Traveling Through Provence and French Riviera

In one week, we will be leaving Paris.  

There are so many emotions attached to this statement.  We have loved the time we have had together as a family this year abroad, yet we are all ready to expand our circle again.  We are sad to be leaving France, but appreciate all we have seen and done.  We are anxious about the transition home, but know that we already experienced a more challenging one when moving here.  We anticipate there will be so much we miss about France, but at the same time we ready for the what home has to offer.

My lovely neighbor, Kenna, shared this photo with me this week of a double rainbow over our house.  This was very timely as it reminded me that our friends and family are awaiting our return.  It must be time to go home.

A double rainbow over our MN home.

With everything opening back up in France and the rest of Europe, we decided to do one last big trip before we spend our final week in Paris.  We decided to combine two trips into one, exploring both the regions of Provence and Cote d'Azur.  We had previously anticipated spending quite a bit of time in the town of Menton, in the Cote d'Azur, before COVID-19 hit.  But once we were in lockdown, we canceled our rental that would have allowed us to have a second home down in the Mediterranean for the last three months in France.  We were lucky enough that we were at least able to spend four days there this past week to see what it would have been like to be there.  But before I get to the beaches of the Mediterranean, let me first start with all the Roman ruins we dragged our kids to!

Last Thursday, June 18, we took a 7:50 a.m. train to the town of Lyon.  Jeff had wanted to explore this city because it had an old Roman theater that was built in 15 BC.  At one point, this theater could hold 10,000 people.  In addition, to the theater in this part of Lyon knowns as Fourviere, we also explored Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere, as well as the petit Eiffel Tower that serves as a TV transmitter.  Before leaving, we enjoyed a picnic among the ruins.

Checking out the Theatre Romain.

You really can hear the person on stage, if they talk at a normal level.  

View from above.

Looking over at Basillique Notre Dame de Fourviere, with the small Eiffel Tower off to the left.

Basillique Notre Dame de Fourviere

A beautiful mosaic inside of Joan d'Arc.

Central Lyon 

While Jeff worked in the afternoon, the kids and I explored the old town of Lyon.  We saw Cathedral St-Jean Baptiste, before grabbing some ice cream and stopping along the river to throw rocks.  We also stumbled upon a police parade in central Lyon, where police cars drove around a busy square, blaring their sirens, while people cheered them on.  The kids and I then grabbed dinner at Chamas Tacos, which can only be described as the best tacos we have ever eaten, at least in the past year.  (Mexican food is rare here.)  

Saying good-bye to Jeff, as he heads off to work.

This magnificent clock was inside Cathedral St. Jean Baptiste in the old town of Lyon.

Vieux Lyon.

Enjoying some ice cream!

Another view of Vieux Lyon.

Skipping rocks along the Rhone River.

A quick stop at the hotel to say "hello" to Jeff.

Police parade.

Chamas Tacos

The next two days we were quite aggressive in what we covered.  But the kids did great, especially when we were able to reward them with ice cream and swimming.  On Friday, we woke up early and left Lyon to do a tour of Romas ruins throughout the Rhone Valley and Provence.  We stopped first in Vienne where we visited a museum of Roman ruins.  We loved this little town, especially the Temple d'Auguste et de Livie that resided in the heart of the old town.  It was built in 10 BC to honor Emperor Augustus and his wife, Livie.   

A few items from Musee Gallo-Romain - Mosaics

Model of a Roman town.

Roman art

Model of a Roman boat.

I thought this mosaic of a duck was funny.

After the museum, we were able to walk among Gallo-Roman city ruins

I just love these old Fiat cars.

Will posing in front of the Temple d'Auguste et de Livie.

After Vienne, we took a brief detour to visit Caverne du Pont d'Arc.  I had read about it that morning in the guide book and knew the kids would love it.  In 1994, a cave was discovered with original paintings dating back 36,000 years.  In order to preserve it, Caverne du Pont d'Arc was created, which is the biggest replica cave in the world.  This cave contains over 1,000 paintings and 450 bones.  We were all incredibly impressed by this complex.  We left there and drove along the Gorges de l'Ardeche and were surprised by incredible views that took our breaths away.  After stopping for ice cream in St. Martin-d'Ardeche, we got back to the Roman ruins.  

During this time, there were hairy rhinos!

First paintings they discovered where done with human palms. 

