Reflections on Europe

Reflecting back on this trip brings with it many good memories. Getting to Europe is always a trek and this time was no different, but once you are there it's so easy to get around. Trains, planes, and automobiles provided all the modes of transportation we needed to visit 6 countries in 2 weeks. That sounds a little much and the reality of it is that while our feet physically touched 6 countries during that time, we spent very limited amounts of time in most of them. Our major stops were Belgium and France, but we also hit the Netherlands, Italy, Monaco and Germany. 

This trip was different in that we had Z's mom travelling along with us. It was fun showing her around and playing a bit of a tour guide especially in Paris. Our worry was that our general pace of travel which is to see as much as possible would be a little too much for her, but she kept up nicely. It was also really great to meet some of her family and spend time with them getting to know them. 

I always love travelling to Europe. The countries and cities all have such a rich history, culture, and beauty to them. It's such a change from back home and it's a change that I absolutely love. The lifestyle there is so different and when I'm exposed to it makes me crave it for my own. We had a lot of really good food and perhaps a few too many tasty pastries and gelato. But as they say, when in Europe......

There are many good memories and experiences that I'll cherish but if I had to pick a favourite, I'd have to say was attending a match at the French Open. I am so happy that Z managed to get us tickets. It's always been a dream of mine to either see Wimbledon or the US Open live so to be able to see the French Open on the clay courts helped to satisfy that dream (for now). 

With so much of the world out there to explore, these globetrotters won't rest for long....so until next time....life is good!!

Some of the foods....

Waffle in Brussels

Panini lunch in Bruges, Belgium

Breakfast crepe on Champs d-Elysee, Paris

                                           

Lunch in Cannes (Z's not mine!!)

Making of crepe in Eze, France

Pesto lunch in Imperia, Italy

Creme Carmel in Monaco

Temptation in France

Dinner in Nice

Lunch in Freising, Germany

Nice

Nice was our final stop from which we based ourselves for the last 5 days of our trip. Situated on the south east coast of France right on the Mediterranean Sea, this was the perfect place to give us a taste of the French Rivera. We rented a two bedroom apartment which was really well located and only about a 15 minute walk to the old town. Our apartment was nice. The exterior and inside hallway left a little to be desired, but the apartment itself was modernly renovated with plenty of space and all that we needed for our stay. The only negative with this place was that in Z and my bathroom, the hot water tank was malfunctioning and so each day we needed to reset it so that we had hot water for our showers....it's not really a good feeling when the hot water runs out mid-shower.....what an annoying first world problem to have. 

In the end we had about 1.5 days to explore Nice itself because we used it as a base to visit Cannes, Eze/Italy, and Monaco. By this time in our trip I was definitely museum'd out and so visiting more museums or even cathedrals wasn't high on my list of things to do so really the amount of time we spent here was sufficient. I much rather enjoyed walking around the city streets admiring the fascinating architecture. The mix of old and new and just being astonished at how old some of the buildings were and how they have stood the test of time. It really does put our local buildings to shame not only on the age things but also on design and character. 

Nice has a charming waterfront boardwalk called Promenades des Anglais. The beach in front of this is rocky which I found a little unusual. The rocks are all very round and smooth, no real jaggedness to them, but walking on them barefooted was a little awkward. There is a small sandy area, but it looks like it was man-made sand area. Didn't bother us though and we spend a few hours soaking up the sun on the sand. The water was refreshing and while I didn't go swimming because I didn't feel like changing into my swim suit at the beach I did dip my toes in the water. Z on the other hand was more prepared and went for a swim and had a great time!

There are many squares in the city and a few that we really enjoyed were Place Massena, Place Garibaldi, Cours Saleya and Place du Palais. There are restaurants everywhere and with France's proximity to Italy a lot of these restaurants are Italian or serve Italian food. One other benefit of being so close to Italy is that there are plenty of places were you can buy gelato. Who would have thought gelato to be so readily available? Not I! We really liked one place in particular....Gelateria Azzurro, not only because they had the best pistachio gelato I've had since touring around Italy a few years back, but because they also had a floor mat with an awesome reference to Star Wars. 

