Today was another amazing day in a long string of them that just keeps getting better. Our driver Peggy (a lovely petite french woman that was named after Peggy Fleming) picked us up at 9 a.m and off to San remo, Italy we went. The 50 kms on the motorway is quite scenic with many tunnels and mountain and sea views abound>.Arriving in San remo at 10 a.m. we jump right out onto the streets of the old town for some seriuos shopping. The life of Italian townspeople is just as I imagined it...cafe's buzzing with the talk of the day, the smell of fresh bread in the air and people moving about frantically to get their daily supplies and shopping compoleted before lunch.
After a few small purchases (ha ha) we met Peggy and headed to Ventimiglia, 14 km down the coast for lunch at Bagni San Guiseppe, Restorante Bar, directly on the sea (speaking of Guiseppe, happy birthday to my brother Joe today, aka Guiseppe). Well, the reputation of Ligurian cuisine is alive and well. For primi,Lee-Ann enjoyed the local pasta specialty. The pesto was the greenest green I have ever seen and was to die for!!! I enjoyed another house specailty, Canelloni Guiseppe, which was very delicate and delicious. Lots of ricotta and basil stuffed pasta with a bolognese sauce...ya man! For secondi, I enjoyed a cold dish of Vitello Tonello, Basiaclly, veal carpaccio with tuna sauce and capers. It was excellent, but very rich. Lee-ann enjoyed the fried shrimp and calamari. We woont tell her mom Lena, but this calamari was a close second to hers that she makes at Christmas. A nice bottle of Chianti accompanied our lunch and we were happy and ready for the afternnon trip to Monaco and Eze.
I never imagined the principality of Monaco to be so small, even after numerous people had told me so. The elegance and opulance is quite astonishing for such a humble Canadian boy like myself. We visited the cathedral (where Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier were married and I even took a pic of her tomb) We visited the golden square, the Monte Carolo casino, Cafe paris and the mothership for restaurantuers, Loius XV, Alan Ducasse's first and foremost Michelin star restaurant. Next we drove the race course of the Monaco Grand Prix and toured the harbour, where million Euro yachts are common place.
We left Monaco and drove along the Moyen Corniche road back toward Nice and stopped at the midieval village of Eze. Peggy drove us up the long hill into the village and we walked up further into the oldest, pedestrian only part of the village. It is perched on a spectaluar point, which served its purpose for defence over the years. very interesting residence, hotels and shops make up this cobbled village.
Enjoy the pics and blog....we are abou t to watch a fireworks show from our balcony at the Hotel Suisse. This week, Nice is celebarating 150th years of being returned to the French from italian rule. We are here in Nice for a half day tomorrow, then back to Toronto via Amsterdam.
The 1st pic is me blogging on the balcony of our hotel room.
Bon Soir!
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Safe travels back home. I enjoyed your blog. The wine, the food, the scenery, and the friendships. Thank you for letting me tag along on the journey. We have been fortunate to have been to Nice and Monaco two years ago so it was great to revisit with you both there. Maybe we will see you at the bay.
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