Sexy Cote d'Azur

Ferrari watching in Monaco, hanging with the nudes on the Nice beaches, yacht envy, hang-gliding in Saint Andre Les Alpes (on the mountainside behind Nice), casino action in Monte Carlo, superb french provencal cuisine, need I say more?

Quick Tips:

Avoid the beaches in Monte Carlo. They turned out to be a bit of a disappointment; relatively small, studded with concrete and littered. However, go if you want to brush up on your German. I think their beaches are a German hotspot. Finally, trek up to the Chateau atop the hill at the Eastern end of Nice's vast beach to take some photographs of the town. Nice bird's eye view.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is doable within the cities and towns along the Riviera. However, you'll need wheels to cruise the seaside of Cote d'Azur between Nice and Monte Carlo and down to Cannes.

Our first night in Nice after checking in at the Ambassador Hotel, we followed the advice of our desk clerk and ate at the hotel restaurant. As much as I normally hate to eat where I sleep when travelling, this venture turned out to be a gem. We figured we'd have plenty of time in old town Nice to bypass the predictable run of gaudy tourist restaurants, so we opted for our hotel's. Turns out they specialized in Provencal cuisine. The atmosphere was lively inside, seems like everyone had the same idea we had and were enjoying themselves. I seized the rare opportunity to sample fresh seafood and ordered the "St Pierre Grille", a local firm-fleshed fish char-grilled and accompanied by a skimpy salad and potatoes. My wife ordered a rich beef ravioli which she seemed to enjoy. I followed up with glaces and sorbet (chocolat, citron and pistache) and she with profiteroles. A light, red Provencal wine accompanied the whole meal and as a start to the weekend the experience was fantastic. It even featured that most French of things, a surly waiter who can still make you laugh.

Monaco was a must see on our trip to Cote d'Azur. It was only a thirty minute drive from Nice, but we opted to take the train, which runs every hour. Going by train was a good way for us to take in the sights along the way. We emerged from the tunnel to the train station into the bright light and gleaming white hulls of the harbour. Monaco is wealthy city. We noticed right away looking at the architecture. The yachts that grace the harbour are the size of ocean going liners and every second car on the street is a Ferrari. From the harbour we walked around the stands and banners for the upcoming Grand Prix and took a brief stroll down the famous straight in front of the swimming pool. The yachts rolled on as far as we could see, some with helicopters, some with their own flotilla of small boats on deck. At the end of the harbour we turned right out of the harbour and up on to Le Rocher ("the rock") to the Musée Oceangraphique established by Prince Albert I in 1910. From the rock we walked down past the palace (flag down, no Grimaldi's in evidence) and out through the town to the beach. The beach turned out to be a disappointment. It was small, studded with concrete and littered with garbage. We sat for a while and then turned back towards the harbour seeking lunch. We eventually succumbed to desperation and found lunch in one of the small, nondescript Italian restaurants by the harbour. This one was doing a lively take-out trade to a bunch of teenagers diving off the back of the harbour pier. The food was barely edible but at least the coffee was good.

Our first thought in this riviera town was to try the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain (MAMAC) in the middle of Nice. The Musée contains modern 'masterworks' such as Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Can" and "Entablature" a shopping trolley wrapped by Christo. Unfortunately we had not taken into account the fact that the Sunday we were available for "museuming" was a holiday for the French. Consequently all the Museums were closed, including the MAMAC. Instead we detoured out to the Chateau atop the hill at the Eastern end of Nice's vast beach to take some photographs of the town. Walking down into the town from the Chateau we came into the Vieux Nice proper with narrow streets and old buildings. We found a little square opposite the church lined with restaurants and paused for lunch. Here we got some evidence which makes me suspect the French reputation of world class lovers is well deserved. While we sat eating lunch, a man walked past our table obviously intent on celebrating the onset of Spring. He padded past our table, barefoot and dressed in his bath robe clutching in one hand a bottle of wine and in the other a single rose. After that we spent a few pleasant but pointless hours on the beachfront reading, paddling in the water and taking coffee in a café.

We found a treasure in a town called Saint Andres Les Alpes; a very small town (population 800 or so) in the mountains behind Nice. We wouldn't have even gone there other than the fact the town is a center for hang gliding. This happens to be one of my finer pleasures. The town is situated in such a way that the winds sweep off the Lake and up into the hills around Saint Andres creating the perfect environment for flying. Reminded me of the Santa Ana winds we get in Los Angeles. When we arrived we noticed about a dozen brightly coloured sails clustered around the peaks to the North of the town and floated down into the valley to the south. As we drove into town the shadows would follow us down the road and briefly block out the sunlight as the sails drifted overhead. To get to the action, we basically reverse tracked the gliders coming from their point of origin and then tailgated a car with a sail on its hood. We got there and saw most with their own equipment, but there are two vendors there that will hook you up (literally), and provide shuttles to the top. It was quite an experience, leaving all that culture from Nice and Monaco, for some good ol' fashion American sport. After a few hours and four runs down the hills, we left back for our hotel in Nice. I definitely wouldn't mind coming back here.