Nice to Paris: A Trying Day

Nice to Paris, A Trying Day

We left our small apartment in Vence on Friday morning around 7:50 am.  Our flight to Paris from Nice did not leave until 1:00 pm so the plan was to gas up the rental car, drive to the local McDonald's and have a long breakfast and enjoy the free WiFi - only to discover they wouldn't open for another hour.  So we headed toward Nice and the GPS found us another one.  Now don't laugh! We know we're in France and who goes to McDonald's with all those wonderful sidewalk cafes!  It's the free and reliable WiFi!!  Anyhow, we were also next to a Carrefour grocery store.  Tons of people streamed in when they opened the door so I just had to go do a little exploring there!  

This is the largest grocery store I have ever seen in France and it serves as the entrance to a very big mall. It's in some way like our malls with Carrefour being the anchor.  Carrefour is the equivalent Super Walmart. I walked around the mall and found a store called "Texas", although looking through the window I didn't see anything related to Texas. Folks we've met on our travels, especially foreigners, respond positively when we say we're from Texas. It's gotten to the point when they ask what country we're from we say Texas! Always gets a smile.

Texas store with French clothing

Video gaming is big with the French also

as well as your local Nike shop

We finished breakfast and traveled the four miles to the airport.  The Nice Airport has two terminals, one domestic and one international.  We "assumed" that we would leave from Terminal 1 just like always. I dropped MA off there and I drove to Terminal 2 to return the rental car. I hopped on the shuttle bus and found MA right back where I had left her. We gathered our suitcases and went inside to check in and relax before our 1:00 pm flight.  One problem, Air France was not in Terminal 1.  Domestic flights such as Paris and Euro zone counties apparently leave from Terminal 2.  So we moved our bags back to the shuttle bus and got over to Terminal 2.

One look at what was waiting for us quickly reminded me of an old Air Force management saying about the five P's of performance. They are "prior planning prevents poor performance." The check-in procedure we went through surely needed some prior planning!

This is because it was here that the "try-one's-patience" part of the journey began.  We looked at where we were to check in and found a line of nearly 200 folks ahead of us.  Air France (or the airport staff) only had 3-5 agents on duty, for all of us and this depended on who was going on break or lunch.   We waited in line for about 2 hours. I was very glad we had arrived there so early.  When it was finally our turn, the agent was still smiling.  Amazing! We cleared security fairly easily, went to the gate, had a snack, and they called our flight for boarding.

I took this photo of the 3 stations handling all those people as we left to go through security.

We were in the first group to board because our seats were in the last row on the left.  The flight was nice, European flight attendants are great! We landed in Paris around 2:45 pm and made our way to the baggage claim area.   MA's red suitcase arrived right away.  Mine never made it.  MA's French lessons kicked in right on cue for this situation.  She got us some directions to the Lost/Delayed Baggage office and took control of the situation, beginning a long conversation in French with the Air France employee.  I was impressed.  All those French lessons! 

The agent was very cordial, very professional, checked our baggage claim and right away he told us: "Your suitcase is still in Nice." He assured us that he would have the bag sent on the next  flight and would see to it that it was delivered to our hotel.

Well there was nothing I could do about it.  I was upset at first but that didn't do any good.  I'll remember to pack a second change of clothes in my carry-on from now one.  Our hotel, the Novotel, is right at the airport, making our departure tomorrow really much easier. We caught the shuttle train to terminal 3 and walked straight into the lobby. 

Realizing we were pretty tired, we stayed "in", having a nice meal at the hotel restaurant.  Oh! My suitcase did arrive at 9:45 pm and all is well. It's now Sunday morning and we're are getting ready to take the train into Paris. Final blog for this trip to be written on board United Airline tomorrow!  Thanks for tuning in.

Tourrettes sur Loup with Nola and Randy

Tourrettes sur Loup with Nola and Randy

One of our favorite villages in the south of France is Tourrettes sur Loup, partly because Nola (MA’s sister) lived here for many years working at the Burger Bistro, an American owned restaurant that years ago was very popular with the famous and the not so famous.  Tourrettes is about 20 minutes north of Vence. As you will see from the pictures, one can quickly be transported back several hundred years imagining what life was like when the stone houses and cobble stone streets were built. 

