sajawata

Sharron ran in the Paris marathon so Molly & I went to cheer her on.

Took the train and arrived late Friday night.

Saturday morning we went to a market and scoured the secondhand clothing stalls for vintage finds. Then we headed to the Notre Dame cathedral for a picnic lunch in the garden. Paris is beautiful in April while the cherry trees are in full blossom and there are not a lot of tourists clogging the streets. For such a big city it is very clean and fairly quiet (at least this time of year it is.) We walked around all afternoon trying to see the major sites: the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Royal Palace, Arc de Triomphe & Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, a walk along the Seine…. That evening we had another picnic in the garden at the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards we sent Sharron to bed and Molly and I headed to the Latin Quarter for some people watching. We sat at one particularly well placed table and watched the glamorous Parisians walk by for hours. Our waiter gave us free wine because he thought we were Slovakian (huh?) Very very fun.

The next morning we took Sharron to the Marathon which started from the Arc de Triomphe. There were almost 30,000 people running so you can imagine the chaos. Saw Sharron off then headed to the Pantheon. Tried to go to the Musee d’Orsay but the line was ridiculously long. We were sitting in front of the museum and saw some of the marathon runners nearby and decided to have a look when who do we spot but our girl Sharron. At 3/4 the way through she was doing very well and we couldn’t get over our luck at spotting her right away. She carried on and we found our way to the Rodin museum. Went to meet her at the end of the race, she did very well for her 1st marathon. We headed to Montparnasse and found a café for her to relax in. Molly really wanted to go to the Catacombes, after searching for a while we realized they were closed for renovation (They’re dead, they don’t need renovating!) But we found the Montparnasse cemetery which cured our need for talking to the dead, including Charles Baudelaire, Constantin Brancusi, Man Ray, Simone de Beauvoir. Then took a leisurely stroll down a beautiful avenue to the train station.

Was lucky to have a long weekend so Susan and I took a train to Marseilles, then along the coast to Nice. Nice is so unbelievably gorgeous. The water is a breathtaking shade of turqouise that seems to take on new hues at each hour of the day, each more spectacular than the last. The view facing away from the coast is just as picturesque, with lush rolling hills giving way to the Alps. The city is large but is very clean and the style of architecture complements the landscape so well. The buildings (painted neutral colors with the occasional splash of vibrant color) are beautiful with the rich weathered texture created by the Mediterranean.

Friday afternoon we arrived and quickly found our way to the beach where we soaked up those glorious first few hours of spring sun. We then walked around the old town and learned our way around town. We stopped at a café for a drink and ended up talking to the French guys at the table next to us for hours and hours.

Saturday we went to the famous Nicoise market in Old town which was fantastic. The greatest thing about French cuisine is their attention to using local, fresh produce. The market in Nice looks entirely different from the markets around Geneva. Mediterranean produce (Olives, lemons, seafood) with a hint of the neighboring Provencal specialties (herbs galore.) Brunch was Blette with a nice rosé.

We headed up the hill to the public park which provides a spectacular view of the harbor, then walked around the port and the city for a while. Back to the beach for some sun worshipping (although we were to shy to go au naturel as most of the French ladies around us) We then rented bikes and rode down the coast. That night we found a place that had shockingly low prices for dinner. We feasted like queens: escargot, goat’s cheese salad, risotto, a giant bowl of mussels, chocolate mousse and caramel flan. A meal I will never forget.

Sunday we caught a bus to Monaco. The ride along the coast was beautiful: Many small port towns and houses that look like they could fall into the sea at any moment. Monaco is in a beautiful spot and the many parks are beautiful but the town itself is so ritzy and over the top I didn’t particularly love it. We snuck in to a casino, walked around the Castle, the Cathedral where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier are buried, the Old town.

That evening we got of the bus in a small village where we heard there was a Medieval village. We walked along the beach but couldn’t find the village, so asked a guy on the beach for directions and ended up talking to him for a long time. He gave us a ride up the mountain to where the village of Eze really was. It was an amazing stone village with walls surrounding, only 1 door into the village. The tight alleyways through the village created an intricate maze we loved exploring. We felt so lucky to be nearly the only people there and were having so much fun that we lost track of time. We missed the last bus back to Nice but that ended up being a blessing because we found a trail that lead down to the beach so we went for a sunset hike and caught the last bus back from there.

Back in town we were regretting not having swapped info with the nice French guy who gave us a ride, then we coincidentally ran into him in Old town. We insisted on taking him for a drink to thank him so he showed us his favorite pub and introduced us to his friends, a fantastic night!

The next morning Susan had to book it back to Geneva but I had the day off so I decided to take advantage of my open train pass and I headed to Avignon in Provence. Due to a massive train delay I only had about an hour to spend in Avignon but what I did see was beautiful. The train ride was equally stunning, following first the sea and then into the Provencal countryside, finally through many small Alpine villages.

An incredible weekend!