After spending some time around Nice and Cannes, Rebecca and I decided to do a day trip around the French Riviera. We found a local tour guide that would drive us around the coastline, stopping in various locations. Here is our first stop outside of Nice.
It was just so beautiful that I tried to do a self portrait!
Our first big stop was the perfume, soap, and cosmetics factory of Fragonard. We were able to do a small tour of the factory, but were not allowed to take many photos. Here is a old drum that was used to extract the oils from flowers.
They had a number of displays set up that were all for show. I don't think they had any function.
We were able to see some of the soaps being made. This huge machine is squeezing out a pink tube of soap.
Then this guy takes a foot long section of the tub and places it under this press. He was pressing the tube into a flower petal shape. So that's how they do it! At this point I was yelled at because we were not allowed to photograph the workers.
After the tour, we were given a chance to smell all their perfumes. And of course, we were all convinced we needed to buy some. I am now the proud owner of Belle Cherie!
After we were done, we headed to the medieval village of Eze. It was built in the twelfth century and is built on a high cliff overlooking the Mediterranean sea. The village is very small, but there are a number of restaurants, art galleries, shops, and hotels.
The stone buildings were very close together...
...and there were paths leading in multiple directions everywhere you looked.
It was extremely charming.
Here is Rebecca walking up one of the paths.
Some of the shops were so tiny.
There were also archways.
Here is a picture looking out over the sea.
I particularly liked this cactus and the supports that had been put in to help it out.
Just beautiful.
After Eze, we headed on to Monaco, which is considered the second smallest country in the world. Here is the Saint Nicholas Cathedral where Grace Kelly is buried.
I particularly liked this sign when you walked into the church.
I have to say that Monaco was rather weird. It has a Disneyland feel about it. Everything was painted in pastel colors, had a sort of fake façade, and the streets were really clean. Here is a picture of the palace. Doesn't it look like Disneyland!?
From the palace, there was a nice view of the harbour area.
Here is one of the popular tourist streets.
Here is one of the government buildings.
We also got to see the Monte Carlo Casino. It has featured in a few Bond films.
The cars outside the casino were rather impressive.
Money, money, money!
After a short time in Monaco, we headed to Saint-Paul de Vence for lunch which was about 45 minutes away. It was an absolutely beautiful medieval town. We spent our lunch time sitting under a big tree and taking in the scenery.
The town had a similar feel to Eze. The place is famous for attracting many artists and has many different studios selling artwork.
There were also nice sculptures throughout the village. Here is a very large bronze cat of some sort.
After lunch, we set off for Antibes which is known for housing some of the largest yachts in the region. What I found funny was I thought the yachts in Cannes were big.....but these things were huge!
They were certainly beautiful. Many of them had deckhands polishing the railings while we walked by. This baby is currently available to buy or rent and has its own website. It can be yours for only 125 million Euros or rented for 650,000 Euros per week. Bargain!
I liked this one with all the scuba gear on the left (hard to see).
And the scary part was....there was over two dozen of them! Crazy!
We also walked around the rest of the harbour as they were having a big sailing competition in the area. There were many nice sail boats on display.
We finished by walking along a stone wall around the city.
It was a long day, but we were able to see a lot. It was a great trip around the French Riviera!
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