We have a favorite restaurant we always go to with Nola and Randy.  We each ordered something different, well except for Nola and me: “Croque Monsieur” each, (grilled ham and cheese).  MA had “une salade avec gambas” (shrimp salad) and Randy had the “plat du jour” which was pork with fresh green beans.  After lunch we strolled around, got some ice cream, I took some pictures and we headed back to Vence.

Randy & Nola

Nola & Mary Alice

Table water is served in blue bottles in Provence

Our favorite hangout in Vence is Henry’s, THE most popular spot in town.  Nola and Randy know the owners and our favorite waiter Yves who greeted MA today with kisses on both cheeks, very French! We had coffees and called the day a huge success.  Tomorrow we meet them again at Henry’s, but in the morning.  It’s open air market day in Vence, always a big and may I add fun event.  MA usually buys something to wear that she ends up not wearing after all. It probably looks OK in France, but Texas?  Who knows! We’ll have lunch at a local restaurant where the chef is a long-time friend of Nola and Randy’s. 

Then we’ll have to bid “adieu” until the next time.  MA and I have to put the apartment back the way we found it and pack our bags for two days in Paris. Then it’s home sweet home on Monday, arriving at midnight!  I’ll be up early Tuesday morning to get Tanner!!

A pictoral tour of Tourrettes sur Loup

St. Tropez for the Day

St. Tropez for the Day

If you’re a Hollywood star you know St. Tropez and where it is.  I’m not and had the pleasure of seeing it for the first time thanks to Chantal and Michel. We picked up Chantal’s father Maurice in the morning and headed to their place in Juan les Pins. From there we all embarked on our adventure of the day. I might add Michel has no problem with the A8 because he has an electronic device similar to our EZ Tag system. 

St. Tropez is a town on the Mediterranean Coast, on a beautiful small bay with deep blue water. It’s about an hour south of Nice. It first became famous because of Brigitte Bardot and then other film stars who followed her there.  In the summer it is known as the place to go party by the “elites” who come in on huge yachts and go from there.

St. Tropez is important for other reasons too, specifically Operation Dragoon in World War II.  On 15 Aug 1944 the Allies initiated a parachute drop that started with the 1^st Airborne Task Force and was followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army.  The next day brought a force from the French 1^st Army.  The landing caused the German Army Group G to abandon Southern France and retreat.  This invasion was well executed and highly successful but it was overshadowed by Normandy and D-Day on the 6^th of June. France erected a small monument here to mark their liberation by Allied forces. There is also a nearby American war cemetery where those killed in Operation Dragoon are buried.

All that being said, St. Tropez has since been a thriving, albeit congested little town on the French Rivera.  We stopped at the beach on the north side of the bay from St. Tropez to see the water.  I am amazed at how clear and blue the water is there.  We took some pictures along the waterfront and climbed back into the car and made our way into the public parking lot.

 

The small town has a protected harbor where boats from all sizes are moored.  When I say all sizes, I mean from row boat to multi-million dollar yacht. Lunch was next on the agenda. We found a great restaurant with outdoor seating.  It was fairly windy but too beautiful a day to eat inside.  Lunch was great and very expensive, but then one can’t expect to dine on a budget in St. Tropez.  I had spring rolls, MA had a great shrimp-avocado salad (we shared), and bread doused in olive oil.  Oh yes! And our ritual plate of French-French fries! Our three French friends ordered Steak Tartar (raw ground beef patties).  I’m not that French yet!

After lunch we walked around enjoying all the sights and doing some people watching.  Took some pictures for you.  Drive back was bumper to bumper for a while and then finally the A8 to Michel and Chantal’s to get our car and take Maurice home. We said our farewells and suggested they take a “vacation to rest up from our vacation”! We cannot thank them enough for their wonderful hospitality.

              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The next two days we spend with Nola and Randy and get ready to fly to Paris on Saturday.  We’ll be there until Monday and then come home to “Deep in the Heart of Texas”! Hope Tanner is not too miffed at our three-week journey to the “Heart of France! I’m sure a few long walks and some treats will set things right with him.

I think the 1st walk will heal whatever absent feelings he might have.

Saint Agnes: Lunch with a View

The Road up to Ste Agnes

Ste Agnes from below

Saint Agnes:  Lunch with a View!

