Arriving on a mid-morning flight from Lisbon to Marseilles gave us plenty of time to rent a car and drive to Nice on the southern coast of France.
We rented the top floor apartment in this building for four nights and we used it as our base for sightseeing in Nice, nearby Ville Franche and Monaco.
Our apartment had an elevator that worked perfectly until checkout time when it refused to budge. We had to carry our bags down 6 flights to the underground parking space on our departure date.
When in France, eat like the French......escargots in garlic butter!
This is the town of Ville Franche sur Mer. It is a short train ride east of Nice. Yvonne and I had spent a week here on of first trip to France in 1996.
The fillet of sole was delicious!
This seafood pizza came with a mussel in a half shell.
The swordfish was amazing!
And you can't go wrong with creme caramel for dessert.
Ville Franche is still as tranquil and picturesque as ever.
The beach in Nice is nice!
Nice on a hillside
Tito was having fun with some guy's pigeons.
We climbed 200 stair-steps to get up here.
French pastries are the best!
After four days in Nice, we packed up and drove a couple hours North to Lorgues.
This little red building was once a boutique hotel. At one time, it also served as a restaurant. It was available as an AirBnB and the nice thing is we had the whole place for a week. Lorgues is a beautiful and rustic French town in the center of Provence and is not overrun with tourists.
Our kitchen was beautiful with granite counters and two gas stoves.
Yvonne was our live in chef!
We explored the Provence countryside every chance we had.
This was a bakery that was very popular with the locals and the tourists but you had to get there early!
Le Chateau Sainte-Beatrice, a small vineyard and winery, was 15 minutes out of Lorgues. Coincidentally, the owner of this winery also owned the AirBnB that we were renting in town. We decided to stop in for a tasting.
Karene instantly recognized us and insisted we try a few wines. By he end of the tasting she had opened eight different wines.
Tito doesn't embarrass easily but Karine had him blushing!
This is from her corkscrew collection.
Provence is famous for its' rose wines. At a tasting, several roses are served before the reds come out.
Karene allowed us to tour the whole facility including the cellar.
A lot of the buildings still have these rings near the entrances. They were there to tie up your horse or oxen. Nowadays, they only serve as decorations or a place to tie your pet while shopping inside.
Apparently Lorgues had a Knights of Templar chapter.
Though their order was dissolved more than 700 years ago, the Knights Templar continue to be a curiosity for visitors. The Da Vinci Code was inspired by one of the most famous Templar legends, that the Knights were the guardians of the Holy Grail. The Templars went from protecting commoners during the Crusades to controlling a vast financial empire.
This is the street in front of our house on Monday afternoon
and this is the street in front of our house on Tuesday morning.
Every Tuesday, the streets of Lorgues are transformed into a giant outdoor market. Hundreds of vendors set up booths and tents and sell everything from cooked food and fresh vegetables to housewares, clothing and even mattresses as shown in the following pictures.
Paella - 7 euros for a large takeout, enough for two.
This guy was set up right outside of our front door.
One benefit of staying in a small town for more than a couple days is that people start to recognize you. This is Chef Rachelle from the restaurant where we had eaten the previous day. She enquired about our day jokingly asked what she could cook us for supper.
Yvonne and Sandi, happy they were not cooking again tonight.
Our back patio deck overlooked a beautiful garden area.
Exploring the barrel room of the local winery.
To the market for our daily bread!
These are community wine presses from days gone by.
Sandi and her favorite gate.
A bulging wall is a common sight.
A pose by her favorite door.
Lookout over the famous Gorge.
Tito posing next to an old grape press. He said his father had one similar to this.
Chateau de Berne near Lorgues, another great winery with a tasting bar.
Provence is famous for Rose wines.
Duck, Pork, Pasta, Fish, Lamb or Beef, your choice.
A man's home is his castle. In this case, his mountain!
We stayed in a Montmartre VRBO.
We dined in our apartment on the first of four days in Paris although there were plenty of restaurants three floors down.
Lagunitas IPA from California on tap in Paris France. Who says IPAs are not popular?
Sacre Coeur Cathedral was a 20 minute walk from our apartment.
The famous Moulin Rouge Cabaret was nearby.
You can't visit Paris without touring a few churches.
Sandi and Yvonne gazing at the Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triomphe
The Louvres where Mona hangs.
Notre Dame from the front
Notre Dame is under reconstruction following a devastating fire that destroyed the wooden roof.
Another variation of my last name
The Big Bus is great for getting around.
And from here we boarded a Westjet flight to Calgary-Edmonton
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