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Published: January 21st 2023
Dear All
After a really amazing start to my pre-Christmas mini-trip to Monaco and the south of France, I bade farewell to my time in the second smallest country in the world, as I headed towards a bus stop for a bus which would take me back to France. My apartment building was right at the top of the Monaco mountain side, and I was pretty much heading straight down to the central Place d'Armes - there were so many steps down, and I really couldn't imagine doing the route in reverse. My knees were aching not long into this step-filled journey, and this was just going down! I could have taken the train again back to Nice, but had read about this amazing bus connection, which at 1.5 euros was not only a serious bargain, it was also a seriously beautiful journey hugging the beautiful Cote d'Azur coastline all the way. I fortunately got a window seat on the left side of the bus, to drink in the amazing views.
After only a few minutes, the bus left Monaco, and blinking you would miss this highly inconspicuous border. To the astute eye though, it was really quite noticeable
Fort Royal
Ile Sainte-Marguerite- the streetscape instantly transformed from built-up, jam-packed high-rise chic, glitz and gleaming surfaces, to quite simply space, low buildings, much grime, shabby and shabby-chic. The contrast was partly imperceptible if you weren't expecting it, and partly amazing if you were. I loved the 50-minute journey, with its amazing views over the azure waters of the very aptly-named Cote d'Azur, listening to the soundtrack to a Japanese Studio Ghibli film I had purposefully downloaded onto my MP3 Player for this journey, "Arrietty" - I often try to create a soundtrack for my journeys, one that is linked to the country I'm visiting, so when I return home and listen to the music again, I'm reminded of so many different places in the world. This soundtrack was written by French Celtic folk singer and harp player Cecile Corbel, and is just beautiful, light and airy music to listen to while travelling through this country - France always has an air of charm, lightness and beauty about it, and I planned to listen to such a soundtrack as I travelled through such a land.
Nice was nice (I just had to say that!), spread out and open, and a bit rough
Abbaye de Lerins
Ile Saint-Honorat around the edges - it was more of an urban city than Monaco with a bit of an edge in places. Cannes, later on my journey, felt more like a return to Monaco - I found Cannes to be France's answer to Monaco, being more upmarket, international and lush.
The bus dropped me off in Nice's port, where I took a cafe au lait to take away by the yachts, noting that every settlement along this coastline seemed to have its own collection of yachts at harbour, from the tiny to the massively luxurious - Nice was no different. I took a walk past a very small fish market with just one stall offloading the day's catch, around the Coline du Chateau, or Castle Hill, and up to a viewpoint on this hill for awesome views over the curved coastline of Nice below. The view took in the crystal clear azure waters, backed by elegant French beauty and seriously classy buildings, surrounded all around by curvaceous hills covered in forests of cypress and juniper trees - it was beautiful! I met and talked with a nice British Airways pilot up there who was on a short stopover in the
city before flying back to the UK that evening. After the hill, I walked along the sea front and interacted with a lovely French couple who took my photo and complimented me on my French (yay!), and then headed into the city for lunch at a lovely pavement cafe. I had the Plat du Jour of chicken, potato and a delicious mustard-based sauce, sitting on the pavement for some good old-fashioned French-style people-watching! I then had a lovely walk through charming Old Nice, learning that the city has in fact recently been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, and this part of the lovely city certainly showed me why, with its narrow alleyways and beautiful shutter-windowed buildings with flower boxes. I then headed along the more modern Avenue Jean Medecin through new Nice, past the Basilique de Notre Dame de l'Assomption, seeming a miniature and much more modern version of Paris's own Notre Dame Cathedral, but unfortunately the church was closed along with all other churches and museums on a Monday in France. I finally headed to the train station, after a lovely day in nice Nice, to head to my last destination for the day - my accommodation in Cannes.
Upon arrival at Cannes station, it was already dark, and I did not see much at this time as I was just intending to take a bus to take me three miles or so into the northern suburbs of this very famous French city, to check into another wonderful accommodation for a seriously bargain price. This was a self-contained room with en-suite in the basement of a gloriously quaint French country house with lovely garden views, a whole world away from the hustle, bustle, noise and energy of Monaco. I enjoyed my time in this accommodation very much, it was very peaceful. After stocking up at a nearby hypermarche, with some seriously hyper people doing their Christmas shopping, I settled in for a very peaceful first night in Cannes.
The next day was to be a day of exploring Cannes and around. It was a serious day of contrasts, with firstly the deliciously quiet Iles de Lerins, followed by the hedonism, fashion and film star galore of Cannes. I noted on arrival and throughout my stay there that everyone was just so polite, and again, not snobby as I had expected. On the buses for example, passengers would
invariably say "merci monsieur, au revoir" to the bus driver as they got off, even through the middle and back doors, shouting it down the bus even. I first saw a group of American Mormons do it, thinking they were overdoing the politeness a bit, but then I noticed everyone else doing it, and happily followed suit myself. Perhaps it was the beautiful views and gentle climate which make people a little more relaxed there than elsewhere.
