We were quite happy to welcome our good friend Matsuoka (who has been a most trusty tourist guide for us during our regular visits to Tokyo) to the Cote d'Azur for a weekend. What followed was a rather intensive couple of days of touristy action.
I picked up Matsuoka at the airport Saturday morning, and after dropping off his bags at our flat, off we went, to start the touristy circuit. For the Saturday, we gave him two main options: either the Gorges du Verdon (one of the most beautiful canyons in Europe) or wine tasting in the Var (with some cultural visits through in for form's sake). Without much hesitation, he opted for the second option ;-).
We started our visit in Frejus, a seaside town located near the beautiful Massif d'Esterel. We started off with one of the main touristy sites in town, a Roman theatre. Unfortunately, for some hard-to-understand reason, they've decided to rework the historical ruins into a sort of semi-concrete shell - I suppose to allow them to explore the site commercially (for concerts and other cultural events). A crap decision if you ask me...
After this slight disappointment, we headed into the town centre. Frejus is pretty much your bog-standard mid-sized Provencal town, with one distinguishing feature: te Saint-Léonce Cathedral. It really is one of the most beautiful churches in this part of France (which in general is less blessed with impressive churches than most part of France).
The touristy bit done, we headed to the marina for a nice lunch at a place called Sepia. Good choice, I had their squid (which is their signature dish, I suppose) - it really was excellent!
The next item on the agenda was wine tasting :-) So off we headed, deeper into the Var, to the area around Les Arcs. We started at Le Château de Saint-Martin, where a nice lady explained the secrets of their art, and let us try quite a few of their tasty wines. Our wallets a bit lighter, but with a few bottles in the car, we carried on to the Chateau Saint-Pierre, where we were treated to more of the same. It was all rather good fun ;-) (I like wine-tasting in the Var - it's less snobbish business than it can be in the more famous wine-regions in France).
Wistfully, we headed back homewards, deciding to drive along the stunning Massif d'Esterel. It's particularly gorgeous late afternoon/early evening, where the the setting sun makes the ochre-coloured cliffs glow with an almost red light. We were just half an hour too late maybe, but were still treated to some pretty stunning views...
To tie up a rather intensive day, we decided to stop at Cannes for dinner. After having a quick walk around the Palais des Festivals (taking the mandatory photo at the famous stairs, of course), we headed off for dinner. To continue the theme of wines, we ended up dining in a rather nice wine bar called L'Enoteca. Nice place, just the sort of cozy and friendly place to wind down over a couple of glasses of wine and some nice food. After a couple of glasses of Japanese whisky back at our flat, we were more than ready for bed!
The next day, we decided to head Eastwards, destination Italy. Our first stop was at Eze, one of the many stunning perched villages this part of France is blessed with. Eze is one of the most famous ones, thanks mostly to its proximity to Nice. Eze's charm is undeniable, perched on its rocky hilltop, overlooking the Riviera, the views from the village are unbelievable, especially on a sunny winter day like today. It's a bit of a tourist trap with all its art shops, but then I suppose that's kind of unavoidable. We headed all the way up to the top of the village, and visited the exotic gardens located around the ruined castle. More importantly, that's where you get the best view from.
We then continued Eastwards, first taking the Haut Corniche (the scenic road that hugs the coastline), then the motorway. Our destination was a small village called Vallebona, and in particular one of our favorite restaurants, Il Giardino. But before that, a bit of sport - me and Matsuoka were crazy enough to go for a wintery swim. Just great, really wakens you up!
And then, time for another lovely 3 hour lunch in our favourite restaurant. Bring on the antipastis (7 or 8 I think), then the pasta (3 plates), and the main dishes (again, 3 types of meat). That's my kind of restaurant ;-) Say what you will about the long lunches people enjoy in Southern Europe - I personally think it's a fine tradition that I hope they manage to maintain! ;-)
After a bit of a digestive walk around the village (got to try to burn off at least some of those calories, right?), it was time to head back to France. Before heading back home, it was time for the mandatory stop at Monaco. We checked out the usual sites, starting with the casino, the driving across to the Rocher, walking through the old town to the palace square. And of course, taking in the beautiful views across the famous port. I suppose it's one of those things most people want to see on the Riviera.
By the time we got home we were pretty nackered, and happy to hit the the bed...
I decided to take my Monday morning off, to show a bit of Nice to Matsuoka, so off we headed in the morning. Again, we started with a hefty dose of culture by visiting the Chagal museum in Cimiez. It's dedicated to his powerful interpretation of passages form the bible. I was quite happy to have taken the audio guide - it really gave a good insight into Chagal's artistic vision. Very much recommended!
We then made our way back to the town centre, where we had a walk around Vieux Nice, before our stomachs started grumbling again. We decided to have a real Nice lunch, sitting down at one of the ouside tables at Lou Pilha, one of the best places in NIce to have the local specialities , in particular Socca.
And then, time for me to head off to the office and do a bit of work. So quite an intensive, but most enjoyable, couple of days then with our good friend from Japan. Welcome back, Matsuoka-san, whenever you want!
The touristy bit done, we headed to the marina for a nice lunch at a place called Sepia. Good choice, I had their squid (which is their signature dish, I suppose) - it really was excellent!
The next item on the agenda was wine tasting :-) So off we headed, deeper into the Var, to the area around Les Arcs. We started at Le Château de Saint-Martin, where a nice lady explained the secrets of their art, and let us try quite a few of their tasty wines. Our wallets a bit lighter, but with a few bottles in the car, we carried on to the Chateau Saint-Pierre, where we were treated to more of the same. It was all rather good fun ;-) (I like wine-tasting in the Var - it's less snobbish business than it can be in the more famous wine-regions in France).Wistfully, we headed back homewards, deciding to drive along the stunning Massif d'Esterel. It's particularly gorgeous late afternoon/early evening, where the the setting sun makes the ochre-coloured cliffs glow with an almost red light. We were just half an hour too late maybe, but were still treated to some pretty stunning views...By the time we got home we were pretty nackered, and happy to hit the the bed...
We then made our way back to the town centre, where we had a walk around Vieux Nice, before our stomachs started grumbling again. We decided to have a real Nice lunch, sitting down at one of the ouside tables at Lou Pilha, one of the best places in NIce to have the local specialities , in particular Socca.
And then, time for me to head off to the office and do a bit of work. So quite an intensive, but most enjoyable, couple of days then with our good friend from Japan. Welcome back, Matsuoka-san, whenever you want!
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