See the Sea

Woke up from our slumber on a bed and frame which the proprietor said we were the first to sleep in-but which Rich said reminded him of the turquoise Kool-aid stand his dad made.

We did worry a bit that a nocturnal awakening might cause a concussion. 

We returned to the flower market this morning-but this time we were too early. The vendors were just setting up at 8 o'clock. We did manage to find a great bolangerie with a pastry that tasted like custard pie with zucchini. 

We changed our plans around due to the train strike and swapped our planned day in Antibes for the closer Cap Ferrat since we were now depending on buses. However the French have thwarted us again, as now some bus lines-including the one we needed-are on strike too.  We found a sign that seemed to indicate the strike would be done in the afternoon

so we sprang for an Uber taxi ride out to Cap Ferrat. 

Our for destination was the villa and garden of Beatrice de Rothschild.

She was an eccentric widow and heiress, and indulged all her whims In the creation and furnishing of her home and gardens. In many ways I enjoyed it more than Versailles-  the water views were stunning both inside

And out

The gardens more  varied including cactus

Spanish style

And musical fountains

We also enjoyed the stories of exess and eccentric.  She did not have children, but loved her animals-which included exotic birds, monkeys, lapdogs, and a mongoose. A treasured dog and mongoose even had their own matching Louie XIV chairs.

In fact, she famously staged a very elaborate wedding ceremony for one of her dogs and invited various other millionaire friends' pets to the ceremony.  This is some of her monkey wallpaper. 

And some other moments 

After the tour,  we walked to the town of Saint Jean and admired Ferraris

 and many boats and yachts 

He was disappointed to find the Rivas covered up. 

We ate pizza and set off on a walk on a fairly maintained trail around Cap Ferrat with lovely vistas everywhere.

Rich dipped his feet in the Mediterranean  

and declared it was possible to swim-but I've seen him swim in Maine, so not sure I can trust him. 
After the walk we thought we could catch bus 81 back to Nice now that the strike was finished.  Only the strike wasn't finished. Thankfully some Austrailians happened upon us and told us of the strike continuance, but that bus #100 was running still. This meant a long walk, quite a bit of it uphill,with us following our new down-under friends all the way up.

But we made it to the stop just in time to catch the bus. Did I mention that much like the Amalfi coast in Italy, this bus trip provides some pretty stunning views. But also like Amalfi coast, the bus was packed to the brim so we had to see some of the famed cornice road standing up, doing what I like to call the bus surf.

For dinner I had my first official Salad Niciose. It was surprisingly filling. Rich also walked me over for gelato again-and we stopped to play on the way.

It was a fun-but slightly transportation challenged day.