century. one of the most beautiful historic castle/site in france!

- avignon:  we stayed inside the walls of this once fortified city. it is well known for its “palais des papes” (palace of the popes), where several popes and antipopes lived from the early 14th to early 15th centuries and “pont-saint bénézet” (bridge of st. bénézet).

a historical palace (which became the residence of the popes) in avignon, it's one of the largest and most important medieval gothic buildings in europe.

- orange:  seeing the theatre was seriously humbling. since we went kinda late in the tourist season, it was pretty much empty when we got there. and to enter this incredible structure… and taking the site all in gave me goosebumps + chills. to imagine what it must’ve been like in the past when it was filled to capacity and full of energy! the funniest part, was this lone cat that i had to take a picture of… so patiently sitting/waiting in seat 65 for some show to begin. hey andy, can this pic be submitted to http://icanhascheezburger.com/?

théâtre antique d'orange (“ancient theatre of orange”) an ancient roman theatre...

this cat (assigned seat 65) was patiently awaiting for the start of the show...

- vaison la romaine
- isla sur la sorgue
- rousillion
- pont du gard (one of the many landmarks in the provence region that is on unesco’s world heritage list).  and man… when you see this structure it’s truly awe-inspiring. so beautiful, so rich in historic worth… and still standing after all these years! makes me realize how young any of the structures we might have in the u.s.

pont du gard... if it was warmer we would have jumped from the bridge and swam!

- nîmes

the temple of diane...

the pg-version of the matador in front on the arènes de nîmes (thanks to viv + rick steves' guidebook!)

the maison carrée, currently under renovation...

BONUS PIC:

arènes de nîmes' lone matador under the spotlight...

- uzes
- cassis:  a small, quaint seaside port city… it’s referred to as “the poor man’s st. tropez“. this place was definitely my fav! if i go back, i’d stay here longer for sure. the vibe in this place was so nice and relaxed! and after being in the larger cities of aix en provence, arles and avignon, coming here was a great change of pace. the restaurants and shops near the water and the ocean view were breath-taking. cassis is also known for their  magnificent ”calanques” (see picture below). when we return to southern france in the future, we hope to spend more time here so we can charter a boat to the callanque en vau and spend the day on the beach (pictured below viv) and swim the crystal clear waters! t+t, bring your snorkel, mask + fins and join us… oui oui!

everyone in france rode bikes!

view of the boat moor from a local cassis cafe...

waterfront view of cassis

after an aftenoon coffee + gelato, a stroll to the beachfront does a soul good!

i scream, you scream, we all scream for gelato!

after hiking 1.5 hours we arrived to callanque en vau. your own private beach!

and then off to côte d’azur (a.k.a. “the french riviera“):
- cannes
- monaco:  i have NEVER seen so many maseratis, bentleys, rolls royces, and aston martins in my life. i thought viv + i would get shot for driving our rental opel through here.

the casino monte carlo... where true ballaz go to play! there's an admission fee just to get in and gamble!

- eze village
- nice: definitely a tourist mecca. they had an incredible open market on most mornings which looked like pike place market times 10. and the beachfront here was off the chart. seeing the ocean’s color at sunset almost looked fake. viv + i visited the marc chagall biblical museum (prior to going, i had never heard of this artist and after visiting, i am now a HUGE fan of his work) and saw his 12 paintings depicting various stories from genesis + exodus of the old testament (he also has 5 paintings inspired by song of songs). all i could do was just stand speechless and be mesmerized as i looked at each of the paintings. you could literally spend hours looking at each drawing. so much was conveyed through these paintings (the user of shapes and amazing colors)… a reminder to keep being creative and explore how art and faith intersects in my life.

upon entrance of the marc chagall biblical museum... this is your initial view!

viv mesmerized by the "noah and the rainbow" painting by chagall...

sunset in nice = SO nice!

- villafranche

au revoir (for now)…

for more reading:
- where in the world… (part 2)
- where in the world… (part 1)

Côte d’Azur, hôtel luxueux, roulette, craps, bijoux, robe de soirée, malchance, veine, voiture de sport, fauché, enfer, réalité, amour, drogue, risques, Michel Legrand, carpe diem, millionnaire, inconscience, clochard, rêve.