There is a daily market at Cours Saleya which started out as a flower market but has expanded to a larger market. After getting a late start one day, we wondered down to Cours Saleya to check out the market. It was in the process of shutting down, but we did get a glimpse of the beautiful floral arrangements, fruit and vegetable stands. We wandered through the area after our beach time and found that where the market stood in the morning converted to restaurant patio space for the evening. Pretty cool to see the multi-use of this space. 

Nice has great park and people gathering space. There is one strip in particular called Promanade du Paillon that runs down the middle of one of the major streets where they have built a large children's play area spanning many city blocks. There is everything from swings to climbing areas and water fountains to help cool you off from the summer's heat. There's even park benches with covers to protect parents from the elements while their kids play. The park benches are also designed in a way that encourages social interaction, something that is really lacking back home. 

Place Massena is the start of a large shopping street. The Galleries Lafayette (a large shopping mall) are located here as well as many high end shops along the street front. We spent a little time walking this strip just taking in all the different name brand shops. 

My favourite area was the Old Town. This is where all the action and people are. Wandering through the cobble stoned maze of streets was captivating.... the vast number of restaurants mixed amongst the shops left you with an endless choice of where to dine or shop. Walking through this maze of streets made it easy to get lost, yet easy to navigate. Around every corner or fork you'd never know what exactly you'd find except you could anticipate there being a restaurant packed in the evenings with people or a local merchant trying to make a living. The discovery of something you might not have expected was the best part, like a lovely bakery enticing me with their exquisite display of pastries that were extremely hard to walk away from....thankfully I wasn't overly hungry at the time or that could have been a disaster because of my weakness for desserts. 

Nice has a one line tram running through the main part of the city to the train station. We found it handy as it was located only 2 blocks over from our apartment and it ran quite frequently. It wasn't really necessary for us to take it as we were about a 15 minute walk from all the areas that we were interested in visiting, but it gave us an opportunity to rest from all the walking we had been doing on this trip. We learned that buying the tram ticket at a tram station required a local's credit card, which we obviously didn't have. This  put us in a bit of awkward position. Thankfully Z's quick thinking and pleasant personality helped us persuade a local to buy us a multi-use ticket with her card and we reimbursed her with cash. 

Z's mom really wanted to see a French cabaret show and so we decided to take one in in Nice. We (and by that I mean Z) had read that the cabaret show in Nice was half the price and equally as good as the one showing in Paris so we saved this until Nice. We had to take the dinner and show option because the show only option was sold out. The price difference wasn't that bad, but unfortunately for me the dinner lived up to some of the reviews. Thankfully knowing in advance that I'd likely be disappointed with the dinner, gave me the opportunity to eat a snack beforehand to tie me over. The show itself was very impressive. The talent of the performers was phenomenal. The costumes didn't disappoint either. The one thing that surprised me though was that all the singing during the main show was in English. I was anticipating that it would all be French and that I wouldn't understand a thing so that was a really nice surprise. We were seated at a table with a solo guest who we learned was a friend of the general manager of the show. This turned out to be a bit of a perk because it resulted in our table being the first one served throughout dinner. 

Overall the stay in Nice was pleasant. I'd certainly consider a visit in the future and even perhaps in the summer season when the weather is hotter and swimming in the Mediterranean is the way to cool yourself off.

Office building (yes, it's a square head)                                      

                                                     Old town Nice

Monaco

When so close to Monaco it just makes sense to venture there for a quick visit. We took the train from Nice and 20 minutes later we were in Monaco. This sovereign city-state is the second smallest and most densely populated country in the world. At only 2.02 square km, it has a population of just over 36,000 and none of its citizens pay any taxes thanks mostly in part to the Monte Carlo casino; the main tourist attraction in the country. None of us being big gamblers, we did check out the casino however none of us wanted to pay the 10 Euro entry fee just to see the inside of the gambling area. You can take a peak at the atrium for free which is all marble floors with ornately decorated ceilings. You are. Not permitted to take pictures inside which is a shame because the atrium is quite beautiful.

