Fortnight in France -- Partie Deux

Thanks for your kind comments about Partie Un. Here is the next installment on our whirlwind tour.

After Lyon, we traveled through the beautiful landscape of Provence until our stop in Aix-en-Provence. Those impressionists sure found a wonderful place to paint. In the afternoon we stopped in Grasse to tour the Fragonard perfume factory. Lots of Americans spent lots of euros in the gift shop.

Continuing south, our next stop was Juan les Pins on the Côte d'Azur. I spent the better part of July 1969 studying French in Antibes which is right next door. As we wove around the streets of Antibes and Juan Les Pins for the next couple of days I struggled unsuccessfully to find anything at all that was familiar. Finally, a light bulb: it is more than likely that many of the buildings in town were built since 1969. It seemed overbuilt and not terribly attractive. The seaside is still nice, though.

The next day, we went to the wonderful town of St. Paul de Vence, a walled city that sits way up on top of a hill. It is still a haven for artists. This one I did remember. This is one of the places that both Will and I agreed we could happily return to. I love hidden alleys and staircases.

That night we had a wonderful excursion from Juan les Pins, along the coast past Nice, to Monte Carlo. The views were spectacular. At a photo stop along the way near Cap Ferrat and overlooking Villefranche Bay, our tour manager surprised us with some sparkling wine and snacks. Then we were off to Monte Carlo to enjoy a nice meal in the casino. Luckily, we did not have enough time to play any games in the casino. I find Monte Carlo fascinating and would love to go back to spend a bit more time. Maybe the owner of the Carolina Blue Bentley convertible can drive us around.

After leaving Juan le Pins, our next stop was Avignon, home of seven popes who reigned in the 1300s. After an interesting walking tour and lunch, we stopped at the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct across the Gardon River. We were overnight in the town of Carcassonne.

To be continued in Partie Trois.