Tous ces mots font références à La baie des anges, filmée en 1963 par Jacques Demy. Jeanne Moreau et Claude Mann, une sorte d’alternative à Belmondo, y jouent un couple qui tombe dans l’enfer du jeu. De casinos en hôtels, ils vivent au grès de leur chance et nous emportent au fond du gouffre à leurs côtés. L’assistant-réalisateur est un certain Costa-Gravas.

Il s’agit de notre “Classique” du vendredi dont voici la scène finale (qui ne révèle rien de très important si ce n’est un très beau plan composé de miroirs).

Last night when I went to bed at about half 2 I left my finished book on a random cabinet in a random corridor for someone else to enjoy, I like doing that. At half 9 this morning it had already gone and in it’s place was Ender’s Shadow. I almost felt obliged to read it but it looks very long and these fantasy/sci-fi novels always have loads of sequels/prequels so I put it back in the end. Is that bad book karma?

I got my ticket for Zaragoza okay, €65 though, ouch. I ordered it in French and confirmed what time it left and got in at and if it was direct. But it’s never like in the text books, she was rattling on about all sorts and I wasn’t getting it all so I had to ask her if she spoke English as I didn’t fancy missing crucial information just to improve my French. Anyway, I have to check-in at least half an hour before it departs, which is crucial information as I often board seconds before they depart.

She said I can leave my bag there for the day which is handy as it will save me €4 and mean I can get the bus to Monaco, which at 40 minutes takes twice the time as the train but is more scenic and another €4 cheaper for the round trip. I need to make sure I’m back by 16:00 to pick it up though.

Crikey, there is some money knocking about here. I’ve been walking up and down the marina trying to figure out which boat I’m going to get when I get home. This was my number one choice but due to space considerations on the Stretford passage of the Bridgewater canal I’ve opted for this instead.

For lunch I ate at a place called Le Botticelli. €9.50 for moules marinières avec frites, not bad at all considering where I was. It does however mean a baguette for tea.

If I’d have had more time I’d have got the boat over from Monte Carlo to Monaco Ville to have a good look round but as it was I only had a bit under 2 hours, which was enough to at least get a feel for the place.

I was a little bit worried when getting back from Monaco as the bus stop that I thought was on the correct road didn’t have my bus number (100) listed and the station name didn’t appear on the Nice to Monaco bus leaflet I had either. There wasn’t any margin for error or else I would likely find my bag impounded for the night and me up little brown river.

I was quited pleased that I managed to ask the driver of a different bus “Excusez-moi, le linge cent pour Nice, c’est arret ici?”. I’m sure there’s plenty of errors in there but it was good enough to get the info I needed which is the important thing, 2 minutes later and I was on the bus.

My long haul bus journey preparation hasn’t gone very well. I’m dying for a waz as the bus station toilets are out of order and my supplies are not what I’d hoped for. I’d planned on getting a ‘4 cheese’ baguette that I saw last night but I couldn’t find the place again and didn’t really have time to. Then it was too late to find anything else so all I have is a large bottle of water, which I can’t really drink because as I just stated, I’m dying for a waz. Also, because of yesterday’s dog dung incident, I’ve no pen to mark out stuff I want to see in Spain in my rough guide.

It’s going to be a long 18 hours, I hope the first stop is soon and is at a well stocked outpost.

One thing I meant to say is that I was probably a bit harsh on Nice yesterday, after going through different parts on the bus today and then rushing around looking for grub at a different time of day, it actually looks fairly interesting. The Côte d’Azur will make a good scooter trip at some point in the future.

Phew, pee had.

Phew, food had. Well, a bag of crisps anyway.

We just passed through Marseille, it looks a pretty lively city. Am I right in thinking it’s where ‘The French Connection II’ was set? One Google search later and it seems I am.

Later, we also stopped at Barcelona. It seems daft going through a city like that and not staying for a night or 2, but I’m short of time now and I’ve been twice before anyway. It’s always a cheap flight away in the future though.

On the bus I listened to the Super Furry Animal’s latest 2 albums via Spotify. Now I’m very reluctant to critisice this band as I love their entire back catalogue (well maybe not ‘Guerilla’), they’ve been putting out great stuff for years. But these latest 2 (2007’s ‘Hey Venus!’ and this year’s ‘Dark Days/Light Years’), while still full of ideas as ever, they just don’t have the tunes for me. A shame. This is only IMHO mind, the reviews in the media have been good for both. I’ll still be very interested in what comes next, I can’t write a band as inventive as that off.

