Monday, 25 April 2011

The Wrong Place at the Right Time?






This morning started out as a bit of mis-communication. The weatherman called for rain today, but at worst all we had was hazy skies, and we got a LOT of sun (or UV) and are both looking quite tanned.

Paul wanted to take the train to Roquebrun Cap Martin – but he didn’t tell me that – so we started off for our morning promenade and ended up at the train station. I hadn’t brought any coins with me, and the station (billeterie) was fermée because today is a civic holiday in France. Sooooooo…. We ended up going back to the apartment to get the coins I had saved to use the ticketing machine (it only takes coins or credit cards, no bills).

Once we returned to the station with the coins, I did manage to use the machine correctly (all the instructions are in French, not multi-lingual like in Paris) – except I bought 1 way (aller) instead of round trip (aller-retour), which really isn’t a big deal. Destination: Roquebrun Cap Martin. As the train moved along it finally ended up at Les Carnoles station. As it was pulling out of the station, I said to Paul “Isn’t this where we want to get off?” It was. The next stop, Roquebrun, was through a very long tunnel and practically in Monte Carlo (which isn’t all that bad – just not where we were headed). Soooooooo…. we got off the train in Roquebrun, crossed the platform and bought a 1 way ticket back one stop to Les Carnoles.

By this time it was lunch, so we stopped into a café and had a nice lunch with a bottle of rosé, before heading off on our walk around the Cap. Cap Martin (the west end of Menton) is a wonderful isthmus that juts out into the sea and affords spectacular views back over the bay to the old Village of Menton and from the tip, a fine view of Monaco/Monte Carlo. The cap is also notorious as the last place that the great architect Le Corbrusier was seen alive, diving into the sea that claimed his life one fateful day, I think in 1972. One photo I’m posting is of Monaco, but it was quite hazy so it isn’t the best. Don’t worry, Paul and I are going there later in the trip and there will be a blog on its own.

Todays pics: Top: At the train station in Roquebrun Cap Martin. Below: Pigeons on the retaining wall at the start of the Le Corbrusier walk. Below: View East to Menton and Italy from the Cap. Below: View West to Monaco/Monte Carlo form the tip of the cap. Final: Paul, with the Mediterranean and Menton behind him. I know, I know, I'll try to take more videos!

Today I really feel like we’re on holiday – no need to rush from place to place, we’re just doing what we want, when we want. If something goes wrong along the way – like the train – just laugh it off and chalk it up to experience.

Today’s weather, hazy but lots of sun, with a high of 23C.

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