Firstly – thanks to everyone for
the Birthday wishes yesterday. I took the blogging day off to celebrate!
Beaulieu sur-mer – beautiful place
on the sea. If we didn’t love Menton so much, Beaulieu would be our alternate
destination. Solidly a Victorian town, this little gem of a place is the train
station stop for the wealthy folk living on Cap Ferrat.
We took the train there today and
spent the time meandering through the rose garden, admiring the architecture,
and then walking out to the tiny village
of St. Jean on Cap
Ferrat. What a treat!
The skies were cloudless and the
sunny high of 24C made the strolling a pleasure.
It’s interesting to note the
changes that happen from year to year. A new addition to the villa Roma is a
hideous, over-sized statue of a (life-sized) man riding an over-life-sized,
giant sea turtle. It sits on the front lawn and points out to the sea. It
reminds me of Major Kong on the missile. Too bad it won’t blow up at the end. It’s
clad in an exceptionally shiny metal and it’s just so garish. I guess it’s a good
example of what Paul once told me -
money can’t buy taste.
One thing to note about Beaulieu
is the serenity. So many of the villages on the seaside of the Riviera (including Menton) have allowed all or parts of
it to have a very major road (think of Lakeshore Avenue in Toronto) run along it – which is loud and
invasive. In Beaulieu, the road is located further inland (and the highway, the
A8, runs through a tunnel along most of the length of the town), so you really
get an idea of what most of the Riviera
was like before cars. Just complete tranquility.
It also boasts a nice (but
pebbly!) beach, a selection of restaurants, cafés, shopping and a very handsome
village square.
We spent the most of the day here
in the sun, mastering the art of doing nothing.
You should try it sometime.
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| Arriving via train at Beaulieu |
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| Laying cobblestones as part of the beautification process of the main street |
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| The beautiful church tower |
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| Turn of the century lamp post in town |
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| A glimpse of Cap Ferrat from the Beaulieu Rose Garden |
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| Me next to giant succulents in the garden |
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| A terrific stand of Palms by the entrance to the beach |
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| The hideous Major Kong statue - the man on top life-sized! |
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| Fabulous modern Villa on Cap Ferrat |
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