Home, James

As they say, all good things must come to an end. Even holidays in the Mediterranean (and above). The time had come to go home, and so, I departed from Lyon in the early morning.

While I wasn't so keen on getting up at 6am while on holiday (plus trying to get my stuff ready quietly in a dorm room of 6), it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I was out of the hostel in time to see this:

Then, after two pleasant train rides, I was back in little old Saint-Gaudens. It felt a bit small, but it was nice to be 'chez moi,' have my own room... and rest my feet, which had been forced to build up their defences after much walking in the same pair of shoes!!

Nice Is Nice, and Next to Medievality and Monaco... (3)

I set off to make the most of my morning (before the afternoon tour to the Medieval village of Eze, and Monaco), and discovered Old Nice. I kind of cursed my choice to get the transport pass the previous day, actually, as I felt I could have happily spent a day wandering around this area. Lots of narrow streets, bordered by tall, uniform buildings, churches tucked away throughout (two of which I checked out), little shops with wares spilling out into the street...



This photo probably isn't the best choice to show it, actually. Another amazing aspect of Old Nice was the market that ran through one open area, with restaurants on either side, and just a hop, skip and a jump away from the sea.



I bought some strawberries as I couldn't resist, but it wasn't really the season, and they didn't compare to the ones I'm used to at home!
Also, some random man on a street corner greeted me with "Bonjour Mademoiselle... I love you... Ich liebe dich." Nothing like a bit of random flattery.

Found an Indian kebab for lunch, and was going to take it back to the hostel, but I actually just couldn't bear to go and sit inside when the weather was so amazing. So, I found a nice square and ate my lunch with a view of a fountain and a ferris wheel!

Not long after I got back to the hostel, my chariot (well, tourguide) arrived. Nothing beats door-to-door service. I'll say now that I fully recommend Med Tours (med-tour.com) because I had a great afternoon, and our tourguide was awesome, as were the other people on the tour.
We had me, two ladies from Argentina (tried out my Spanish just a little bit), an American lady and her two sons (one of whom claimed to be Albanian, which made me think of Albi the Racist Dragon), and a couple from Syria, who I made friends with (I hope they are ok now...).



First stop was Eze, a little Medieval village high on a hill between Nice and Monaco. Given we were only doing an afternoon tour, we had an insanely short amount of time to check it out (about 20 minutes) but we gave it a good go. Pretty amazing to see this compact little place, which still looked the part (except for sometimes when people opened the doors and you could see inside to where modern fixtures had been added). Apparently, there is a handful of people who actually live there, but there is also a hotel, and a couple of restaurants, I think. Spent our 20 minutes winding our way around various pathways and taking photos at the rate of knots in the hope of aiding our memories later on!




Just below, there was a perfume factory called Fragonard, which we got to tour. It was pretty interesting, actually, as this place is really exclusive and everything's manual. For example, we got to see the guy operating the machine that pressed the soaps into flower shapes. And they make a duck-shaped soap, and someone paints the beaks red by hand. I also learned that perfume keeps longer in an aluminium bottle than in glass, and that perfume, eau de parfum and eau de toilette/cologne all have different concentrations of perfume.
One of the young American lads said he was going to buy one product for all of his girlfriends, but later picked something else up and said that, if he had a girlfriend, he'd buy that for her. His mother pointed out that he was slipping, there.

Then, onwards to Monaco.



Interesting facts about Monaco: there is about 1 Police officer for every 40 people, plus there are security cameras everywhere. The entire country is 3.18 km (1.98 mi) long and 1.1 km wide (thanks Encyclopadia of the Nations!). Ie you can stand on one side of the country and see the border on the other side. Many of the rich, rich people who live there just come for several months each year, so they have concierges to look after their houses for the rest of the time. My Syrian friend and one of the American boys quickly decided that was the life for them, and claimed they were going to stay in Monaco and make it big that way, or opening car doors for people at the casino (literally cash in hand).

Ours was a whirlwind visit, but we managed to fit quite a few sights in: the Oceanographic Museum, the Princess' houses, the palace,



the great view over Monte Carlo (from Monaco), pole position on the Monte Carlo race track



the old bombs outside the Monte Carlo casino (the young man next to me was pretty much drooling over these). We did see one smart car arrive, though. Our cool guide joked that it probably meant they could give less of a tip to the door-openers!



We drove around the Monaco Grand Prix Track before leaving... of course, I had to document this for little bro.

And that was that: Eze and Monaco in four hours!

I decided to do an evening wander, as this would be my last night in Nice. And it looks pretty good in the evening.



Strolled the streets of Old Nice again, then headed down the Promenade des Anglais, before retiring to my hotel (but not before randomly running into my Syrian friends again!).

Nice is Nice (2)

Today was get-a-day-pass-and-go-on-lots-of-public-transport day, aka I am too cheap to do the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, so I'll just get on random public transport and see what I can see. Except that I did this with no plans whatsoever.