The second type of paintings they found were done by carving in the soft stone with a one's fingers.  

Further in the cave were these more detailed paintings.   

After the cave, we drove along the Gorges d'Ardeche to see this natural bridge called Pont d'Arc.

The rest of the 29 kilometer drive had many amazing views.

St-Martin-d'Ardeche

Refueling with ice cream.

We stopped in Orange to see Theatre Antique, Musee d'Art et d'Historie and their version of the Arc de Triumph.  We glided into Arles, in time for the kids to take a quick dip in the pool at Hotel Arles Plaza.  That night we ventured into a unique part of Arles for dinner.  It felt like we were transported to a small Italian village.  Other than poor Will being eaten alive by bugs, we enjoyed a wonderful evening of pizza under that stars.

Theater Antique in Orange.

Even I think the Coke is better in France, and I don't drink pop!

Orange's version of the Arc de Triumph - a big disappointment!

Finally, time to swim at the hotel in Arles.

Dinner out in Arles at Les 22.

Walking home.

The next day we packed in even more Roman ruins!  The kids were amenable, knowing that we would be heading to the beach the next day.  We woke up and explored the historic part of Arles, with Les Arenas (90 AD) and Theater Antique (1st century BC).  We then headed over the Nimes to see their Les Arena.  This one was quite spectacular because it was better preserved.  It was built in 100 BC and could hold about 24,000 people.  We also got to walk on the grounds of the arena, which made it fun to visualize being a gladiator.

Ready for the day!

Walking in the old city of Arles.

Vincent van Gogh found inspiration here.

Just a little leg kicks to "kick" off the first sight - Les Arenas in Arles.

Les Arenas of Arles.

View of Arles from near the top.

It was fun to see all the shells imbedded in the rocks.

The remains of the Theatre Antique of Arles.  Again, another set of high kicks by Edy and Will.

The details on the column was impressive.

In Nimes, we headed to our second Les Arenas for the day!

Edy and Will had it all to themselves.  

Here they are standing shoulder-to-shoulder.  

Their view of us (at the very top) taking their picture!

Symbol of Nimes - the crocodile.

We then headed to the one Roman ruin we were most excited to see, Pont du Gard, the old Roman aqueduct, that was built in 19 BC to help move water from Uzes to Nimes.  Jeff and I enjoyed the exploring, while the kids loved swimming.  Edy even joined the big kids and jumped off the cliffs into the Gard River.  

Walking towards Pond du Gard.

Impressive!

Sometimes I need to take a selfie to prove I am with these three!

Pont du Gard over Gard River. 

Crossing the Pond du Gard.

View down to the Gard River.

Love these two!

Jeff is explaining to the kids that the water flowed along the top of the bridge.

Jeff met a very nice French man, whom he got to talk to for quite a long time.

Meanwhile, the kids went swimming in the Gard River.

Edy getting ready to jump!

Ready...

set...

Done!

Jeff looking very French!

We drove from there to Avignon for ice cream and to explore within the old city walls.  Avignon is where the pope resided during the early 14th century.  We saw from the outside the Palais des Papes and Pont St-Benezet, which has special meaning for Jeff, as it was mentioned in a French song he learned years ago while taking beginning French.  Jeff and I agreed that Avignon would definitely be a city that we would go back to in a heart beat.  The same was true for Aix-en-Provence, where we headed next for dinner.  Again, we walked around the old city and had a lovely dinner at Le Coquet.   

Avignon

As promised, ice cream!

Yum!

Papal Palace

The famous Pont St - Benezet Jeff remembered from a French song.  The kids were done with Roman ruins.

Jeff taking a picture of where Cezanne died in Aix-en-Provence.  

Aix-en-Provence

Dinner at Le Coquet.

Aix-en-Provence had many outdoor eating options within the old city.

Does anyone else love L'Occitane products?  They are from Aix-en-Provence!

There were many foundations in Aix-en-Provence.

After a spectacular day, we drove to Marseilles for the night.  I have to admit I didn't know much about Marseilles before going there.  But first impressions are strong in Marseilles.  Our guide book said that "grit and grandeur coexist seamlessly in Marseille."  We unfortunately decided to arrive after 10:00 p.m. on a Saturday night.  It was also the summer solstice, so many people were out celebrating.  We knew it would be bad when Google Maps said it would take 20 minutes to drive 2 kilometers.  Our hotel was less than ideal.  Add to that the kids had their own room, and it meant Jeff and I didn't sleep well that night. 