One of the first things I noticed upon arriving in Monaco was how clean it is. There is no sign of litter anywhere. The other thing I noticed is how the riches of the country are very evident. The train station had marble everywhere including the floor. Not your typical train station.

We walked up the hill to the Prince's palace. From there you have incredible views of Monaco. We enjoyed a pleasant menu du jour at one of the restaurants found on a side street while still having a slight view of the castle. Afterwards we walked through the gardens which we originally thought were the Jardins Exotique but realized they were actually part of the palace grounds. The walk through these gardens afforded fantastic views of the Mediterranean as well as one of the marinas with numerous expensive yachts moored.

We read that engineering is a top profession in the country and that the average per capita income is roughly $188k Euro. Even though this info is a little dated, it helps explain all the expensive yachts and cars we saw....Ferraris, Maseratis, BMW's, Porsches were all common cars on the streets.

While we didn't spend any money on the casino, Z and I did enjoy a cafe au lait at Cafe du Paris and people watched. The Cafe is located just beside the casino and the cost of our two coffees was just over the casino admission fee. We also took one of the local buses which gave us a great view of the different areas within the country. The Monaco Grand Prix happened a few weeks earlier so we thankfully missed that on our visit. I can only imagine how busy it would be and not sure how traffic is managed because they race through the streets. You can still see some of the signs.

We took a bus back to Nice so that we could enjoy a scenic ride back and also so we would be dropped off closer to our apartment. We spent a great few hours in Monaco and had to make our way back to Nice for the evening because we had tickets to see a French Cabaret show.

                                              View overlooking marina. 

                                                     Path leading to palace. 

                                           Prince Albert II's palace. 

                                         Some of the many yachts in a marina. 

                                          Overlooking another marina. 

                                           Saint Nicholas Cathedral. 

                                         Musee Oceanographique in background. 
                  

Eze and Italy photos

                                         View of coastal drive to Italy. 

                                           Spices at Eze market. 

                                                      Streets of Eze. 

                                           View from garden atop Eze. 

                                                    Random building - Eze.

                                                   Church tower - Poggi, Italy.

                                                        Poggi, Italy. 

                                           Lunch in Poggi. 

                                         View from lunch stop in Poggi. 

                                                    1000+ year old olive tree. 

                                            Beach in Antichati, Italy. 

                                          Beach - Antichati, Italy. 

Cannes in photos

 

A Little Taste of Italia

We had rented a car when arriving in Nice and so Z planned a day where we would drive to Italy to give his a mom a little taste of Italia. First though was a stop at a hilltop medieval village in France called Eze which is on route to Italy. This quaint village is a must see. The village streets wind up the hillside and at the top you have a breathtaking panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea. The village sits about 427 metres above sea level. The oldest building in the village is the Chapelle de la Saint Croix and dates back to 1306. We visited the Jardins Botanique d'Eze which has an impressive collection of cacti and succulents from the Mediterranean area, Africa, and the Americas. The garden dates back to just after World War II. This is a charming village with shops and art galleries lining the narrow cobblestoned streets. It was a great pit stop on our way to Italy.

We chose the coastline route from Eze to Italy. While this route took longer to arrive at our destination, it provided some beautiful sights along the way of the cliff side towns and of course the Sea. And besides, it's all about the journey. It also is a way to avoid paying the motorway tolls which we paid on our way back to Nice and let me say that we have nothing to complain about with our few bridge tolls back home when compared to the cost here!!

