Market Day in Antibes

I'm back on track after being without my computer for a month, and continuing with posts about my recent trip to France. My week on the fabulous Côte d’Azur was coming to an end and the last daytrip on this portion of our itinerary took us to Antibes. First settled as a Greek trading post named Antipolis, this ancient town is 20 kilometers west of Nice on the Mediterranean coast.

Antibes, France

Princess Diana Remembered

I've had some issues with my computer lately so this post, which I'd planned for the anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is quite a bit late. When August 31st came around I couldn't believe it had been twenty years since I heard about that fatal car crash in Paris. I must've watched at least a dozen TV specials about her tragic life and the conspiracy theories surrounding her untimely death. It got me thinking about the places I've been that played a role in the story of a woman still remembered around the world, and known with fondness as the "People's Princess".

Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed

Monaco-Ville: Take Two

As with my morning visit to the French hill town of Eze, my afternoon in the nearby Principality of Monaco was also a repeat visit. Would I see anything that I hadn't seen before in what may be the most glamorous of locales on the very glamorous Côte d'Azur?

Tour Bus at Monaco's Palace Square

Eze: The Exotic Garden

Eze Village on the Côte d'Azur has an amazing Jardin exotique, Exotic Garden, at the summit of the hill on which the town is perched. To my regret I didn't venture quite that far on my previous visit to Eze. On my recent trip to France, I got a second chance.

Exotic Garden, Eze Village

St-Paul-de-Vence

After a morning spent touring Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, we moved on to visit some of France's famed perched villages. Of the many hill towns scattered throughout Provence and the Côte d'Azur, picturesque St-Paul-de-Vence is one of the most popular. The medieval town also attracted many of the twentieth century's most notable artists.

St-Paul-de-Vence, France

Grasse: Perfume Capital of the World

The town of Grasse isn't quite as picturesque as many others along France's Riviera coast but it is considered the capital of the world's billion dollar perfume industry. I spent a fragrant morning touring the local factory of Parfumerie Fragonard, one of the oldest in Grasse, to learn about the history of perfume and traditional production techniques.

Parfumerie Fragonard, Grasse