The next morning, we had hopes to go to the famous Chateau d'If, from Alexandre Dumas' 1844 book, The Count of Monte Cristo.  Unfortunately, it was too windy so no boats were going out to the island.  Instead, we walked around Vieux Port to the Jardin du Pharo, before climbing to the top of the city for the incredible views from Bascilque Notre Dame de la Garde.   

Vieux Port - the old port of Marseilles.

Panoramic view of Vieux Port.

Happy Father's Day, Jeff!

Fish for sale!

Many impressive boats.

Jardin du Pharo

Looking back towards Marseilles.

Heading up to the highest point in Marseilles.

Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde

View form the Basilique.

This is the closest we got to Chateau d'If.

Before we left Marseilles, we came across this store.  

One of two family photos we got the entire trip!

By that point, we were all ready for some down time, so we headed into Nice.  Because we had enough credit with Hotels.com we were able to upgrade and stay at a really nice place, AC Hotel Marriot, along the Promenade des Anglais.  We spent the afternoon on the rocky beaches of Nice, before heading to the rooftop terrace for dinner.  We retired early for an evening of reading and relaxing.  

Nice, with its rocky beaches!

It felt cold at first!

Much better!

Looking down towards the old town of Nice.

The next morning I woke up and ran along the boardwalk of Nice.  It was quite humid, but I was still able to get in four miles.  After breakfast, we headed out to the beach again.  Thanks to there being hardly any tourists, we were able to request a 2:00 p.m. checkout!  We then headed into Nice to explore.  After grabbing lunch at our favorite food chain, Paul, Jeff and Edy headed off to the Chagall Museum, while Will and I explored.  We first road the tram to the harbor.  We saw the WWI and WWII memorial of Nice, before heading to the highest point for great views and an awesome climbing structure.  We all met back together for Amorino ice-cream before heading to Menton.  

What incredible views I got to experience on my morning run.

Unfiltered!

Looking back into Nice from a pier in the harbor.

Morning swim.

Will using the map to plan our route on the tram.

Nice Harbor

Will found the coast guard boats.

WWI and WWII Memorial

I couldn't resist taking Will back to this sign. 

We climbed up 360 steps to Colline du Chateau for this view...

and this view...

and a view of Will enjoying his view.

Heading back into Nice we came across this wall remembering all the Jews from Nice that we killed during WWII.

Heading down,

down,

down.

A few pieces of art that Edy and Jeff saw at the Chagall Museum.

As I mentioned before, we were supposed to rent an apartment from a distant relative of Jeff's for the last three months of our time in France.  We had hoped to visit a few times from Paris.  On Monday night, we were finally able to see the place we would have been renting.  Jeff's nice relatives allowed us to stay there for 4 nights.

The front gate,

leads into this narrow staircase,

up some more stairs,

to our Menton home!

A panoramic view!

Cousin Jean taking us to the store for food, before heading to the beach.

Edy, Jean, and Will at the beach.

The rocks are smaller at the Menton beaches.

After swimming, Will got to relax in the garden before dinner.

Not a bad place to have dinner.

The next morning Edy asked me to join her at 5:15 a.m. to watch the sun rise on the beach.  We both went back to bed and sleeping in for the first time in several days.  Edy and Will then got to enjoy Jean's pool in the back of his home.  Edy enjoyed it because it had the jets that allowed you to swim in place.  Will enjoyed it because it had the jets of a hot tub.  In addition to swimming, we also tried to fry an egg on the edge of the pool.  It was really hot!  After lunch, we headed back to the beach for some more ocean swimming.  Jeff and Edy even got in some swimming, while Will and I stayed closer to shore.

We had another lovely dinner out in the garden before helping Jean with some yard work.  I had never seen anyone tie palm branches to the top of their car before.  We turned in for the night, but set our alarms for 2:00 a.m. so we could wake up and see the International Space Station.

The sunrise was 5:49 a.m.

Loving the salt water pool built into the cliff in back of Jean's house.

Is it hot enough to fry and egg?

Pretty close. 

Jeff and Edy are way out there!

A few photos of Menton.

Hotel de Ville

Will was exhausted after another day of swimming.  

Helping Jean load up the palm branches on top of his car.

Some lemons in his garden.

Beautiful flowers everywhere.