Our next stop was Imperia, Italy. This coastal city dates back to around the 10th century. We stopped in the village of Poggi situated on the mountaintop. The drive up to this village was interesting...the roadway is very windy with several hairpin turns up the mountain. And it's a two-way street that looks like a comfortable width for a one-way street. Thankfully there wasn't much in the way of traffic heading in the opposite direction from us, but when there was Z did a fabulous job of maneuvering. There were severals gasps from Z's mom in the back seat regardless. Z found a great local Trattoria for us to have lunch at. This was as authentic as you can get....the staff only spoke Italian, there were no printed menus and the lunch menu was pretty much a set menu and if they ran out of an item then that was it for the day. We had pesto pasta as our primi course and it was the BEST pesto pasta I've ever tasted!! It was so fresh and incredibly divine. On the patio where we were seated with a fantastic view of the surrounding mountainside and sea, was a huge basil plant which I'm pretty sure is used as an ingredient in their cooking. We ordered red wine for all of us, and it was most likely locally brewed and it arrived in a glass jug. It tasted like a new wine and was a great compliment to our meal. Our secondi was a fresh lettuce and tomatoe salad, again pretty sure grown on the grounds or nearby. Z also had a milanese which was a thin breaded meat and grilled. Included of course was fresh bread. What a lovely authentic meal for Z's mom to experience for her first time in Italy. After we finished, the restaurant then closed for the afternoon.

After lunch we made our way to the Olive Oil museum in Imperia. We thought it would be fun to check this out seeing as we are on the Mediterranean and there are olive groves everywhere. The museum was quite informative and we also got to see an olive tree which is over 1000 years old. Olive trees apparently continue to produce olives indefinitely once they start producing after year 7.

We continued our journey along the coastline to a town called Antichita. This is a small town along the Italian Riveria. It seemed more like a locals town and most things were closing when we arrived around 6pm. We did find a great gelato shop open and indulged in some gelato. We also enjoyed a nice walk along the waterfront boardwalk before making our way back to Nice. Our final destination was supposed to be Finale Ligure however we thought that because things were closing in Antichita, that when we arrived in Finale Ligure chances were things would be closed there too; the drive was still about 1 hour.

This turned out to be a great day trip from Nice.....beautiful coastal views and quaint small towns giving a true Italian experience and the food was superb.





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Day trip from Nice

From Paris we took a train to Nice. Total trip was about 6 hours and it took us through the scenic countryside of France. Z with his wonderful planning determined it best we take a double decker train for this leg of the trip and secured us seats on the upper level. This gave us unobstructed views. We arrived in Nice early evening and decided it would be fun to stretch our legs a little after sitting on the train for so long. We walked from our apartment to old town Nice which is about a 15 minute walk. We grabbed a quick dinner at a donair/kebab place which unfortunately none of us really enjoyed (lesson here is don't necessarily settle for the first place y see even if you're really hungry), but after walking around a little, we found a gelato store and well who can resist the temptation of gelato? Even in France the gelato is very good....darn close to that Italian gelato!!

The following day we drove out to Cannes because I really wanted to see it. We were there just over a week after the Cannes Film Festival ended. While it might have been neat to see the film festival and all the fuss over the movie stars, I think it would have been to crazy busy!! It was nice and relaxed with not too busy with too many tourists. We walked along Plages de la Croisette which is the waterfront boulevard. We saw many of the extravagant hotels along the waterfront. One being the Carlton which we went into just to look around a little. Cannes has a street named Rue du Canada, so being Canadian tourists meant we had to take a bunch of photos with the street sign. How Canadian, eh?

We had a fabulous beach front lunch at a place called Plage du Gray d'Albion. This restaurant is attached to a hotel of the same name. We each ordered the menu du jour which for me consisted of a lovely chicken dish and fresh fruit salad for dessert. Z had the fish and fresh fruit tart and his mom also had the chicken and originally no dessert, but then got tempted by the fruit tart and ordered one after I promised to eat half. Our waiter was quite comical and made the experience that much better an our restaurants where the waiters have been a little.....how should I say this....snobbish. You can also rent beach chairs in front of the restaurant if you're wanting to do some sunbathing or swimming in the Mediterranean. We did see a couple fishermen outside the restaurant, perhaps catching the fish of the day? We wanted to explore the town after lunch, so didn't stick around for too long, but I did get a chance to dip my feet into the Mediterranean quickly. I ran out quite quickly because it was cold.

