Note: I didn't have time to get all the pictures from this day put on here, but I will come back and add them. We are moving tomorrow and it may be a couple of weeks before we can get the computer on line out there in the wild country so until then...
This was my favorite day of the entire trip! Marv was up and ready early Sunday morning. I on the other hand was sleeping off the nausea pills that got me through the night. He was taking pictures of the coast of France before we could even make out any buildings. The French Riviera was hoped to be one of the best ports because I remember from my childhood seeing a painting that my Grandma Curbo did of the brightly colored buildings there. She never got to visit, but somehow I felt a full circle moment when I got to see the actual buildings that she thought enough of to paint.
We didn't have to get off the boat until a little later that day since our tour wasn't until the afternoon, so we were able to eat breakfast on the boat and then leisurely get on the smaller boat to be taken to shore. I enjoyed taking pictures that day of other boats, houses, and every day scenes from life in France! It was a beautiful Fall day, and helped make the pictures and experience even more perfect!
Neither of us have ever traveled abroad, or knew French, so we were a little nervous. We soon realized that people are so friendly, and most could at least speak broken English. The accents were so fun to listen to! I think it puts a neat spin on our language when spiced up with a french accent. Some words would get lost in translation though, and that would always give us a good laugh when words were misused....more on that later.
We had the most fun going up and down stairs taking us all through the village. I tried and capture some neat things that caught my eye like...
1. EVERYONE hangs their laundry out on their balcony to dry. I loved the colors of laundry blowing in the breeze, and just the realness of everyone has dirty laundry and here it is out in the world for everyone to see.
2. Two well-worn ladies having a morning chat before starting the day at her market.
3. Fishermen gathering up their nets from the morning fishing trip. It all most seemed fake it was so real to see this every day life of the French.
4. Cafes galore...love the easiness of the way people start their day. So simple and unhurried! They know how to enjoy their food, family, and life!!!
We later took our first tour. We got on a tour bus with other people from our cruise and were taken around to see the sights from higher up. We passed by several celebrities homes like Tina Turner, and saw the unbelievable wealth of Monaco, and a neat mid-evil village of Eze. We were able to get off the bus at Eze and take a walking tour of this amazing little village up on a hill. This of course meant many steep hills and steps to climb, but well worth it. At the top we found a cafe and ordered a cappachino, and found a few neat items. As we headed back down the hill to the bus we saw an ambulance rushing up the hill, and later learned that a lady from our group had fallen coming down the steep steps. Our guide came back to the bus late after getting her sent to the hospital to inform us that she had been kilt (killed), but was going to go to hospital to get pickters (x-rays) to make her better. Wow these hospitals over here in France are something else if you can get pictures to bring you back to life!!! We realized that she meant injured instead of killed and that she probably just cracked her tailbone!
The whole time we had to keep pinching ourselves and reminding each other that we were actually in France and not Epcot!!! I could have spent an entire week in this wonderful land. The pebble beaches, bright blue water, brilliantly painted buildings and easiness of this bay was intoxicating to my senses. I will be back someday, but if not for sure I will follow in my grandma Curbo's footsteps and try and paint the scenes that I witness that perfect day in Villefranche!
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