View of the ISS at 2:00 a.m. from Menton.

On Wednesday, we decided to hike from Menton to Monaco, along the coast.  We wanted to add yet another country to our list.  Monaco would be our 10th country for the year!  The only problem was that we were unclear if it was 9 kilometers or 9 miles.  It ended up being 9 miles. 

Leaving Menton.

Heading for around that point, Cap Martin.

Looking back at Menton.

Our route!

Our first views of Monaco.

I love this stone work along the path.

Above these cliffs are the train tracks.

Once in Monaco, we did what everyone MUST do and we visited a Starbucks.  The kids and Jeff enjoyed a cool drink, while we at our picnic lunch.  We then went to see the famous Monte Carlo Casino.  Unfortunately, it didn't open until 4:00 p.m. so we couldn't go in and see it.  The kids and I then decided to go to the Musee Oceanographique de Monaco, while Jeff took the train back to Menton to work.  

Entering our 10th country this year!

What do you do when you arrive in Monaco?  You get a cool drink from Starbucks!

The famous curve of Monte Carlo's Grand Prix.

Fairmont Hairpin

Monte Carlo's famous casino - Will, Jeff, and Edy.

Edy, Betsy, Will

Monte Carlo 

Tribute to the first winner of the Grand Prix de Monaco - April 14, 1929 - William Grover known as "Williams."

A few more pictures of Monaco.

Heading up to the museum.

The museum was excellent.  We especially enjoyed the air conditioning.  

Will was thrilled that they had one of the first submarines.

One entire floor was devoted to Prince Albert I (1848-1922) career in the field of oceanography.  He dedicated this museum in 1910.    Jacques-Yves Cousteau was the director at this museum from 1957-1988.

From the top of the museum I was able to point to where we started our hike in Menton.

The kids and I then took the train back to Menton.  After a brief break back home, we headed to a different beach in Menton.  Will and I liked this one better because it was made up of smaller rocks, there were more kids, and it is the perfect place to skip rocks.  

The view behind me at this beach.

Thursday was our last full-day in Menton.  Jeff and I woke up early to walk to Italy.  Menton is right on the border of France in Italy.  We thought it would be fun to say we walked in three countries within 24 hours.  We grabbed some pastries on the way back and headed home.  We then spent most of the day at two different beaches around Menton.  

In Italia!

Back in France!

Approaching the old city of Menton.

Winding through the streets of the old city.

Jeff, Edy, and Will headed out to see some fish.

That night, we went out to dinner with Jean and Nicole.  Jean called ahead and had a restaurant, La Pergola Beach, open just for us.  (As an aside, their card advertises that you should come here for Marriages, Baptisms, Anniversaries, and Divorces!)  He preordered sea bass for all of us and we had a delicious meal of the fresh catch of the day.  It was a magical evening.

Nicole and Jeff

Jean and Will

These three.

When left alone with the camera... 

...you never know...

...what you might get!

This might be one of my favorite photos of the year.

Nicole, Edy, Will, and Jean

Walking (or dancing) home through the streets of Menton.

On Friday, we said good-bye to Jean and Nicole before heading back towards Nice to catch a train back to Paris.  On our way, we stopped by the hilltop city of Eze, because I had heard how beautiful it was, and because we selfishly wanted to add another dot on our France map.  That made a total of 16 for just this trip alone.

Jeff and my room/sitting room

Our kitchen/Edy'a bed/shower

Entryway

Our second kitchen/shower

Will's bed/dining room

Jean cut some lemons for us to take back to Paris.

Saying good-bye.

Hilltop city of Eze.

We all enjoyed the relaxing six hour train trip back to Paris.  I have to admit it was worth the extra 19 euros to sit in first class.  It also gave us good practice for next week when we need to wear our masks for 10 hours, on our flight home.

Nice train station.

One last photo in front of a train.

Family photo!

Home!

We really enjoyed whirlwind trip but as always, it was good to arrive back home to Paris on Friday night.  We knew we only had 7 days left so we got busy making the most of it.  How, you ask?  The kids crashed and enjoyed having space away from their parents and Jeff and I did something we have never done before.  We had a date at the local laundry mat, since our washing machine broke.  It was magical, because it was in Paris.

16 new dots!

Two loads of laundry washed in 40 minutes!

Seven days left!  I better sign off, there is still so much to do!
Love,
Betsy