April 11, 2023 – Villefrance, France

We arrived in France this morning with overcast skies.  We’re in the south of France, the French Riviera!  We dropped anchor and got ready for our tour.  We boarded the tender that took us into Nice, France.  When we return, it will be from another town.

We boarded a bus that took us through Nice and then we started up a steep hill to our destination of the medieval village of Eze.  It’s 1300 feet above sea level and thanks to this fact, you can enjoy a fairytale view of the French Riviera.  A walk through narrow streets of Eze gives the impression of visiting a castle that has no end.

Eze Village, lying between Nice and Monaco, is basically two villages on three levels.  We arrived and started walking up narrow streets, higher and higher.  A very famous hotel, the Chateau de la Chèvre d’Or (Palace of the Golden Goat) is located part way up the mountain.  Walt Disney stayed here once – magical, right.  We kept walking and passed small galleries, restaurants, shops and vendors selling their goods (spices, lavender, etc).

The most valuable treasure in Eze has always been water.  There is no source in the village and had to be carried in by buckets from the outlet located at the nearby road.  It was not until 1930 the American composer Samuel Barlow financed the construction of a fountain with water in the center of the village.  

One of the monuments in the village is a neoclassical church of Notre Dame de l’assumption, built in the eighteenth century.  We went inside the church and then continued on a small path up the hill.  The view was amazing, looking back at the coastline and we could see our ship anchored in the distance.  At the top of the hill is an exotic garden (Jardin Exotique d’Eze).  The garden has mainly cactus and succulents with a magnificent view of Cote d’Azur.  

We stopped in a small shop and bought an apron (blue with lavender sewn on front).  Just outside, a young girl with a huge bowl of lavender seeds.  I bought a few bags.  O, the heavenly scent!

We walked back down the hill, enjoying the views along the way.  Next stop just down the hill was a Parfumerie (Fragonard – famous in this area of France).  The factory was opened in 1968 and enjoys a prime location at the foot of the rock overlooking the sea.  The tour of the perfume factory included manufacturing techniques (stills using steam distillation for extracting essential oils and cold enfleurage technique for fragile flowers) and a fun test of our sense of smell.  Many aromatic oils that you could smell and guess what they were.  Their professional blender could identify 3,000 specific scents.  They produce some very famous perfumes in this factory.  We then visited their cosmetic laboratory where skin care products are made.  Also, a visit to their soap workshop.  We could see recent soaps made just for Easter season.  

We took the bus back to the small seaside town of Villefranche.  The sky is now blue and beautiful.  What a change from this morning.  This little town is between Nice and Monaco.  Last time we visited this area, we did go to Monaco.  Although it’s less than a square mile in size, Monaco is a sovereign state.  When Grace Kelly met Prince Rainier at the Cannes Film Festival and a year later had a storybook wedding, it put Monaco solidly on the tourist map.  This area is also known for great artists, Monet and Picasso.  We wandered around the narrow streets of Villefranche.  I like the small town feel.  Our friends Bev and Mona joined us for a cappuccino and pastry.  We then found a small shop that had gelato and flavors that I remember from years ago in Italy.  Lavender!  Of course, we had to try a scoop.  We then went into some small shops and bought some lavender soaps.  What a scent!

We still had time to explore but Bob was ready to head back to the ship.  Bev said she wanted to walk to the beach and look for sea glass.  O, what fun!  I walked with Bev to the beach and we started to looking for glass.  Suddenly, we started spotting greens, a few blue and reds.  Once your eyes focus on the colors, you start seeing one after another.  Bev is a pro, for sure!  She has picked sea glass all over the world.  She gave me a ziplock bag to keep my treasures.  We had a great time looking for treasure, not paying much attention to people around us.  Then we heard a voice say, hey, what are you ladies doing?  We turned around and introduced ourselves to a British man (Terry) sitting on the beach enjoying his holiday.  We showed him our treasures.  He asked if we were from the ship and we said yes, and it’s leaving soon.  We stood and talked to him for 20 minutes and then said our good-bye’s.  It was nice to make another friend.  His wife had passed away and he was there on vacation for a few days. 

Bev and I starting walking back to the tender and noticed a French woman sitting by the water with her water colors and painting a gorgeous scene.  She did not speak English and we did not speak French, but we were able to express our pleasure in her work and ended up buying some cards from her.  Her name was Bridgette and she gave us her business card.  Again, another friend made and we were on our way.  We waved and thanked her.  We got on the tender in Villefranche and it took us back to the ship.  We rode on top so we could enjoy the fabulous view behind us.

Another magical day!  Merci France.