Right I’m finally in Zaragoza. It was a pretty horrible journey really as it was such a busy route the bus was forever stopping and the lights coming on, also all the seats were taken so it was very cramped. 9 hours in and my back knew about it, it was a very sore and uncomfortable 2nd half of the ride. That’s the last monster leg of the journey I have to do now though I think, it should be relatively straight-forward from here on in (hopefully!).

I’ll have a quick look at the train and bus tickets while I’m in the depot and then it’s off to the hostel to collapse.

 Le 28 Novembre 2009

Dans le cadre de la Journée du Patrimoine de Pays et de la “Journée des Moulins”, la Municipalité de L’Escarène, l’Office de tourisme et ADOLIVE vous invitent à visiter l’ ancien Moulin à huile  de l’Escarène, route Nationale. (à la sortie du village, à la bifurcation Lucéram/Touët de L’Escarène).

* 9h – 17h : Projection en “boucle” du film “FADOLI OLI” de Christian PASSUELLO
* 15h : Conférence sur l’huile d’olive ” Initiation aux mystères de l’olivier” par Jaqueline BELLINO. Plus d’info http://www.adolives.com/

Visite guidée du moulin, vente et dégustation d’olives, huile d’olive, pâtes d’olive.

Le même jour, à L’Escarène, se déroulera la traditionnelle foire aux trulles de la St André. A midi, une dégustation de trulles et un apéritif seront offerts par la municipalité. Nous vous conseillons de réserver une table à l’Auberge du Château (ou au Café de l’union) pour un repas convivial trulles et trippes en famille ou entre amis.

Venez nombreux!

la Baie des Anges in Nice

This is the fourth and final post on our trip to Provence two weeks ago.

On our last trip to Nice in May 2007, we fell in love with socca, which is chickpea flour in its most evolved form (a crispy pancake), and we had a good dinner at the restaurant Keisuke Matsushima. So last weekend, when we found ourselves in Nice again, we decided that rather than try something new, we’d again seek out Chez Rene for socca, and then we’d drop by Restaurant Saison, the latest restaurant by Monsieur Matsushima.

Chez Rene Socca in Old Nice

For lunch, Jon and I wound our way through Old Nice, looking for familiar landmarks until we found Chez Rene Socca, which looks the same as it did two years ago. At Saturday lunchtime, there was a serious queue, but it moved forward quickly, so it wasn’t long before we pigged out on two crispy, hot portions of socca (2.50 euros a portion) and then a slice of sweet onion pissaladiere. We asked for our pissaladiere to be heated up, but (no surprise) the ten seconds in the oven didn’t do much to improve their cold, slightly-stale taste. It was like eating cold pan pizza: strangely addictive, but guilt inducing.

une portion of socca at Chez Rene Socca

pissaladiere at Chez Rene Socca in Old Nice

For dinner, we tried out K. Matsushima’s latest venture, Restaurant Saison, which, unlike his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant, serves Japanese classics – sushi, udon, tempura – with a “twist.” It was a good way to end our trip to France.

First, the service was excellent. The restaurant opened for dinner at 7 pm, and when we arrived, we asked the maitre d’ to get us in and out by 8 pm because we had a plane to catch. Smoothly and without making us feel rushed, they sped up our order and somehow our dinner felt evenly paced.

The highlight of our meal was the carpaccio de daurade royal, which was comprised of silky sea bream (the dorade), crunchy bits of garlic (happily devoid of bitterness), thinly-sliced and pickled onion dressed in sesame oil, and crunchy salad greens. It was a beautiful mix of textures and flavours.

Most of the menu items are priced at around 15 euros. To feel pleasantly full, we ordered four dishes. The restaurant decor is pretty low-key, so the prices seem a little incongruous to the surroundings, but on the basis of excellent service and fresh, good-quality sushi (or sushi-inspired dishes), Saison was worth the money.

Chez Rene Socca, 2 rue Miralhéti, 06000 Vieux Nice, France; +33 (0)4 93 92 05 73

Restaurant Saison, 17 rue Gubernatis, 06000 Nice, France; +33 (o)4 93 85 69 04; closed Sunday and Monday.

