Welcome back! I'm so happy you all had a wonderful time. I look forward to seeing more pictures.

Europe is absolutely spectacular. After my trip to Italy in 1996 I wanted to pack my bags and move there as well.

Edna

Cameron, welcome back, these pictures are stunning I can hardly wait to see more.

Annette

Cameron glad you had such a wondrous time. We too loved the area. We were in Menton. Did you get there ? The beautiful waterfront and fort at night with the tiny white lights. And crepes and icecream by the sea.

My DH leaves for 10 days in Italy on Tuesday.

I am looking forward to all your pics. c

Wow! Nice pictures, Cameron. It looks beautiful there, and I can imagine how much fun you must have had. I only know an occasional word of French, but I'm wondering about the market picture showing what looked like zucchini for sale. Does the sign indicate that they are being sold with flowers, or actually for their flowers? I know squash blossoms are being sold here in the US for table use, but I don't know much about how to prepare them for sale. When I saw your picture, I thought maybe selling the flowers still attached to the baby squash would keep them fresh longer.

ThinMan

TM...zucchini is used a lot, both the veggie and the flowers. I had several dishes (Provencal and Nicoise) that featured different takes on stuffed z.

Caroline...why aren't YOU going to Italy, too? Been six times and can't get enough of the country!

Oh Cameron,
I loved looking at the pictures. Just beautiful! My favorite is the street scene in Mougins. It just screams French. I'm off now to take a look at your blog. Thanks for adding visual joy to my mother's day!
Vikki

That is just gorgeous! I love those photographs.

I'm glad you had a wonderful time,

GGG

Glad to have you back, Cameron. It looks like you had a wonderful trip--great photos.

Lorna

Ha...cameron he is going to be in meetings in Pari...a VERY tiny town . He will get to make a few trips out and about but I was not wanting to be there for a week in a town of 50 people.

I am going to Manhattan instead to visit my brother. Taking DS2 for 4 days in June. I love Italy and will go again when DH and I can play. c

Ooolala! What awesome photos!

Great to have you back Caroline!

Patti

Beautiful Cameron! Your pix bring back memories. As a child I was an Army brat-- my father was stationed in Germany for several years and he used to take his entire 30 days vacation in the summertime so our family could have one spectacular vacation! We would load up the car and drive to Italy--we stayed at beautiful hotels along the Italian Riviera. Along the way we stopped over in Switzerland and France--I do remember Nice and the French Riviera as well as Monaco--even as a child I was very impressed! Would LOVE to go back someday! Thanks for the memories:)Becky

Welcome back, ma belle. How's the jet lag? I'm so happy to hear about your adventure and see those beautiful photos! There's something to be said about the French. The food, the architecture, the landscape, the pace of the people, they just seem to get it right. So I must know, which do you ultimately prefer? France or Italy?

Those stone arches in the garden at Villa Ephrussi take me back to one of great "should have done it" moments in my life. I'm still kicking myself to this day. It was in the early 90's. I had the opportunity to buy a piece of gothic architecture for a relative song. It was a carved stone window frame late 14th early 15th century. It was about 5 feet high and had surpringly little damage. The man selling it wouldn't ship and my traveling companion wouldn't wait an extra day for me to arrange it (we have to get to Salzburg, we have to get to Salzburg - whiner). So I had to leave it behind. I know just where it would go in my garden too. Oh well, there's always another trip.

Cameron, keep the thread alive and tell us some stories!

Steven

Steven: you should have gotten the Gothic arches! I'm still waking up at 3-4am in the morning. At least I got out and pulled weeds for 3 hours yesterday!

Stories...

We've been all over Italy (6 trips) and thought it was our favorite country until now. This was our 3rd trip to France (Paris, Provence, Cote d'Azur). Definitely, the Cote d'Azur (aka the French Riviera) wins as our favorite for these reasons:

The southern French are so very friendly. Everyone, from fellow hikers with a 'bonjour', to the attitudes of restaurants and hotel staff, extended great warmth and friendliness.

We didn't feel out of place since so many French vacation in the area, too. They dress much more casually than in Paris or Provence. They were in sneakers/sandals and jeans/shorts more than I've ever seen anywhere in Europe. I guess we blended in pretty well as we were even asked by French, in French, for directions on several occasions.

It is a very comfortable environment in terms of language, safety, and casualness of the people. Between the two of us, we know/read/speak sufficient French that we can communicate. Not saying that we're eloquent! LOL

We enjoyed the food much more than in other parts of France where we found the choices to be pretty much the same thing everywhere. There was a lot of variety. Being so close to Italy, the Alps and Provence, there was a lot to choose from. We stayed in Mougins, which is THE gourmet village in the area.

