Nice
Aug 25 - I arrived early evening at Aéroport International Nice-Côte d'Azur and after Alitalia misplaced my baggage somewhere in Milan and efforts to retrieve it that night proved futile (the people at the luggage counter inspite of their limited Anglais was very, very helpful), it was time to take a taxi (Mercedes Benz!) to my hotel in the heart of Nice. (The baggage was delivered the following day.)

Nice is the capital of the French Riviera, Because of its brilliant sunshine and relaxed living, it has attracted renowned artists, painters, and writers (Chagal, Renoir Picasso, Matisse, Victor Hugo, etc), who have contributed to her fame and aristocrats since the 18th century. The city has, on the average, 300 days of sunshine a year. I came to check if this is really the place for me to live or retire. The villas on top of the hill overlook the Mediterranean Sea. That way I am able to see my 150ft yacht.

Aug 26 - The Promenade des Anglais stretches about 7 km around the Baie des Angles, a favorite for leisurely "promenades" since the Belle Epoque at the turn of the last century. Activities include sitting and watching the sea - and the sunbathers on the beach, jogging and roller skating. The beach is not covered with sand but with gravel the size of a golf balls! Nude sunbathing is prohibited but topless is ok. Not nude per French standards.

With narrow streets curving in irregular fashion between old buildings with red-tile roofs, Vieille Ville (Old Town) could be almost any medieval village of the region. The streets are packed with shops and shoppers. Small restaurants, food, meat, produce, pasta, clothes, gifts, anything and everything.

The most famous market of Nice is the flower market and main market on the Cours Saleya in the old town. On Mondays, the Cours Saleya has a large flea market, the Marché a la Brocante et Antiquités. There are scores of stands, from large, professionally displayed wares to folding tables set up by family farmers with their produce and live fowl directly from the farm. The length of the Cours Saleya is sided by the low buildings separating the "Cours" from the seaside. Once housing the fishermen's catch, they have given way largely to seafood restaurants. The other side of the Cours Saleya is lined by terrace cafés, lovely old buildings and the grand Prefecture. This is the place to dine on mussels served in different ways over a good white wine and watch people, tourist alike, passing by.

Eze
Aug 27 - Eze is a medieval village perched like an eagles nest on a narrow rocky peak overlooking the Mediterranean sea. The ancient fortified village is still crowned with the ruins of its 12th-century fortified castle (torn down in 1706), sitting on a narrow rocky peak. The castle grounds host the well-known Jardin Exotique, and from the top (429 m) you'll have a good view of the coast.

The village forms a circular pattern around the base of the castle. The old buildings and narrow streets are very well restored, with high stone walls and narrow roadways of red-brick centered stone. Any sense of this ancient village's medieval past is, however, offset by the multitude of souvenir shops and streets to be filled of tourists. Glad I came early in the morning.

St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
This place has been called "Paradise Found" -- of all the oases along the Côte d'Azur, none has quite the snob appeal of Cap-Ferrat. It's a 15km (9-mile) promontory sprinkled with luxurious villas, outlined by sheltered bays, beaches, and coves. The vegetation is lush. In the port of St-Jean, the harbor accommodates yachts and fishing boats.

Monaco
Monaco is such a tiny place it can be covered completely in half a day and must be visited once in your lifetime if you are an ordinary person like me. The second-smallest state in Europe (Vatican City is the tiniest), Monaco consists of four parts. The old town, Monaco-Ville, on a promontory, "The Rock," 60m (200 ft.) high, is the seat of the royal palace and the government building, where it features their own version of Relève de la Garde (Changing of the Guards) around noontime. To the west of the bay, La Condamine, the home of the Monégasques, is at the foot of the old town, forming its harbor and port sector. Up from the port is Monte Carlo, once the playground of European royalty and still the center for wintering wealthily, the setting for the casino and its gardens and the deluxe hotels. The fourth part, Fontvieille, is an industrial suburb.

Naturally, the reason people go to Monaco are not for the scenery so much as the affluence, best exemplified by the famous Monte Carlo casino, and the famous annual Grand Prix formula one race that takes over the entire country. With two major harbors filled with huge yachts and surrounded by sophisticated shopping and eleven-star hotels, Monaco is every bit the rich playground it is purported to be. It is entertaining to spend time walking around looking at all the fancy cars and the high-brow fashion dress.

In January 8, 1297, a political refugee from Genoa, Francesco Grimaldi, accompanied by some cronies in monks' clothing, persuaded the defenders of the local castle to give him shelter. Once he and his men penetrated the defenses, they ripped off their hoods and took the castle by force. The Principality of Monaco was born, and it's been in Grimaldi hands ever since.

Cannes
Aug 28 - Cannes is the "star" of the French Riviera, famous for the International Film Festival and the glitzy hotels, cars, beaches and visitors attracted here. Film producers (yea, sure!) and starlets for the festival in May. Tourists year-round and crowds of tourists in the summer. Exotic people and real people, and plenty of poodles (it is France, after all). The yachts and cruise ships float in the blue water, and you can't always tell which is which by the size. I live in LA where we have Hollyweird, so these did not interest me. The sunbathers – hmmm.

Across the bay is the Ile Ste-Marguerite one of the Lérins Islands. It was named after St. Honorat's sister, Ste. Marguerite, who lived here with a group of nuns in the 5th century. Today it is a youth center whose members are dedicated to the restoration of the fort. From the dock where the boat lands, you walk to the Fort de l'Ile, built by Spanish troops from 1635 to 1637. Below the hill is the 1st-century B.C. Roman town where the unlucky man immortalized in The Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned.

One of French history's most perplexing mysteries is the identity of the man who allegedly wore the masque du fer, a prisoner of Louis XIV who arrived at Ste-Marguerite in 1698. Dumas popularized the legend that he was a brother of Louis XIV, and it has even been suggested that the prisoner and a mysterious woman had a son who went to Corsica and "founded" the Bonaparte family. However, the most common theory is that the prisoner was a servant of the superintendent, Fouquet, named Eustache Dauger. He might have earned his fate by aiding Fouquet in embezzling the king's treasury. At any rate, he died in the Bastille in Paris in 1703.

St-Paul-de-Vence
St. Paul is a beautiful medieval fortified village perched on a narrow spur between two deep valleys.

Although the village itself is one of the most intact medieval examples of the region, with much of the ramparts still there, it's hard to see anything inside the village except other tourists. Except for the ramparts and the typical old houses, the most predominant things to see in are the scores of art galleries, tourist shops, pseudo "artisan" shops; all very expensive as well as the cemetery where noted painters (Marc Chagall among them), artist and writers were buried.

St-Tropez
Aug 29 - Set on the lovely blue water of the Bay of St-Tropez, this modern version of a medieval town is most popular for the line of yachts along the quay, and the facing line of terrace cafés, divided by a parade of strolling tourists and slow cruising expensive cars. Behind the cafés, the small streets and old buildings are picturesque, but they're more popular for the multitude of shops and restaurants than historical significance. There are endless possibilities for buying gifts or items of proof that "you've been here".

This seaside resort town is better reach by a ferry boat off Antibes. It is a popular destination for the jetsetters, movie stars and the in-crowd. The most famous, of course, are ensconced in the fabulous private estates set along the coast, protected from the curious eyes of all but those with the means to rent helicopters.

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