La tête de liste UMP pour les élections régionales 2010 dans les Alpes-Maritimes, Gaston Franco, et la n°2, Dominique Estrosi-Sassone, formeront “un tandem”, selon le maire de Nice, Christian Estrosi.

Selon Nice-Matin, l’adjointe au maire de Nice, conseillère régionale sortante et présidente de l’office HLM Côte d’Azur Habitat, aurait même pu se retrouver tête de liste UMP du département, grâce à son implication dans ses différents mandats et sa popularité. Mais le maire de Saint-Martin-Vésubie, député européen depuis quatre mois, a tenu la barre.

If you haven’t been to the French Riviera, then get started making your plans! I am just back and I believe the more I visit, the more I enjoy this area and just being by the Mediterranean Sea.

From the beaches of Cannes, Saint Tropez and Nice to the hill top villages of Eze, Saint Paul de Vence and Gordoun, you will be enchanted by all the beautiful scenery. It is no wonder in August when the French vacation they go to the South.

A favorite is Monaco and worth a day or two, but if you want a fantastic stay try either Palais de la Mediterranee or La Perouse.

Visit just once and the mystery will be very clear. You to can fall in love with the South of France.

Check out some of my recent photos

Selon le 1er baromètre OpinionWay-Fiducial, les élections régionales en Paca seraient pliées pour Michel Vauzelle, le président sortant et candidat Ps à sa réélection.

Il obtiendrait au 1er tour 31% des suffrages pour 24% à Thierry Mariani, le candidat UMP. Laurence Vichnievsky (Europe écologie) est créditée de 13%, J.-M. Le Pen (FN) de 12%, P. Miran (Alliance écolo. ind.) de 5%, J.-M Coppola (Front de gauche) de 3%, L. Bonnet (LO) de 2%, J. Joshua (NPA) d’1% tout comme J. Bompard (ligue du Sud).

Pour le second tour : Michel Vauzelle obtiendrait 56% et Thierry Mariani 44% dans une configuration duelliste.

En cas de triangulaire, la donne serait encore très favorable au candidat sortant socialiste : Vauzelle 50%, Mariani 37% et Le Pen : 13%.

Un précédent sondage commandé fin septembre par l’UMP et resté secret arrivait au même résultat final, mais donnait alors le parti présidentiel en tête au premier tour (avec 31 à 34 %).

Même si nous avions connaissance de ce sondage, dont nous vous avions fait part, la source est désormais publiée par Le Figaro…

Rappelons qu’OpinionWay est devenu l’Institut de sondage fétiche de l’Élysée (dont les montants des commandes ont été épinglés récemment par la Cour des comptes), avec des méthodes qui sont loin de faire l’unanimité auprès des politologues de la Fondation nationale de Sc-Politique, notamment par une utilisation abusive et suspecte d’internet.

L’UMP détient pourtant toutes les grandes villes de la région et 36 sièges de députés sur 40.

Téléchargez en PDF le sondage.

The French Riviera is filled with highly desirable wedding destinations. There really is something for everyone from glitz and glam seaside towns, to Provencal countryside getaways and romantic medieval villages. I have picked out a few of my favourite wedding destinations on the Cote d’Azur that you may wish to consider for your wedding. You might prefer to decide upon a destination based upon the location of a particular venue that you have in mind. Please see my pick of the best wedding venues in the area in the Recommended Wedding Venue section of My Riviera Wedding.

• Cannes: Cannes encapsulates the glitz and glam associated with the Cote d’Azur. the city and its surrounding neighbourhood has an extremely vast selection of fabulous venues suitable for weddings. From chateaus (Chateau du Garibondy and the Chateau de la Napoule), to stunning hotels such as the Martinez , the Carlton, the Majestic and the 1835 White Palm Hotel, trendy hangouts (Le Baoli and Palm Beach), beach restaurants to name but a few l’Ecrin and Vega Luna as well as an abundance of private villas.

• Mougins: Situated just outside of Cannes in the Provencal countryside, Mougins is an ideal wedding destination away from the hustle and bustle of the busy coast. With a golf and country club, The Royal Mougins, several private domains and country residences such as the Domaine du paradis des Oiseaux and the Manoir de Letang, a luxury hotel with Michelin star restaurant, Le Mas Candille and several well-known fun restaurants for example Le Park andthe Moulin de Mougins.

