Happily Ewers After, Part 6: Èze

I could almost let the pictures tell the whole story of this perfect town and idyllic hotel, the Château de la Chèvre d'Or! We quite unintentionally finished our trip in what was easily our favorite location. 

Èze Village  sits high on a hilltop roughly between Monaco and Nice, but its territory extends all the way down to the sea to Èze sur la Mer. We took a quick drive through the tangled roads of Monaco before we began the windy ascension to the village, but as soon as we hit the first bend in the road, it became apparent that we were in for something special. The views of the village on approach bring to mind ancient legends and fairy tales of fortresses high above the clouds, or for those of you who prefer a more recent reference, think of Eyrie in the Vale in Game of Thrones. It feels impenetrable and magical from the outside.

Inside the walls, the village is a maze of rugged streets, lovely art shops, and tiny cafes all weaving their way to the church and botanic garden that sit at the top. 

The Chèvre d'Or manages to integrate incredibly modern and luxurious amenities right into the castle itself, and our room was inside the wall, a two story "standard" with plenty of space and spectacular views of the sunrise each morning.

Elsewhere in the hotel are three highly ranked restaurants (one even boasts a 2 Micheline star ranking), incredible tiered gardens full of delightful statues, two luxurious pools and plenty of space to wander and become mesmerized by the views of the coast below.

Èze is known for the two large perfume factories, Fragonard and Galimard, both of which are wholesalers who supply better known brands including Chanel. We took a tour of Galimard and learned about the nuances of creating perfume. The factory offers the opportunity to work with the professional perfumer (a job, we learned, that takes years of training, chemistry and dedication and keeps you in an elite group of only 300 in the world!) and craft your own scent. Sadly, the perfumer was at another factory for the duration of our stay, so I wasn't able to do this...add it to the list of reasons we will need to return to Èze!

Winding out of the medieval city is a footpath dubbed the Chemin de Nietzsche, or Nietzsche Path. This is an old goat path, made easier with rocky steps and a few rails where the terrain becomes more treacherous leading all the way down to the sea, some 3.1 miles with a 1600 foot elevation. It's said that while Nietzsche lived in the area, he hiked this path everyday and found it soothing to his famously troubled mind. As a result, he wrote, "I slept well, I laughed a lot, and I found a marvelous vigor and patience." Some say he also composed the final part of "Thus spoke Zarathustra" in his mind while walking the trail. 

In honor of its famous trekker, the trail is dotted with quotes along the way:

The hike down to the sea took us a little over an hour, and the views were spectacular, but the destination was even more welcome, an unspoiled, mostly deserted rocky beach with crystal clear water and lovely waves. We swam and relaxed before walking down to the only restaurant available, Papaya Beach, which on first glance looked like a nondescript beach bar, but proved to have a rustic elegance and delicious food.

We spent our very last night in France eating Pizza in one of the narrow streets of Èze then returned to Chèvre d'Or for a nightcap overlooking the sea and the lights below. As if on cue, as soon as we settled into our seats, one of the mega yachts below began an elaborate fireworks display, complete with heart-shaped explosions of color.

I can't even imagine a more fitting or magical end to a truly magical honeymoon!

We have been blessed with incredible friends and family who surround us with love and celebrated our commitment alongside us, with the opportunity to visit some of the world’s most beautiful places, and with a love that we know will last a lifetime.

Thanks for sharing in our journey!

Happily Ewers After, Part 5: The Cote d'Azur

After a delicious morning breakfast at our hotel in Avignon, we headed straight for our next destination, Antibes/ Juans Les Pins. Antibes is not as well known as some of its more famous and illustrious neighboring towns like Cannes, Nice, and San Tropez, but it is centrally located and gave us the option of visiting those other places if we chose while offering a quieter respite. This area has two distinct personalities. The harbor and old town of Antibes with its medieval walls and quaint cobblestone streets has a lively market and lots of charm, while Juan les Pins hugs the shoreline and draws more of the beach crowd. We opted for Juan les Pins largely because the literature junky in me wanted to stay at Belles Rives, the former home of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. 

By this point in our trip, we had many miles on both our legs and our car, and 5 days of relaxation was exactly what we needed. I settled in with Tender is the Night, the book that Fitzgerald wrote about his time in Antibes, and we enjoyed the clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the lovely Belle Epoque hotel with it's perfect sunset views and impeccable service. 

