The Roman ruins were very well-preserved and we spent a leisurely afternoon wandering around and marveling at the accomplishments of the early architects and builders, before retreating to the comfort of the air-conditioned hotel room.
On 8/31/17 we left Nimes and drove up to Nice where we were staying at a Novotel near the Port for 2 days, which was about a 4 hour drive. Provence seemed similar, but a little greener perhaps, than the Languedoc-Roussillon region. There were loodles of vineyards and small farms, before the expected suburban sprawl as we approached the city. The afternoon was spent at the Musee Chagall, and then the Musee Matisse, which we took a Uber to the museums, but walked back, (as this was the down hill direction). Wandering the neighborhoods we saw amazing Chateaus and gardens, and came across an unusual-looking voluptuous flower, growing on a vine over a wall.
That evening we walked down through the Port, enjoying the sights and soaking up the atmosphere. The meal we had was a fabulous platter of seafood at La Vioglia, and I had my favorite dessert, Tiramisu to top it off. It was a good stroll back up to the hotel, and we enjoyed being out on the town, checking out the people, buildings, and squares, quite a few of which, had street performers and families relaxing in the cooler night air.
September 1 was a nice lazy morning, then a short drive up the coast to Monaco. My goodness it was wealthy! There were Maserati’s, Lotus, Lamborghini’s, Porches, and high end Mercedes (not the taxi model!), everywhere.
Todd navigated us to parking and we went for a walk to see the Port (full of mega yachts and a Windstar cruise ship), the Paris Hotel,
and then headed to the Monte Carlo Casino. It was as opulent as we had imagined. (In preparation we had read some of the information online about dress code, and what parts of the casino we could visit so we knew we wouldn’t get into the main gaming hall). It was fun to see it though, and after a few pulls of the slot machines, Todd was up enough to cover the car park and 2 glasses of wine, which was pretty good eh!
Before we headed back to Nice we took time to drive around the hairpin bend that you see on the formula one races in Monaco. Then it was back to Nice for naps and showers before our sortie down town for the evening. This time we chanced upon a bar with live music “Mamen Vendetta” was playing so we hung out and enjoyed some “gypsy rock”, before having a light dinner of shrimp and truffled pasta at a small family restaurant. It was apparently a bit too light though, so we stopped at a take out pizza place and ordered a Neapolitan to eat with the last of the wine in the room, zzzz!
The next day was a slow drive back to Montepellier where we would spend our last night. We took the afternoon to visit La Grande Motte and check out the Outremer Catamaran factory and local beach scene. As we were flying out at 6.20 am, it was an early night.
This second season had been much better than the first as far as the boat readiness and performance. At least we got to do some sailing and leave Canet for a while anyway! We were leaving with renewed hope that the new manager would continue to work on the remaining issues, and get the final contract items completed, (although I admit there was some relief at being off the boat for a while). As for last year, it was the people we met and the experiences we shared that made the biggest impact on us, and that (and terrific sailing!), was what it was all about n’es pas?