Ste. Agnes is one of those beautiful perched villages that I read about and wanted to see two years ago but never had the time.  It’s about 20' km from Menton, France, the largest city on the French coast, immediately west of Italy.  We stay in a Village called Vence that sits in the mountains above Nice so the drive was downhill to reach the Auto Route A8.  No toll payment problems this time, we looked for the signs with the coins going into a basket!

As we began our climb up to Ste. Agnes, I could see why it’s known as the highest village in Europe. The road was the most difficult I have ever driven.  It not only included numerous curves, hills, blind corners and switchback turns, it also had bridges and stretches of highway that were only wide enough for one vehicle at a time.  It’s one of those “whoever is first in the lane wins the “right-of-way”!  Well, we made it up the 9 km mountain drive and arrived, happily finding an available parking lot just outside the village.  My first impression of the village looking up from the road was, how does one live in such an isolated place?  

Ste. Agnes is a pedestrian only village, sits 800 meters high.  The first thing we came upon was the village church.  I thought the bell-clock tower was cool, yellow against a blue sky.  As we began our walk we came upon a “Y” intersection, one high street, and one low street.  We took the low street because it looked easier for Mary Alice to walk on.

As the legend goes, Ste. Agnes was an Italian princess called Agnes who was fleeing a violent storm and had taken refuge in a cave in the village.  The original castle built there goes back to 1180.  The town held a strategic position for invading Italian troops in WW1.  Today, it has been declared one of France’s “Most Beautiful Villages.”

The View 

It was getting close to lunch time and in our wanderings we found the restaurant, Le Saint-Yves of Ste. Agnes.  We had originally just wanted coffee but watching the waiter carrying plates of food made us hungry.  I was not anxious to make the drive back down just yet.  We found a table on the terrace with a view like nothing else.  From there you can see the Mediterranean, mountains, valley and a distant village. We were given the menu which offered three course lunches, appetizer, entrée, and dessert. 

Le Menu (note the drawing of the wild boar at the bottom, should have been a hint!)

We, or rather MA, began talking to the two couples seated next to us.  They were eating a roast dish and it looked delicious.  We learned that they were from Paris and vacationing in Provence.  They suggested we try the sanglier. MA dug out her I-phone’s French dictionary and discovered sanglier is wild boar!  She is not a wild game eater so instead, we ordered “catcher’s mitt” flank steak. It’s a knick-name I’ve given to some of the beef steaks we’ve had. 

All that being said, the first course, appetizer, was a mushroom pate served with bread.  I thought it was ok. After realizing it was not goose live pate, MA tried it too.  My friend, the terrace kitty, loved it as well as bites of the catcher’s mitt steak.

We finished lunch, took a few pictures, bought some souvenirs and headed downhill.  

We decided to go back to Vence from the Var River road instead of the A8.  So we headed north following the Route de Grenoble, turning across the Var River and on up another mountain.  We saw several villages I would like to explore next time. 

We decided to stop at the last one before Vence, Sainte Jeannet.  This was almost a disaster.  I decided to drive in as far as I could to keep MA from walking up hill.  We found ourselves in a village with hairpin curves, blind intersections and streets so narrow I didn’t think I could made a left or right turn.  MA thought we were “boxed in” for life! Maybe they had “smart cars” in mind when they were built hundreds of years ago, but certainly not our four-door sedan. MA had to get out, get directions from the driver behind us and guide me inch by inch through two intersections.  To top it all off, there were cars behind us waiting for me to figure things out.  I managed the corners and made it back down to the main street.  I will not do that again!  I will not do that again! No way will I do that again! 

Back in Vence, Mary Alice wanted to get to a WiFi zone so we walked down to the garden plaza and the tourist office.  She played her “Words with Friends” and got her crossword puzzle started and we made the five block walk back to the apartment. I made spaghetti for supper, some of the best I’ve ever made and we called it a day.

One of the passageways we found in Ste Agnes

Menton from the road down from Ste Agnes (never saw it going up)

Monday was Nice, but Antibes was Lunch

Promenade des Anglais (on left)

Monday was Nice, but lunch was Antibes! (I’ll explain.)