• Antibes Juan-les-Pins: With over 30 private beaches, one of them belonging to the lovely family run hotel the Belle Rives, Juan-les-Pins has a great deal of great wedding venues. Located on the border between Juan-les-Pins and the Cap d’Antibes a new luxury boutique hotel, the Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel, has recently opened its doors after almost a year’s construction. The Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel has been built onto the already existing beach restaurant and night spot Les Pecheurs, which has also been given a facelift. The Cap d’Antibes, a peninsular between Juan-les-Pins and the old town of Antibes is home to some of the world’s most wealthy people; Arabian princes, celebrities and top business men. It is most famous for the exclusive Hotel du Cap Eden Roc a favourite A-class celebrity hangout during the Cannes Film Festival. The Cap d’Antibes has several superb waterfront venues such as Keller beach as well as some fantastic villas such as the Domaine la Dilecta.

• Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat: With Apple’s Paul Allen amongst the many high-flying property owners, the peninsular of Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat is considered as being THE ultimate destination in the South of France for those seeking privacy, luxury and exclusivity. Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat has some breathtaking wedding venues such as the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild the fabulous Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat, and the Villa Kérylos in nearby Beaulieu sur Mer, It also has two wonderful private beaches; Passable Beach and Paloma Beach (Tel: +33 (0)4 93 01 64 71 open from Easter to the end of September).

• Saint Paul de Vence: The medieval village of Saint Paul de Vence is a real gem. Made famous in the mid 20^th century by the passage of world-renowned artists such as Picasso and Russian painter Mark Chagall who is buried in the village’s cemetery, Saint Paul de Vence still today promotes arts and crafts and is filled with independent galleries and artist’s workshops. Saint Paul de Vence is for me a perfect example of a well-preserved, picture perfect typical French village. With a beautiful little church, two Relais & Chateau hotels (Le Mas de Pierre and Le Saint Paul) as well as the top class restaurant La Colombe d’Or. In nearby Vence one of the most fabulous hotels in the area can be found; the Chateau Saint Martin which is part of the same group as the legendary Hotel du Cap Eden Roc.

• Grasse: For me Grasse is highly underrated as a wedding destination. The town offers greater value for money than some of the nearby towns and villages and the events service at the Grasse Tourist Office is more than happy to help prospective clients discover the many delightful venues that Grasse has to offer. Grasse is most famous for its perfume industry, with 4 large perfume factories in the town, a perfume museum, many beautiful flower gardens and fields where flowers are cultivated for the production of perfume some of which double up as wedding venues such as The Bastide du Parfumeur or the Domaine de Manon. Not forgetting of course the two beautiful hotels the Bastide Saint Mathieu and the Bastide Saint Antoine with its gourmet restaurant.

• Monaco: Even the most luxurious addresses on the Cote d’Azur tend to have a relaxed sea-side feel to them, something that can not necessarily be said for the many preened and polished wedding venues Monaco has to offer. Depending on what floats your boat, Monaco may conjure up a mixed bag of emotions. Some feel that Monaco is a cold, soulless, ‘fake’ town while others are in awe of its grandeur and pomp. It is safe to say however that the quality and range of venues in Monaco is unrivalled most of which are grouped under the Monte Carlo SBM umbrella, a holding company which owns and manages most of the Principalities leisure and tourism venues. Amongst the best hotels in Monaco are the Hermitage, Monte Carlo Bay, Hotel de Paris, Le Meridien, Vista Palace and Monte Carlo Beach. Great beach restaurants are La Reserve de la Mala in nearby Cap d’Ail, Anjuna Bay in nearby Eze sur Mer and K Beach. Great restaurants and lounge bars include Maya Bay, La Chaumiere and the Pacific.

Vacances, il oublie tout…

Le 17 octobre, la ville de Nice a organisé, une fois de plus, la journée de l’olivier, dans le cadre privilégié de la Maison de l’Environnement de Nice, ancienne demeure d’Henri de Cessole, sur le boulevard de même nom. Une journée des plus conviviales où, au rythme des danses portugaises interprétées par un groupe folklorique d’Antibes, de nombreux visiteurs de tout âge, sont venus flâner entre les stands en participant aux animations proposées: fabrication de tapenade, cours de taille d’oliviers, jeux divers et coloriage pour les petits, fabrication de cosmétiques à base d’huile d’olive, dégustations de produits de l’olivier…

ADOLIVE y a présenté le film “Fadoli d’Oli” et Jacqueline Bellino a donné une conférence sur le thème “Initiation aux mystères de l’olivier”. Devant une salle comble, pendant une heure et demi, elle a expliqué les vertus de l’huile d’olive, présenté les caractéristiques de l’AOC “Olive de Nice” et tenté de répondre aux insatiables questions.

