The port of Villefranche.
You can see one of the tenders on the right coming to the ship to pick up passengers.
On the tender on our way in to the port.
View of the ship from the port.
We spent the morning on board, joined the trivia competition, strolled around the ship, and read for a bit. At 12 we had to meet in the show lounge to get our bus numbers for our tour of Nice and Eze (pronounced "Ezz", not "easy"). The buses were located in the fortress in town, surrounded by huge stone walls. It was incredible to watch the bus driver maneouvering the huge tour bus through the narrow gates and lanes.
The fortress in which the tour buses were parked
Our tour guide, Dominique, did a wonderful job of describing the city of Nice as we drove through the main boulevard along the beach, lined with palm trees and hotels. I couldn't get a shot of Nice from the bus on the way there, unfortunately, as the bus was moving too quickly and every time I tried, a bush got in the way! The view of Nice from the mountainside is just amazing!
The Jazz Player statue in front of the best known hotel on the boulevard, Le Negresco.
Palm trees lining the boulevard along the waterfront.
Dominique warned us to get our cameras ready for the photo stop at the Russian cathedral in the city... it was beautiful!
The gold on the domes of the Russian Cathedral is actual gold.
This was just a beautiful building and I'm so glad Dominique included it on the tour.
We then proceeded with our walking tour of Old Nice, enjoying the narrow, picturesque streets, the flower and food market (the food portion was unfortunately closing up by the time we got there), and a famous candy store which sold candied fruits and has been there for over a hundred years. The candy store totally upstaged the Opera across the street when Dominique stopped to talk about it!
The famous candy store across from the Opera in Old Nice
Beautiful candied fruits in the shop window.
The flower market was just beautiful!
The smell of the flowers was amazing!
One of the narrow streets of Old Nice
After the walking tour, we had about forty minutes to explore on our own, and we walked back along the market street browsing the shops as we went. Mom and I both bought a hand towel as a souvenir. I also bought a set of coasters showing pictures of Nice and the south of France, to add to my collection (I have a wonderful set of Paris coasters). We all met up at the bus, with no stragglers causing us to be late! You usually get one couple that turns up late, but this time everyone was punctual. Off we went back past Villefranche to the next stop on our tour, the medieval mountaintop village of Eze.
Coming back out of Nice, passing the expensive yachts moored there
Pic of the ship in Villefranche harbour from the bus.
The village of Eze is located on the very top of a mountain. It was built there to keep it secure and safe from Greek raiders centuries ago! There are no vehicles in the village, and to get to it requires a steep walk up cobblestoned narrow streets. It is absolutely worth the climb!
Eze perched on top of the mountain
Beautiful winding cobblestone streets disclose wonderful little houses and shops
Gorgeous flowers everywhere
A photo opportunity around every corner!
The cobblestones were set at long intervals to accommodate the donkeys used years ago to transport people and goods up to the village. For tourists, the red brick insets have been added, so they do not slip on the cobblestones.
I just loved this gorgeous wooden door.
Time to make our back down to the bus, passing lots of unique little shops and cafes on the way.
If you ever find yourself in Nice, do try to make a side trip to visit Eze. It's a 20 minute drive, and is just so beautiful! We thoroughly enjoyed this excursion. The tour guides for all of our excursions were wonderful, each one being better than the one the day before!
CATHY'S CORNER: Sorry, Cathy, the food must have been so good this day that I didn't manage to get one picture before eating it! Stay tuned for Day 4 in Italy!!
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