Mary Alice (MA) and I had Monday to ourselves so we elected to go to into Nice (“neese”), heart of the French Rivera and take a tour of the city on the hop-on, hop-off bus. These buses have a running narrative as you drive around pointing out the sights and sharing some of the history. We have been into Nice before but never really got a tour except on a previous trip with Nola when we went into the "old town".  We didn't see all that much from the bus tour but it was still enjoyable. I think one would have to stay there for longer than a half-day to really get to know the city!

The problem with Nice and a lot of other French cities is they are super crowded with cars and people.  It makes getting around very difficult, especially when you're driving a stick shift car. Another reason why I prefer not to drive around in the congestion is that parking can be a huge problem.  I've noticed a lot of "creative" parking, up on sidewalks for example. We checked the locations where the  "Open Tour” bus stops.  The Nice train station (Gare Nice-Villa) was the easiest stop for us to drive to and park, so we programmed the GPS and we were off at 9:30.  

Promenade des Anglais, Mary Alice, our hop-on hop-off bus

We found the parking garage near the train station, the same one where we rented the car, got parked and made our way to the street.  We couldn't see any signs indicating our hop-on hop-off bus stop but then this is France and finding out things on your own is half the fun.  

We came across the tourist office by the train station, and by the way, the French tourist offices are everywhere and very helpful. The young lady said we were in the right area but the next bus wouldn't come for another forty minutes. 

She pointed out another stop we could get to, along the Promenade des Anglais, if we wanted to walk about 12 blocks.   We elected to go there walking through some interesting neighborhoods with many folks drying their laundry outside the windows! Heard a lot of different languages being spoken.  France has a huge immigrant population. Anyhow, we found our tour bus (with a sign!).  There would be about a 20 minute wait so we went and got some ice cream.

The Promenade des Anglais is a huge sidewalk that accommodates pedestrians, bicyclists, skaters, skateboards, but no cars.  It parallels the coast line along Nice. 

Nice Harbor

The bus tour was nothing spectacular but we did ride along around the port, then up a hilltop to the east and through a neighborhood with mega-million dollar villas. The stops included the Matisse Museum, and the Chagall Museum and back into Nice via the Train station.  

On the way we suddenly came to a screeching halt on a residential street where a delivery truck had double parked on the one side (more creative parking) and a big tour bus had parked on the other. The space looked too narrow for us.  The bus driver blew his horn, got out and tried to find the driver of the truck. No luck.  After about ten minutes, with cars behind us honking impatiently, someone came up and guided our driver through the narrow opening inch by inch. That was the biggest adventure of the tour! We probably should have gotten off at the Museums now that I think about it, although we're not really big museum folks. Still Matisse! Chagall! We'll do them another time. 

By the time the bus wound its way back to the train station, we were ready for new territory and, after all, it was lunch time! We decided on the Ville of Antibes, down a ways along the coast.

Excuse the focus, taken from a fast moving bus, this yacht
was big! No it was HUGE! 

Very French: Pedestrian, dog, sidewalk cafe

Arriving in Antibes we found a parking garage and began exploring this ancient old town.  Antibes is home to the Picasso Museum. (It too is on our bucket list for another time.) We found an outdoor restaurant and had a nice lunch followed by a short walking tour. Before we knew it it was time to head back to Vence before “rush hour”.  

Typical French cafe

Our apartment advertised internet access (a must for us) but come to find out after the fact, it was only via dial-up. Don't know about your computer but ours doesn't have the old-fashioned dial-up access port. MA found a pay as you go WiFi service online, which is so-so, kicks me off a lot!  

She also needed to know how many minutes she had left on her French cell phone, so we walked into Vence.  The local Orange cell phone store answered her questions. A few doors down is the local Tourist Office with free WiFi. We sat down by the plaza and MA signed on to her IPAD. Why is that important? That's how she plays Word with Friends with her son and a young friend (Dorothy) from church She also has a handy 5-day weather forecast app we like to check. MA was a happy camper and that made me a happy camper.  We "dined" in and enjoyed some creative French television shows. MA tries to keep me clued in on what's happening but they do talk pretty fast, even for her!  Later!!

Walk-up Bakery: Antibes

A great looking door knocker:  Antibes

Cool looking dress?

Antibes, Old Village

French architecture, Nice apartment building