We had grand ideas about exploring other areas (Thank you Shannon L. for your Cannes recommendations), but with a book in my hand and the sound of the water all around me, it's pretty hard to get me to move, so our only day trip was to Nice. Nice is a beautiful but LARGE city with much more hustle and bustle than our quiet little enclave, but we found a lovely restaurant near the marina for lunch and a wonderful cocktail spot built upon the rocks (http://www.leplongeoir.com ) to while away the afternoon. 

In most of his novels, Fitzgerald explores an obsession with the mysteries of wealth and the irreconcilability of the lifestyle of the very rich with the rest of us. It became one of his greatest themes, and it's easy to believe that being surrounded by massive villas and mega yachts in the harbor of Antibes may have caused his imagination to speculate about the lives of the inhabitants. The Hotel Belles Rives pulls the curtain back on the identities of its rich and famous regulars, designating storage units for some of the most recognizable of its clientele. Zoom in on the pictures below to read the names! Like Fitzgerald, we couldn't help but imagine rubbing shoulders with the likes of Sting in our hotel lounge!

Overall, we enjoyed the relaxation of our time here, and the beauty of the Cote d'Azure is undeniable, but it was more crowded and fast paced than the kind of beach vacation Mike and I normally gravitate towards. As beautiful and elegant as the hotel was, we also felt a bit "nickel and dimed" since absolutely everything (including a beach towel for 5 Euros) was extra despite its already high price. I loved immersing in the energy of one of my literary heroes, but I doubt we would return.

Little did we know, the best was yet to come...

We saved our favorite stop for last. Stay tuned for Part 6: Eze!

Happily Ewers After, Part 4: Avignon

The "road to Avignon" has been made famous in song, story and poems for ages, so there is something a bit legendary and surreal about setting a course there. I had Mary Lowell's famous lines jingling in my mind as I set the course in our navigation.

And looking up to the lady, sings: —
             Down the road to Avignon,
             The long, long road to Avignon,
             Across the bridge to Avignon,
             One morning in the spring.

We left Borgogne mid morning and made a last minute decision to arrive in Chateauneuf de Pape for lunch. Most red wine drinkers will recognize the name of this village, long associated with some of the very best reds in the world, so we felt like it might be an interesting waypoint, and we were correct! The surrounding land is blanketed with vines that look altogether different from what we had encountered in Borgogne, and the village itself is small and built upon a rather steep hill. It was Sunday when we travelled there, so it was virtually deserted, and many of the shops, restaurants and wine "caves" were closed, but we managed to find an open cafe and an actual "quick" lunch...our first, I think! Later, we climbed towards the top of the village to see the view and the castle, and along the way we found an open wine cave/cellar. The sign on the desk said there would be no English tour until much later, but in another of many serendipitous strokes of fortune, a gentleman outside invited us to join a private group that was about to begin.

Our session was brief, but what I learned is that the Chateauneuf de Pape appellation is far more complex than the Borgogne. Wine makers draw upon 13 different types of grapes, mixing them in complex ways, but the foundation is almost always Grenache and many of the grenache vines are close to 150 years old. The unique flavor concentration here derives from the stones that surround the vines and blanket the vineyards providing heat and wicking away moisture. We tasted a few, bought a couple and resolved to let them sit for 5 years which is what was recommended. More interesting than all of that, though, was the cave itself. Dating back 2000 years to the roman era, it still had the original pits dug into stone where people would stomp the grapes.

We finally arrived in Avignon around 3pm and checked into our hotel, The Hotel D'Europe, a favorite of many historical figures,  including Napolean Bonaparte whose diaries are said to mention the place many times. 

When I was a little girl, I was fascinated with castles and princesses and knights. I had, as many of you did, I suspect, the 1970s version of the Fisher Price Little Peoples Castle, and it forever shaped my ideas about what a castle should look like. Arriving in Avignon felt like I had arrived to that castle.  Huge in scale, surrounded by turrets and a gigantic stone wall with a lovely river and beautiful bridge extending outward, it creates an impression of grandeur from the very first glimpse and quickly reawakened my childhood imagination with its maidens, chevaliers and dragons and kings.

In reality, the Palais des Papes owed its splendor more to the Catholic Church than any fantasy court. It was the home of multiple popes and the seat of Western Christianity in the 14th century. We had just enough time to take a tour, an incredibly unique experience due to the electronic pads that are provided. The interactive pad serves as a guide, but also recreates the inside of the rooms just as they would have been ages ago wherever you point the device in any direction. 

We only had one night in this splendid city, and we would have liked more, but after days and days of sightseeing, we were both ready to relax and looked forward to moving on to the Cote d'Azure the next day. 

Stay tuned for Part 5: Antibes!