May 27, 2016

Today's outing from our B&B in Cagnes-sur-Mer is to St Paul de Vence, a lovely hill-top town just inland from the coast.  The drive was to be about 10 minutes, however, our GPS directed us further up the hill to the parking lot very near the center of the village and almost at the top.  We came to a place (no other option) that said only residents could proceed beyond this point but with cars stacked up behind us we went on.  The road up got more narrow the higher we got and we came to a place with the usual "no entry" sign so we stopped to try and figure out what to do.  The man in the car behind us came up and asked if he could help us and we said we were trying to get to the parking lot so he manouvered us so he could get by and told us to follow him.  More climbing and narrow passages and at the cemetery (this driver was about ready for it) we turned into a huge parking lot for residents.  Oh well!  From here the walk to the center of the village was not far so we started to explore the little streets, by streets we mean lanes just wide enough for two donkeys to pass each other, no way a car could ever get through.  Lots of shops and galleries with a very diverse selection of art.

The village has been a haven for artists for some years.  One interesting thing was that everything was so tidy, the houses and shutters were in good repair, streets clean but crowded with a couple of ships' tours from Holland America and others.  Due to the Grande Prix race in Monaco the ships had to divert to Nice instead of landing in Monaco, so lots of visitors.  We made our way to the top of the hill where the highest point was St Paul's Catholic Church. There we had a much deserved sit-down.  Not as ornate as many we've seen in Europe but it is at least a working church, the alter guild ladies were cleaning while we were there.   The bell tower is quite impressive.

Just across a lane from the church is the Mairie (city hall).  We had a coffee and a rest and after looking at more galleries we selected our lunch place near the church.  Le Caruso was set on the slope of the hill and Iris felt like she was going over backwards at any moment so they pushed the second table over so we could both sit on the uphill side of the table.  Bob chose gazpacho for his starter while Iris had creamy cheese breaded with crushed nuts and baked.    We both had the sea bass with black rice and veg for our main course and it was quite good except for the bones that were hidden in the fillets.  For dessert, we had a warm chocolate cake with warm chocolate center with whipped cream and needless to say we enjoyed it.  Walking back to the car we decided to take a look in the cemetery where we found the grave of Marc Chagael (Chagall in English), the Russian-French painter of some fame as a modernist.

 We decided we had had enough touring for the day so we found an easier way to descend the hill more directly back to our B&B at Cagnes-sur-Mer.  After a nice nap we had a stroll down the sidewalk that bordered the beach.  Bob didn't get his camera and missed the greatest "The End" photo ever of a young lady having stripped off her bikini bottoms while facing the sea she was in the process of pulling up her tight jeans from around her ankles.   What a missed opportunity.  Once we tired of our walk we headed back to the B&B where we enjoyed some red wine and snacked on ham and cheese.  A little TV using our iPad connected to the big screen in our room just before retiring for the night.  Tomorrow we head home.