First Stop France!

Ahhhh....  Today Voyager of the Seas sets anchor in Villefranche, France.  On this day there were a number of excursions that we could have chosen from including a trip to Monaco or a trip to Cannes.  But we chose to spend the day in Nice and Eze.  I had never heard of Eze until a few months before our trip.

We had used a travel agent for this trip who I must say day did not want to give us information.  We had to drag information out of him in fact.  He was nothing like me.  If you ask my opinion on a location, I might not shut up for days.   Even if I have never been there, chances are, I have an opinion on it and am just waiting for someone to ask for it.  Occasionally, I don't wait for you to ask.  But not ol' Larry.  We even set up a meeting with Larry and his boss prior to the trip to try to get some information out of them and still, the information was sparse.  The only piece of information we ever got out of Larry was, while in Villefranche, go to Eze.  Since it was the only piece of information he felt was important enough to tell us about the whole trip, come hail or high water, we knew we were going to Eze.

Just a little aside, this was the final trip on which I used a travel agent.  After that, I began to do all of the work myself.  I had always thought that if I used a travel agent, they would be able to answer my questions and give me their thoughts and opinions on locations and travel options.  Larry wasn't willing to do that.  I knew he was getting a commission and I didn't know if my trip was more expensive due to that commission so I stopped using him.  It turns out that the commission comes from the cruise line, so the cruise was going to cost the same whether I used him or not.  But still his level of service was a disappointment to me.  That is why I really work at researching a lot of places on a daily basis whether anyone has asked about them or not.  When you ask, you can rest assured that you are going to get an opinion out of me.  Sometimes you may get an opinion that you didn't want, but no one has ever accused me of not having an opinion on any topic regarding travel.

Back to Eze....  All that Larry could tell us about it was that it was a Medieval village near Nice and that if we did nothing else during our trip, we needed to visit it.  He could not elaborate further.  So, Jenny and I did some research and decided that he might be right and booked the excursion that spent a full day first going to Nice and then on to Eze.  Eze is situated about halfway between Nice and Monaco on a very high cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  But before we went there we spent our morning in Villefranche and Nice, so I should tell you about that first.

The ship anchors at Villefranche.  On the day that we were there in November, there was one other ship anchored.  I would imagine that in the summer months, the place is bustling with cruise ships.  The photo at the top of the blog today was the view before we got off the ship.  Villefranche has a very deep natural harbor which has made it an important city for many years.  It served as the home to the US Navy's 6th fleet from 1948 to 1966.  Our navy still calls on Villefranche from time to time.  Below is an entrance to the fortress.  The entire village is somewhat of a fortress because the harbor has been so important for so many years.

The photo to the left is nothing but a glimpse down a street in Villefranche.  I just thought it looked like a European post card.  Before going to Europe, I hoped that I would see one scene like this to photograph.  Once I got there, I realized that just about every time you turn a corner, you see this.  A person could get calluses on her camera hand from snapping so many shots.

The photo below is another favorite of mine.  (I know, I keep saying that.  But it really is!)  These people were fishing in the harbor, 10 feet away across the street people were dining on fish in the open air....  I wonder if these people caught it.  Our time in Villefranche before leaving for Nice and Eze was spent on our own.  Our tour wasn't supposed to start until later in the morning so Jenny and I had gotten off the ship as early as possible so that we would have time to walk around the village.  It was really a nice place.

In the distance of the fishing photo you can see the opening of a tunnel just above the back of the turquoise and white boat.  Below that roadway is a beach.  The photo of me below was taken while I was standing on that beach.  I love this photo of me that Jenny took.  I don't look too fat and I am on a beach in the Mediterranean... win-win!

I really like the street signs to the right.  This photo hangs in my living room along with many others from this day.  In fact, I have printed this one numerous times both in color and black and white.  It just seems so... European.

Sadly, I can't remember if the building to the left was in Nice or Villafranche.  So, I'll just tell you it was a building we walked past a couple of times that day.  The fountain below was definitely in Nice.  I remember it vividly because it was very close to a cafe we passed that was some sort of a Texas diner and even had longhorns and a Lone Star flag hanging out front.  Yes, that's right.  I remember landmarks in Europe based on how they relate to Texas.  I guess that makes me a true Texan.  I just wonder what kind of food they serve in a Texas restaurant located in the south of France.  Is it BBQ?  Or

cornbread and beans?  Maybe some TexMex.  Probably chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy.  That's real Texas food....  Who knows.  Anyway I guess if you are ever in Nice and you get homesick it is nice to know that you can possibly get some good old fashioned Texas food there.

The fish photo below was taken in the market where we were to meet back up with our tour guide in Nice.  We stood in front of these fish with the lemons in their mouths while she told us how we were going to spend the rest of the day.  I just thought they looked cool.  I noticed that Jenny has either this photo or one that she took of the same fish hanging in her kitchen now.  It's a good kitchen photo.

The photo to the right is just a quick one that I snapped as we walked through Nice.  Bougainvillea grows like a shrub along the Mediterranean.  It is everywhere you go and we kept seeing it being trimmed.  Meanwhile, here at home, I buy a hanging basket of it annually and within weeks the blooms fall off and it starts to die.  I can't keep it alive.  There they trim it back because it grows like a weed!

Below you can see some Christmas decoration in Nice.  We were there on the Monday prior to our Thanksgiving.

So everywhere we went Christmas decorations were just starting to go up.

The photo below was taken on the beach in Nice.  From what I understand, during the summer, there is not an empty piece of sand to be had to put your towel on here.  But in November when it is in the 50's there is plenty of sand to be had. It must me nice to lay on this beach in the summer with that sort of view.  Below that is a photo of a carousel in Nice.  It seemed like there were a lot of carousels wherever we went.  This is just the one we saw that day.

After a few hours in Nice on our own, we loaded back up on our bus and were taken to Eze.  I would like to have had more time in Eze.  I think it would be an incredible place to stay during the spring or summer when the weather is warmer.  There is a bed and breakfast there that looked really nice.  There are also a lot of really cute galleries and shops there.

To this day everytime I see a really nice Rosemary plant it reminds me of Eze since we saw a pot of the biggest, healthiest, Rosemary plant I have seen in my entire life there.  All of the photos below were taken in Eze.  Be sure and take a look at the Eze link that I have provided for more information on a truly beautiful village.  If you ever go to this area, make time to spend at least half a day there.  You will be glad you did.

The goat's not real.  It's bronze.

You can tour the gardens if you have time.  We didn't have time.

After our afternoon in Eze, we were taken back to Villefranche where we took a tender back over to the ship.  Tomorrow, I'll tell you all about our next stop, the first stop in Italy.  Have a great day!