Dollar to Euro: this trip wasn't as expensive as Italy or the UK. A 3 course meal in a gourmet restaurant was 19-25 Euros, per person. If we bought a 3 course meal at a gourmet restaurant here in Chapel Hill, it would cost more. Local wines were less expensive than Diet Coke by the glass. We drank sparkling water at all meals instead of sodas. All food was delicious, whether it was a sandwich jambon cru or croque monsieur at a l'emporter (take out) place, or a gourmet meal. Gelato was plentiful, too! :-) The desserts and pastries were luscious.

I've never been anywhere else where I got up every morning and felt like a kid. All smiles and no bad moods with that gorgeous sea and sunshine.

The hikes were just perfect for us. We didn't pay admission for anything on this trip other than the Villa Ephrussi gardens. Our interest was all out there for free. The trails (sentier littoral) are well-documented, well-marked and well-maintained. Some trails are not for those with balance problems, vertigo or low stamina. Other trails are just level, wide paths with gorgeous views. I was really proud of myself for a 9 mile hike on the penninsula of St. Tropez.

Both DH and I could see doing a long-term vacation rental there sometime in the future if the time/finances work out. DH picked up real estate brochures all the time. If a person wanted to buy property, we think you get a lot for your money compared to popular resort areas in the US. That's not the case in so many other European areas, especially the big cities like Paris or Rome. However, we do understand that many of the coastal villages become literal ghost towns in the winter from October until April/May, so we must assume that the winter/mistral winds make it a less inviting place to live year round.

We did have one celebrity siting while we were in the port of Antibes. I am positive that we saw Jude Law driving a Porsche slowly (tiny parking lot) past us up to a yacht. I just googled him and yep, he's rented a place on Cap d'Antibes, which is just down the road from Cannes (the festival starts May 14th).

"We stayed in Mougins, which is THE gourmet village in the area."

Cameron, does the restaurant "Le Moulin de Mougins" still exist? I once had a memorable dinner there with all my colleagues. I worked for Digital Equipment Corporation for many years and the company had a training and localization facility in Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne. I used to travel there for work, sigh...

Other memorable souvenirs are walking the Promenade des Anglais in the sun, the old town of Antibes and bouillabaisse in a restaurant in the Nice harbor. Happier times... Yes, the Ce d'Azur is a lovely place.

Eduarda

Eduarda, yes it still exists, but we didn't eat there as we understand it has fallen in Michelin stars. We looked at the menu, but found it far too expensive compared to all the other restaurants in the vieux village. We dined at Le Resto des Arts (twice):

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On our last evening, we dined at Le Rendez-Vous de Mougins. Both were fantastic!

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There was a big soiree last Wednesday evening where the locals came out to celebrate. It's a yearly event. All of the restaurants had free wine and appetizers for them. We were fortunate to get a table that evening, but Resto des Arts seated us since they had already gotten to know us from a previous meal. As you can see from the photo, all the locals wore white.

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"Eduarda, yes it still exists, but we didn't eat there as we understand it has fallen in Michelin stars. "

Oh, the dreaded Michelin stars, LOL! I know exactly what you mean - a big empty plate, exquisitely decorated and a fat bill at the end. We have a few of those in Portugal too (fortunately not too many). Like you, I steer clear from them and prefer the places where most locals go. Food in France is good almost anywhere and I'm pretty sure you ate as well as you would in the fancy one for a fraction of the price. The Moulin was not Michelin starred when I went there, as far as I can remember, but it was a long time ago. I loved all the pics you posted, they really bring back happy memories for me.

Thanks for posting them. And now you need to plan your next trip and this time I hope it is Portugal ;-)

Eduarda

Portugal has been on our radar several times. DH has been there, but I haven't. I think we're both a bit intimidated by our lack of knowledge of the language. We've very independent and like to get out and go where the locals go. Did I mention that I love port and madiera? LOL

We've blown our travel budget for this year, but there's always next year!

Cameron

Cameron, people in Portugal will go out of their way to help you out in case of need, even in the cases where their English is less than perfect. Young people will speak English and in tourist areas and hotels, hosts, waiters, etc. will speak English. You don't need to fear not understanding the language, there are millions of tourists coming here every year who don't speak a word of anything other than their own language (ex: English people) and they do very well and keep coming back for more :-)

Just let me know when you plan to visit and I'll help you out with a travel plan. Like you, DH and I are independent travellers at heart and like to mingle with the locals too.

Eduarda

You're so kind to offer your travel planning advice. We will definitely keep Portugal up there on our list. My DH says to thank you, too. He loves your rose garden photos in the gallery as well.

Cameron