I took a bus into town again and onto the port, to head for my first of the two Iles de Lerin - the Ile Saint-Marguerite. The two islands, this one along with Ile Saint-Honorat to its south, lie only 15 and 30 minutes by ferry off the coast of Cannes, and are separated from each other by a narrow strait only half-a-mile or so wide, but there are no interconnecting ferries between the two. Thus, to visit both, you have to take one ferry to one and then back again to Cannes, and then another ferry to the other, and then back again. This was no biggie though, as I loved the ferry rides off the coast of France's Cote d'Azur,
with awesome views out over the Mediterranean, and back again to the mainland, and even on to the snow-covered French Alps visible in the far distance - it was a place of amazing beauty!
This first island, the Ile Sainte-Marguerite, is home to the Fort Royal, notorious for having housed the Man in the Iron Mask prisoner. I was the only tourist on the ferry, along with a few island workers, and the only tourist during my time there - this was perfect! One of the workers on the island told me there are around 10,000 visitors there per day in the summer, and I was sure glad I wasn't there then. The Fort Royal was amazing to explore, so run-down and desolate, but brimming with history and many tales to tell I'm sure. Not least of all, the tragic story of the Man in the Iron Mask. No-one really knows the true identity of this poor man, who was held prisoner with a brutal iron mask hiding his identity for 34 years in total at four separate prisons until he died in 1703. Speculation based on Alexandre Dumas's novel points to him being the twin brother of French
monarch King Louis XIV, hence the need for a disguise for his identity should he wish to claim the French throne for himself, but since French Queens used to give birth in front of many people, with nobody claiming there were two babies at Louis XIV's birth, many have dismissed this theory. Still, I had watched the Leonardo DiCaprio film of the story before I visited to give me an idea of the story, and this theory very much stayed in my mind during my visit. He was apparently kept in this prison for 11 years, from 1687 to 1698, and you can visit the cell where he was kept. I was surprised at the relative comfort he was afforded there, as the cell was large, around three by five metres, with a high ceiling, fireplace, latrine, and a window with an amazing view back to the mainland and the snowy Alps beyond, although this window had three separate sets of iron bars and a twenty metre sheer drop to the sea below. Such conditions for a prisoner do hint that he must have been someone important, aristocratic or regal even. The mystery remains of course.
After exploring the
fantastically run-down Fort Royal, I took a short walk through the island's forest and along its stunning coastline, before heading for my boat again back to Cannes.
I actually had an hour-and-a-half to kill before my next ferry back to the other island, so took advantage of the time to walk up nearby Le Suquet hill for awesome views over the port and city of Cannes below, and a lovely church called Notre Dame d'Esperance, seemingly dedicated to sailors and the maritime. Inside was an amazing Nativity scene, whereupon paying just one euro, you got to hear a lovely music box rendition of various Christmas carols, and amazing little animated features moving throughout the whole scene - this was just lovely, and really put one in the mood for Christmas!
Back to the ferry dock again, I headed on to Ile Saint-Honorat, a much smaller island to the south of Sainte-Marguerite, belonging completely to the Cistercian monks of the Abbaye de Lerins. I loved this place, it was very much a monastic island and very unique to visit. Silence and modest decorum are observed, and the place was very very peaceful. I circumnavigated the whole island, admiring its
gorgeous coastline and beautiful forested walks, as well as the monks' various vineyards. I saw a couple of the monks discretely walking around, presumably tasked with their duties of creating lots of products which they sell in the monastery shop, including various wines and liqueurs, candles and chocolate. The only rude person I met on this whole trip was ironically the lady working in this shop, and was really quite unexpected in such a holy place. She said something to me while I was browsing, and I asked her to repeat one of the words as I said I didn't understand it. She then noticed I was foreign, rolled her eyes, and turned away from me. When I came to paying, I told her in French "you should smile a bit more, life is better with a smile", and pointed to my own smile on my face. She muttered something to herself, and then for some reason she became truly and meaningfully friendly to me after this, asking where I came from and so on. I saw her a couple more times around the island, and she would again meaningfully smile and greet me each time, and I don't think
she was being sarcastic at all. Perhaps she had indeed realised how rude she had been and wanted to make up for it - I didn't expect that! I bought some monastery liqueur and chocolate for gifts, and then headed to the dock for the last boat off the island for the day, as the sun was setting - I seriously did not want to miss that boat!