Félicitations aux organisateurs de cette charmante journée et à l’année prochaine!

Ever since studying French hip hop and the lyrics of rap group IAM at uni, I’ve been intrigued by Marseille. So, to get some end of summer sunshine, Steven and I booked a cheap Ryanair flight and headed to the south of France for three nights.

Marseille is like an intruder on the chichi vibe of the Côte d’Azur (its nickname is planète mars) due to being a large port town with North African influences and a laid-back Mediterranean culture. It can be a bit dodgy in places (we almost got pickpocketed in the old port), but it’s ancient history and super friendly people add to its rugged charm.

Being on a pretty tight budget, we decided to spend two nights at the moderately priced Mercure Marseille Prado and stay for the last night in the luxurious Pullman Palm Beach spa hotel.  I’m not usually a fan of big chain hotels, as they always seem to have more properties than they can cope with, but Mercure has been pretty good to me over the years.  This one was comfortable and basic (we got it for £156 for two nights and wouldn’t pay much more) but the main draw was the incredible breakfast, served on the terrace each morning.  The hot selection was dubious, but there was a good selection of mini pastries, fresh baguette, local cheeses and heavenly buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup. 

The location is quite far out from the centre on foot, but it took less than 1o minutes on the metro and it is just 20 minutes down the tree-lined avenue to Prado beach and our next stop, the Pullman Palm Beach.   

The Pullman Palm Beach is a sleek design hotel that overlooks the famous Corniche J.F Kennedy, next to a yachting club, and has an outdoor infinity pool, jacuzzi, sauna and gym.

We were in a double patio room which was decorated in a subtle nautical style and featured prints by a local artist, a massive flatscreen TV and the most incredible bed that felt like you were curled up in a marshmallow. 

The bathroom had both a shower and a bathtub, bois d’orange toiletries by Roger & Gallet, some seriously fluffy bathrobes and velvety slippers – everything you need for a relaxing spa stay.

Most of the guests were business delegates and I was so tempted to gatecrash their champagne and macaroon receptions at night (I resisted, of course), but there are probably more regular travellers in the high summer. This wasn’t a bad thing though, a we almost had the pool and sauna to ourselves.

The hotel is all about relaxation, so it’s very quiet and peaceful, especially in the library on the first floor, where you can read coffee table books and international newspapers in an armchair, overlooking the sea.

We didn’t eat at the restaurant, although the food looked amazing, but we had a drink at the bar before going into town for dinner.  We had a Pina Colada and a Tequila Sunrise (both 12 Euros) from the classic cocktail menu, but maybe a spirit or beer would be better, as they were a bit too weak and filled with ice.  We got a massive tasting plate of olives, nuts and tapenade bruschetta with our drinks though, as well as a sunset view, so it was well worth it.

The best thing about the Pullman is that staff are around when you need them, but they leave you to get on with your own thing without hassle.  The spa facilities were amazing and there was no shortage of towels, sunbeds, extra toiletries and even free healthy snacks in the spa area.  We were even upgraded to an ocean view room on arrival. 

We got a decent deal at £130 a night, as a double room at walk-in price costs upward of £300, but it was one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in and was worth every penny.  I’m already plotting a way to return next year – I wonder if Marseille has a film festival to be reviewed?

Mercure Marseille Prado, 11 Avenue de Mazargues  13008 Marseille

Pullman Palm Beach, 200 Corniche J.F Kennedy 13007 Marseille

“J’ai décidé de ne pas me disperser et de rester concentré sur Marseille uniquement”… C’est par ces mots, publiés par Marseille l’Hebdo, que Renaud Muselier vient de tirer un trait sur l’hypothèse de sa candidature aux élections régionales de mars prochain en Paca. En 2004, c’est lui qui avait conduit la liste de l’UMP dans la région, obtenant 33,82% des voix au second tour.

