Nice to see you…

…to see you nice!

To quote Sir Bruce Forsyth (RIP) except that I’m appropriating the phrase to mean the city of Nice and its environs.

We’ve had our first visitor! Rich’s mum stayed with us for the past week and we all enjoyed many of the local sights and tourist sites.

We started off the week exploring our local town of Vence then we had a fantastic day in Nice. Rich and his mum went on a cyclotour of the city (which I can wholeheartedly recommend as a brilliant way to zip around the old town while someone else does all the hard work of pedalling)!

The next day we headed to nearby St Paul de Vence for a wander and a coffee. More gorgeousness at every turn!

Tourrettes-sur-Loup was another hilltop town where you just have to wander the streets then stop for a coffee. We found an English second-hand bookshop so Rich and I both stocked up on our Summer reading.

On Sunday we took ourselves off to Cannes during the day then we were treated to the best opera experience I’ve ever had. It was at nearby Gattières in the open-air square at the centre of the hilltop village. We had tickets right on the front row so we felt as if we were part of the 21 strong orchestra. It was a production of Verdi’s Rigoletto (everyone knows “La donna è mobile”, yes, that one) and it really blew my mind. I found the musicians just as fascinating to watch as the singers were enjoyable to listen to. There was an interval after the first act so everyone trooped up to the courtyard overlooking the performance space for champagne and nibbles at a very leisurely pace. The whole production finished just after midnight and it’s an evening I will not forget in a hurry.

Saint Jeannet is nestled under one of the most prominent rocky outcrops around these parts so we just had to go and explore…

The week culminated with a trip to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the St Jean Cap Ferrat peninsula. Another incredible day out. The photos don’t really do it justice. We all enjoyed exploring the nine different gardens despite the sweltering heat and I think I’ll be back again as there was still more to discover.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the chapel in Tourrettes-sur-Loup where, as I was peering through the window, the caretaker came bustling up with the keys and said he’d open up for us to see inside.

À bientôt, bisous.