Back in town, I experienced a serious contrast, from solitary, peaceful, forested monasticism, to the hedonous glitz and glamour of Cannes. The city is France's version of Hollywood, hosting the famous Cannes Film Festival every year in May. I visited the Palais des Festivals where all the stars line up and are photographed during the festival on its famous red carpet there, having my photo taken on it along with many others, and walked the Walk of Fame with handprints of the various stars who'd been in town over the years - from the Sean Conneries and Bridget Bardots of the golden age, to the Leonardo DiCaprios and Nicole Kidmans of the modern day. There was a real air of glamour about the place, and I loved it. Opposite the Palais
was a very interesting Hannukkah festival being celebrated on the beachfront by seemingly the city's Jewish community, with some seriously heavy police and military presence - it saddened me to think why this was needed. Opposite this, there was a very interesting row of shops, perhaps the most expensive and luxurious collection of fashion brands one can think of, all lined up next to each other along a mere hundred metre strip of shopfront - Chanel, Bulgari, Dolce and Gabbana, Rolex, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton and many more. Some people must go on a serious shopping spree there when they come to town!
I was glad to be heading on the bus back again to my calming accommodation after such high life experiences, and settled in for my final night on this amazing trip.
The next morning it was raining heavily, and when I awoke I was just so tempted to take advantage of the accommodation's late check-out time of 12pm, but I did have time to do a little bit more sightseeing before my flight home, following a recommendation already in the bag by my fellow travel blogger Bob, also confirmed by travel blogger Per-Olof.
This was to visit nearby Antibes, with both saying it was their favourite place on the Cote d'Azur - I pushed myself through the rain to take them up on their recommendation, and ended up glad to have done so. I also noticed that the famous Mediterranean seaside resort of Juan-les-Pins was also nearby, a mile away from Antibes, and I was intrigued to visit this too as its name pops up in the lovely and very enigmatic "Where do you go to my Lovely" song by Peter Sarstedt. The protagonist of this song has always fascinated me, and I'd not wish to pass up the chance of visiting the very place where she got an even sun tan on her back, and on her legs, from her carefully designed swimsuit (!).
Thus, despite the heavy raindrops falling outside, I packed my bags, donned my raincoat and umbrella, and wrapped my backpack in its rain cover - all of which kept me and my things surprisingly dry on this wet day. I checked out and bade farewell to the lovely French country cottage, and took a bus to Cannes's SNCF train station, heading first to Juan-les-Pins with the song's
tune and words in my head the whole time. The resort was unsurprisingly posh and upmarket, on this already posh and upmarket coastline - it was like the creme de la creme if you will, where the very rich and famous famously come. Most of the beach was portioned off by private restaurants and resorts, so I imagine when you do get your even sun tan, on your back and on your legs, that you are surrounded by very swish and upmarket people. The rain seemed to get heavier on arrival, and it didn't seem so posh and upmarket though while dodging raindrops! I sat in a seafront cafe to wait out the heaviest of the downpour, and enjoyed a cafe au lait while admiring the view. When the rain eased off a bit, I headed a bit along the coast, and then walked through the glitzy backstreets with their closed-up luxurious shops, and headed over the isthmus of the Cap d'Antibes peninsula towards Antibes itself, around a mile away. This is a famous fort town on the Cote d'Azur, built at a time when France was defending its coastline from Saracen attacks in medieval times, a far cry to
the peaceful holiday destination the area has become today. As such, many towns in the area have forts and city walls, adding an air of history for the tourist in between sun lounging in the summer. Antibes also has lovely city sea walls, with old towers and buildings, and the old town is filled with tiny networks of alleyways and cute French terraces throughout. After lots of photos of this photogenic place, and with the rain easing a little, I had lunch in another pavement cafe, with another lovely Plat du Jour, this time Lasagne, before heading off to the train station to make my way back to Nice Airport for my flight home again.
The flight home was fine, and I got talking to a really friendly guy who works as a police officer in the north of England, down in the south of France for a short trip to buy a house for the summer. He had a very tragic story to tell, but also very uplifting, and reminded me that life is very much for the living, and the beautiful appreciation of what we have. It was a memorable encounter.
The plane flew directly over
the French Alps on the way home, which gave me a great taster for my next mini-trip, post-Christmas this time. I'll be writing up about this trip also, to my second of these three European micro-states I'll be visiting over the winter - Liechtenstein, and the nearby Tyrolean Alps of Austria - I'm excited! My German isn't quite as good as my French, so I've been building this up a bit over these last few months, and am looking forward to being able to practise this soon.
So until then, thanks for reading, and all the best until the next time - a bientot, und bis bald!
Alex
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
This house was for sale...
when I vacationed in Antibes in the early '80's. I was really tempted to purchase it!