We stayed at one of my favorite places, Villefranche-sur-mer, which is just east of Nice. It`s very calm and beautiful
and has a wonderfully charming "vieille ville" (old town).
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| Villefranche-sur-mer |
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| Typical street in old Villefranche-sur-mer |
January 4th was Rick's 51st birthday. We decided to drive to the medieval town of Eze, which is perched
on a rocky cliff above the Mediteranean Sea. It is really well preserved and just a gem to see! Since vacation had ended for
most people, we were fortunate to find many great picture taking opportunities without the streets loaded with people.
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| Typical street in medieval Eze |
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| Courtyard in Eze |
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| The charm of Eze |
An Incredible Coincidence!
While we were strolling the streets of Eze, I happened to look up to find Terry Vincent standing there with
a look of surprise! Terry is the only other American teacher doing a Fulbright teacher exchange in Switzerland and she is
living in the French speaking part of that country. She went by herself to France during her vacation, and what are
the chances of us running into her on the same little street in all of France! We just couldn't believe it.
So Terry spent the rest of the day with us. We had lunch together in Eze and later we packed her into the
back of our Smart car (2 seater) to take her to Villefranche-sur-mer where we toured the town together. We enjoyed some drinks
for Rick's birthday and then later had dinner together. It was a wonderful surprise for a special day!
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| Terry Vincent and Rick in Eze, France |
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| Gail and Terry enjoying a drink for Rick's birthday. |
Later in the week we drove to Menton, France, which is the first French town when you arrive from Italy
along the Mediterranean. It is a much bigger town than Villefranche-sur-mer, but much more manageable than Nice or Cannes.
It also has a beautiful "vieille ville". We were also pleasantly surprised that they kept their Christmas market going until
the end of that week so we were able to still enjoy a Christmas atmosphere.
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| Gail along the coast in Menton, France |
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| Christmas on the riviera in Menton |
On our way back to Villefranche-sur-mer from Menton, we saw signs for a castle in the medieval town of Roquebrune,
so of course we had to stop there! It was another wonderfully quaint village and it was inexpensive to tour the castle.
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| Rick on street in Roquebrune |
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| View along the coast from a castle window |
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| Rooftops of the medieval town of Roquebrune taken from above in the castle |
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