So I went on a bus route which took me along the Promenade des Anglais. Got off and wandered around for a bit, appreciated all the flowers (it's been a long time since Spring, for me).



Also, went down to the beach and watched and listened to the waves for a bit. Oh, the sea... I didn't appreciate it like I should have when I was right beside it in NZ!



Then I went on the tram... because I could. Stopped for lunch in a Chinese resto.

Got back on the tram and took it right to the end, and saw there was a hill nearby. I'm always keen to go somewhere I can get a good view over a city, so the next logical step was to get a bus up the hill. At the bus-stop, I met several nice people who could see from the way I was studying the map that I didn't know where I was going, and offered to help me. One lady was especially nice, and told me about how there was a Matisse museum on one of the bus routes, and it was free entry. Sold.

How Mediterranean-looking is this museum?



And, all that facade is a trompe l'oeil (ie it's painted on). Spent quite some time in the museum. It was interesting to have a museum dedicated to one artist, as it allowed all the works to really be organised to show how he had progressed throughout time. And there were some really awesome photos that were not taken by Matisse, but by a photographer who knew and had taken pictures of him.

Next to the museum was a nice park, which also backed onto these ruins for which I, unfortunately, have no historical info. Except for what Wikipedia can tell me: that one can find 'an arena, amphitheatre, thermal baths, and paleochristian basilica,' and that the Nice Jazz Festival is held in the ruins each July.



There was also some kind of archaeological museum next door, but I was museumed out by this stage, and decided to go to the Cimiez monastery instead. Destination 360 informs me that this monastery was founded by Franciscan monks in the 9th century, the garden was planted in the 1500s, but revamped in the 1920s!



I'm going to admit it now: I absolutely cannot remember what it was like inside. Too many religious buildings in a short time and I generally don't take photos inside. I remember that some of the staff were moving scaffolding and the like around, and making quite a lot of noise (for a religious building, anyway).
In fact, I spent more time in the gardens next to the monastery than in the building itself. Also had a look through the old cemetery beside it.

By this stage, it was time to wander back down the hill, get back into town, and have some food.

After dinner and a rest, I felt like I could still make better use of my transport pass. So I caught the tram in the other direction, and then got a bus back into town. Then I caught another bus going who-knows-where, with a young driver who seemed to have aspirations of racing in Monaco... Pity it was getting dark by this stage as, I think, this route would have had spectactular views over the city if I'd done it a bit earlier!

Nice is Nice (1)

Even the train station in Nice managed to look tropical. Good times!
Didn't take me too long to find my hostel, which was in a pretty sweet, central location, drop off my bags, and head out the door again.



As it turned out, I had unwittingly arrived on the last day of Carnaval festivities and narrowly missed one of the parades (possibly the Battle of the Flowers, but not quite sure). Anyway, let me just show you the kind of mess that this leaves in the streets...



Fortunately, the Carnaval King was still around town.



I pretty much spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Nice. Well, not so much the streets as following the Promenade des Anglais, which ran alongside the beach. Apparently, I have missed being by the sea, without really realising it. But, who wouldn't want to be on this beach?



Different atmosphere when night falls, but still the place to be, I think.



After dinner, I decided to get an early night so that I could make the most of the next day.

La Merveille de Marseille... (2-3)

Day 2, and time to cross a few more sights off the list, starting with the Cornice du JF Kennedy. This is a really nice coastal road which, very conviently, ran more or less from the suburb where I was staying into town. It was a beutiful day and there was a stand of hire bikes just around the corner from the hostel, so my choice of transport was very easy! However, it took me rather a long time to get into town, as I kept stopping to take photos of all of the beautiful coastal views.




Also passed monuments, such as this one, to people who had fought in the East...



... and many beautiful beaches with clear water, islands in the bay of Marseille, even a couple of games of volleyball.

Came across this charming little place, called Le Vallon des Auffes. Auffiers (apparently, used this 'auffe' stuff to make ropes, mats, nets, etc) moved to this little area not far from the centre of town in about 1750. According to a nearby sign, the little boats which are moored here are really typical of Marseille, and celebrities who pass through Marseille often dine in the restaurants stiuated in this area.



Wandered around town for a bit, in search of a cheap place to eat, and stumbled upon a market which spread more or less through an entire quarter. Sometimes, it's good to get a bit lost, because it allows you to see more of the place!



I was lucky to find a place where I could get some pasta and vegetables for my lunch (how I miss veggies when I'm on holiday), I went back down to the Old Port to eat with a view.



Still aiming to visit things on my list, I set off to the town cathedral, which was a pretty impressive-looking thing from the outside. Must admit, again, that I can't totally remember what it was like inside. Got a bit of church-overload going on and I generally don't take photos inside, so the memory disappears fast...



Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town with the aim of finding the rest of the places I had marked on my map... but I had to have a bit of a rest in a nice area, too.



After a while, found the Maison Diamantée (Diamond House), which turned out to be nothing much to look at, really, but was interesting for the fact that it was built in 1570!



