French Riviera

19th March. 

Leaving Turin we were aware again of the pollution. The beautiful mountain ranges which are the backdrop to Turin and to the roads around it were hazy.

 But soon we were away from the city and into those same mountains. 

 Cafe Matilda (the most consistently available fully vegan cafe we have found) popped up again.

  

We stopped at tiny village in the mountains for a cup of coffee. It had this beautiful picturesque bridge, and we were delighted to see people playing boules. Since then we have seen this not uncommonly in France, but it is still a charming sight. 

     

 Our goal for the day was to reach Monaco. I didn’t really know what to expect of this iconic place. I did think it would be a place to be dazzled by. However I found it crowded, not really glitzy, and I didn’t even see a single prince or princess!

The southern coastline of France continued in the same manner - crowded, very little to recommend it by way of beaches, (all pebbles, only occasionally a sand beach, and very crowded). However I did like the restaurants on the beaches, almost over the water. But of course we couldn’t find parking even in this off season. I hate to think what it is like in the high season. 

As we drove along the coastline names such as French Riveria, Cote de Azure, Nice,  Cannes, Toulon, Marseilles, Saint Tropez reminded us that this is a very famous area of the world and playground for the rich and famous. Most of the coastline is built-up with little left undeveloped, and these places all merged, but it is still possible to find a slightly isolated bit of land to build on...

Many of these buildings can be described as “palaces”. One in particular caught our imagination. This is the mansion of Pierre Cardin known as his “Bubble Palace” or “Pallais Bulles ”. It is currently for sale for 300million pounds (half a Billion dollars!) Or it can be leased for $40,000 per day. It is said that he hosted “debauched  after-parties” here for two decades. Famous stars such as Pierce Brosnan have partied here under the terracotta bubbles.

There is another similar house nearby - now wouldn’t that annoy you if you were Pierre Cardin? Maybe that’s why he is selling….. (The next photo here is the look-alike.)

These two are just ordinary houses on the coast….

So do I recommend the Southern French coastline with all of its mansions and celebrities? Not so much! I have seen much better coastlines for touring and Pierre Cardin failed to show himself! Now if I had been invited to one of those parties….. maybe that would be different.