Le nom de l’élu marseillais a été testé voici quelques jours dans un sondage commandé par l’UMP : s’il affiche un taux de notoriété plus élevé que les candidats à la candidature plus ou moins déclarés (les députés des Bouches-du-Rhône Bernard Deflesselles et Guy Teissier, ainsi que celui du Vaucluse Thierry Mariani), Renaud Muselier n’obtient en revanche qu’un potentiel électorale quasi-similaire.

Remarkable villa and gardens located between Nice and Monaco ~ overlooking the bays of Villefranche and Beaulieu- sur-Mer.  Built by Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild during the Belle Epoque, both the Palais and Jardin are spectacular!

View from Rothchild Palais

Nine gardens on 7 acres with magnificent views.  Below is a view from the Temple of Love looking towards the splendid pink villa (inspired by flamingos).  A stepped waterfall feeds into ponds with fountains that have recently been programed to music.  This formal garden is symmetrically arranged and was the only one completed in 1912 when the villa became habitable.  Baroness Ephrussi de Rothschild was greatly inspired by her travels and as this part 0f the garden was the view from the inside of the villa, and beyond was the ocean, she felt as though the garden was the deck of a ship and named the villa “Ile de France” after a ship she travelled on.

Traditional French Style Garden - Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild ~ photo sue womersley

Baroness Ephrussi de Rothschild bought the property in 1905 and had it dynamited and brought in great quantities of earth to level the land for the villa and gardens you see.  When she died in 1934, she left her entire estate to the Academie des Beaux-arts of the Institut de France.  It was her wish for a museum to be created for the enjoyment of others.

Stone Jardin - villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

After her death, the remaining gardens were planted with inspiration of Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschilds many travels.  The Stone garden is filled with architectural pieces from civic and religious buildings.  The Spanish garden has a shady grotto, the Florentine garden has a double staircase and water feature, the Exotic garden is all succulents and cacti, the Provencal is full of olive trees and lavender and of course a rose garden.

Stone Garden - Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild ~ photo sue womersley

stone garden

Zen Garden - the Japanese Garden Villa de Ephrussi de Rothschild ~ photo sue womersley

Watch for a future post on the Villa.  For more information www.villa-ephrussi.com This property was not mentioned in my guidebook and I greatly enjoyed my visit.

Bon jour meine Lieben!

Heute ging es in Frankreich an Land, Baguettes, Rotwein und schöne Frauen standen an der Tagesordnung und das ging schon gleich bei der Überfahrt mit dem Tenderboot von der Reede zum Hafen los, wie Ihr hier auf dem Bild sehen könnt. Diana und Simone waren als Gast an Bord der AIDAvita und haben gleich ein Auge auf mich geworfen – ein echter Charmingbär eben…

Mit von der Partie waren außerdem noch Sabrina und Angie von der Bar, aber dazu später mehr. Hier erst mal ein Bild von einem der Tender im Yachthafen von Cannes.

Es schaukelt zwar immer ein bisschen bei der kurzen Überfahrt, aber als Schönwetter-Kreuzfahrer sollte man sowas schon mal erlebt haben.

Zu Fuß ging es vom Hafen erst einmal auf den kleinen Hügel direkt über Cannes, denn diesen tollen Ausblick wollten wir uns gleich zu Beginn gönnen. Vorbei an zahlreichen Geschäften und Lokalen ging es durch enge und verwinkelte Gassen bei Temperaturen um die 30° Grad schnell hinauf. Belohnt wurden wir dafür mit einem genialen Blick auf den Hafen von Cannes. La Castre nennt sich dieser Teil der Stadt aus dem Mittelalter und wie toll das dort ist kann man schlecht umschreiben – schaut selber:

Vollständiges Album anzeigen

Nach dieser anstrengenden Tour wurde es höchste Zeit für ein feines Mittagessen unten im Hafen. Bei einer lecker Pizza aus dem Holzofen und einer abschließenden Creme Bruller samt Café au Lait kamen wir wieder zu Kräften. Kochen und backen können sie wirklich diese Franzosen – im Gegensatz zu Englisch sprechen. ;->

Und wie gut all das schmeckte zeigt Euch auf dem nächsten Bild mal das süße Leckermäulchen Angie…

Zu empfehlen sind hier ausserdem auch die Pizza mit Thunfisch, welche hier teilweise ohne Käse, dafür aber mit frischem Thunfisch und Olivenöl gebacken wird und die lokale Pizza mit Schinken oder Speck, kandierten Zwiebeln und einem Klecks Creme Fraiche! Klingt komisch, schmeckt aber megalecker!