While walking down the main street, I (and the rest of the general public in the vicinity) was assaulted by loud, continuous honking, and turned to see a line of cars making its way down the street, some complete with a few young people hanging out the windows. Some of the cars had ribbons on the mirrors, so I'm going to assume it was some kind of wedding party.

Despite my efforts, I never found the Puget Market, but I did find some nice areas...



and some kind of flea market. Pretty much everyone there seemed to be of Arab descent, and all the wares were spread out on blankets. But my overwhelming impression was just that there were people everywhere!



As the evening was fast approaching, I decided that it was time to choose two last things, and head for home. Headed for the Cantini fountain (marble fountain with a sculpture representing the 3 main rivers in Provence, the Mediterranean and Marseille, built in 1913) and, when I got there, realised I'd seen it the previous day when I got off the Metro, but just hadn't known any of its history. Nice-looking creation, so I definitely didn't mind seeing it a second time.



Then it was on to the 26th Centennial Park. The map's description is pretty good "A 10ha urban park in the very heart of the city, unveiled in June 2001." This was also worth a visit, although I suspect I may only have seen a part of it. Interesting to see a park which has been created recently, and is quite 'manicured' in comparison to many.
The only downside was the public toilets there: one look was enough to convince me to wait until I got back to the hostel! And then I spent a few nervous minutes as I tried to unchain my hired bike. This was the first time I'd tried using the lock, and I couldn't get it undone... Hireage is charged by the hour... In the end it turned out to be a simple matter of pushing the cable in and then turning, but it took me a wee while to figure that out.



Missioned it back to the hostel (with unsolicited help with directions from a friendly family) and got all my gears packed up.

Then it was off to the kebab place again, for this mysterious birthday dinner that I had been invited to! Turned out to be a bit of a random evening (considering that, for half the evening, I didn't even know whose bday it was, and I don't think they really knew why I was there, either), but a good one. It included: goat's cheese salad (always a good thing), wine, lasagne, cake, whiskey (not a good thing, unless it's mixed with Coke), and some Arab-style dancing. Oh, and getting locked out of my hostel. Fortunately, my newfound friends took me in for the night!



Despite the late night, the next day I had to get up on time to get all my gears and head into town to meet up with Laurent, a cool French dude that I met while in Paris with Nicole and Agnes. Thank goodness he was running a bit late, too! Anyway, we had a coffee and a good chat, and he drove me to the train station afterwards and helped me with my bags. Proof for all you ladies that the French gentleman does definitely exist!



Then, onto my next adventure...

La Merveille de Marseille... (1)

After a metro ride and a fairly decent walk, I got to my hostel. Success! It was even warm enough for me to be feeling quite hot by this stage. However, I was happy, because this was the view that greeted me as I approached the area I'd be staying in.



After a wifi fix, I thought it would be best to make the most of my time, and get out to see what looked to be a pretty sweet city (founded 2600 years ago, and France's second largest). The hostel had plenty of handy-dandy tourist maps, complete with lists of monuments, museums, etc to see. Given that I had a day and two halves in the place, I adopted a semi-organised approach, looked through the list, decided what I really wanted to see, and worked out which ones were close together.

Numéro uno on the list was Notre Dame de la Garde, the church perched on top of the hill in the middle of Marseille. I earnt a look through, too, as I walked up there from the Metro station.



Just a couple of facts about it to amaze you:
Altitude on the hill: 147.85m
Height of the massive statue of the Virgin holding Jesus: 9.72m
Weight of the statue: 9796kg
Weight of the Breat Bell: 8234kg

Also, it still bears bullet marks from Marseille's liberation on August 25, 1944, as it was the capture of this cathedral that liberated the city! The interior is super-detailed, there's gold everywhere, and lots of mosaics. The view over the city is as impressive as the cathedral, too.




For some reason, a wave of tiredness hit me at this point, so got on a bus and did the circuit which took me down to the Old Port (ie the centre of town).

After a while, I had recovered enough to see a couple more sights...

1. St Victor's Abbey: founded in the 5th Century, on a former quarry and medieval cemetery. Current church from the 13th Century
2. Palais du Pharo ('Pharo palace conference centre'): described by my map as "a genuine 'on the waterfront' building presented by Marseille to Napoleon III." However, I must admit that I found the views more inspiring than the building!

Headed back to home base on what would have been a very scenic bus route, had it still been light outside. Went for the easy option of buying dinner at the shop which was literally just around the corner from my hostel. Don't know what it is with me and kebab-shop guys when I'm on holiday, but this one was very chatty, even remembered me from when I had walked past with all my luggage earlier in the day (?), and finished by inviting me to come back the next night!

Kingi's Mediterranean Adventure (3)

Kingi fast asleep in his little home.

Kingi getting into the biscuits.

Kingi breakfasting.

Hanging out by the canal in Narbonne.

Kingi's Mediterranean Adventure (2)

Stubborn little thing... insisted on having his own bike.

Posing at the Monastery in Nice.

Hiding from wild beasts in Narbonne.

By the Theatre of the Sea in Sète.