The Palais des Festivals et des Congres where the film festival is held was neat to see. The theatre itself isn't all that interesting to look at. I was actually a little disappointed because I thought it would be nicer. They must "dress" it up during the festival because it always looks nicer on TV. The theatre is right beside the marina where you can see a bunch of really expensive boats and yachts. We didn't see anyone famous while here, but the Esplanade du Palais has cut out figurines of different action figures where you can become that action figure. That was the closest to seeing a movie star. There is a visitor's centre in the area and just outside of it you can find imprints of various stars' hands.

From the marina we walked to an area called Suquet. This is a really nice little neighbourhood....somewhat hilly, but the streets are lined with shops and restaurants. You can walked up to the Notre Dame de L'Esperance and get some fabulous views of the town. We couldn't get inside the church because there was a wedding going on, so we walked back down the windy streets to a pedestrian street called Rue d'Antibes. Here you can find most anything from local merchants to name brand, high-end stores. You can drop a lot of money here if you wish.




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Roland Garros 2014 (French Open)

Z found that we could get general admission tickets for either Monday afternoon or evening, but it meant that we had to be at a computer with internet access at 3pm Sunday. So we planned our Sunday around this. We decided we'd look at purchasing the evening ticket option because that gave us time still during the day to do some last touring around Paris. The general admission ticket would give us access to any of the games being played on the outside courts and also gave us the opportunity to upgrade to one of the 2 main inside courts for an additional cost. The general ticket was very reasonable at 12 Euro. We did have to arrive early so we could line up to get the upgrade. We arrived shortly after 3pm and the line wasn't too long yet. The gates wouldn't open until 5pm for us to try and get our tickets upgraded. At 5pm a disorganized dash to the security check point occurred, but we were pretty close to the front that it didn't really slow us down too much...a little maneuvering and perhaps cutting some people off got us to the front a little quicker. We had determined which inside court we wanted to try and get tickets for 2 reasons; 1) Andy Murray was playing on one court and that was at least a player I knew by name and 2) Monfils, a French player, was playing on the main inside court and so all the French fans would head towards that court making it harder to get tickets. Our decision turned out to be the right one because not only did we get tickets to the Murray/Verdasco match, it turned out to be an incredible match to watch. And the upgrade only cost an additional 30 Euro each. I originally thought Murray would squash Verdasco because Murray is ranked 7th while Verdasco is something like 24th, but it was an intense back and forth, very exciting match. I was amazed at the power these players have.....one of the serves clocked in at 206 km/h, and the pure accuracy of their volleys and returns was so exciting to get to see in person. Murray did end up winning the match 3-0 but the last set was won by a tie break.

We were supposed to see a second match on this same court, Kuznetsova vs. Safarova, but because the Murray/Verdasco match last almost three hours, this match got shifted to another court. After the first match ended we thought about leaving because there were no matches going on on the outside courts, but Z thought we should try to see if we could get in to see the women's match which got shifted to another court. I was skeptical that we could, but when we asked the ticket person directed us to another area of the stadium which wasn't too full and said we could get in there. This match was already well under way, but we got to see a couple games before it ended with Kuznetsova winning 2-0.

I've never watched a live tennis match before, so this was a whole new experience. I was in awe at the skill and talent these players have and their ability to play hard for such a length of time without showing too much fatigue. This was an absolutely thrilling experience. I always had watching Wimbledon or the US Open live on my bucket list, but this has certainly quenched this desire for now.

                                                          Ticket to the French Open!

                              Verdasco anticipating serve. 

            




Murray serving. 

                                                         Verdasco returning volley. 

                                                             Murray serving.