Preislich ist es freilich alles etwas teurer dort, so kostet eine gut belegte Pizza im Schnitt 11,00 Euro, die Tasse Kaffee gibt es ab 3,50 Euro. Hier bezahlt man den guten Namen und die tolle Aussicht eben mit.

Da in dem Örtchen an der Cote d’Azur auch vor und nach den berühmten Filmfestspielen immer etwas geboten ist machten wir uns anschließend auf einen langen Verdauungsspaziergang entlang der Strandpromenade. Neben zahlreichen namhaften Luxusläden und Nobelhotels ist auch der schöne Stadtstrand nicht zu verachten. Dieser ist übrigens völlig kostenlos!

Anbei einige weitere Eindrücke in Bildform…

Vollständiges Album anzeigen

Als Tagesbesucher ist es hier wirklich toll, aber länger Urlaub machen oder gar hier Leben geht kräftig an die schwer verdiente Heuer. Da sollte man schon das nötige Kleingeld haben…

Für wenig Geld gab es übrigens noch eine Ehren-Mitgliedschaft für den Seeräubär Jack Bearow im Yachtclub von Cannes, der AIDA-Pin stammt noch von meinem Besuch auf der Brücke der AIDAvita. Ich glaube diese Dinger werd ich mir jetzt in jeder meiner Stationen dieser Reise als Erinnerung besorgen.

Und so verabschiedete sich das schöne Cannes von uns…

 The south of France is blessed with art treasures, and one of my favorites is the Matisse Museum in Nice. 

Matisse Museum - Nice, France

Henri Matisse was one of the most important European painters of the 20^th century, rivaling Picasso in his influence.  Born in 1869 in northern France, where his family owned a seed business, Matisse went to university in Paris 1887 to study law, and tried his hand at painting almost by accident.  His mother gave him art supplies to pass the time while he was recuperating from an attack of appendicitis, and discovered what he later called “a kind of paradise” in his painting.  “From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves.”

 Initially Matisse painted traditional still-lifes and landscapes, and was greatly influenced by post-Impressionists Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Signac.  It is said that Matisse nearly went broke purchasing other painters’ works which he admired and hung in his home. 

 Matisse’s career as an artist spanned an incredible 64 years, and this prolific master embraced a wide range of styles, including painting, sculpture, drawings, engravings, and his trademark decoupage cutouts, which he called “painting with scissors”.  His painting styles include post-impressionism, pointillism, and the genre of Fauvism, of which he is the acknowledged master. Fauvism (wild, untamed) is known for vivid colors, flat lines, and an almost one dimensional quality.

 Around 1904, Matisse and Pablo Picasso were introduced to each other in the Paris salon of Gertrude Stein, and they began a life-long friendship and friendly rivalry.   Matisse moved to Cimiez, a suburb of Nice, in 1917 and lived there until his death in 1954. 

 At the age of 77, he began the most ambitious project of his life – which Matisse considers his masterpiece – the design of the Chapelle du Rosaire in the hillside village of Vence, France. 

Over a period of 4 years, Matisse designed the building, created the stained glass windows, painted its murals, designed the bronze crucifix, fashioned the Stations of the Cross, and even designed the priests’ vestments. 

By this point, suffering with cancer and confined to a wheelchair, Matisse painted three murals by use of a long stick strapped to his arm, with a paintbrush affixed to the end.

Matisse also published several books, with collections of his works and paper cutouts, along with his notes. The museum has a wonderful gift shop, so be sure to stop in to purchase a few prints, calendars, or note cards. 

One final tip, be sure to check out the museum’s bathroom with the cool, automatic toilet seat that washes itself after each use. Okay, I don’t think Matisse invented this, but it has high entertainment value for the kids!

 Getting there

The Matisse Museum in Nice, 164 Avenue des Arènes, 06000 Nice,

Tel: 33- (0)4 93 81 08 08 is open 10:00 am – 6:00 pm every day except Tuesday, and is closed on Bank holidays and major holidays. Check the website or call in advance to be sure you will not be disappointed.  Entrance is 4 Euro for adults, 2.50 Euro for students, and admission is free for children under 18.