Aurevoir France

On our last morning in France, we took a taxi from Hotel Ellington to the airport.  It was in fact morning rush hour.  We got to see many folks heading to work and to school and even some expressway congestion.  But we arrived in plenty of time to check in and have a "petite dejune".
Here is where my brother, Doug, and I parted ways.  He was traveling back through London to Los Angeles, and I was traveling back through Munich to New Jersey and on to Madison,WI. 

 The airport in Nice.

The airport is located sea side, on the west end of the Nice coast.

The view from the plane as I left Nice was great.  I could make out all the places on the Cote D'Azur that we had recently visited.  As the flight continued on to Munich, we traveled over the Italian and Swiss Alps.  It was delightful to see how villages and cities just tucked themselves into valleys.  The flight on Lufthansa Airlines is always such a delight because of the generous way they treat their customers.  I returned home delighted with my French Riviera Holiday.

 The French Riviera from 10,000 feet.

 The City of Nice from the airplane window.

 Farewell VilleFranche sur Mer  and Cap Ferrrat.

 Good Luck Monaco and Monte Casino.

 Beautiful lakes amidst mountain peaks.

 Yes, that's a snow topped peak in the Alps.

Winging it home on Lufthansa, my favorite way to fly.

Scenic Railway into the Alps

The Chemins de Fer de Provence is a narrow-gauge train that runs between Nice and Digne through canyons, along whitewater rivers, and through many tempting villages.  The train leaves from a station about ten blocks behind the main train station.  We took the tram a few stops from our hotel and we caught a 9:30 train.  Our destination was the town of Entrevaux.  It was only an hour or so down the line, but already into the Alps. 

Narrow gauge railway to Digne

Leaving Nice through urban neighborhoods.

Moving past houses and parking lots.

Following the road towards the Alps.

Passing villages next to mountains.

Gaining altitude as we go.

We will return later to Nice.

We travel between highway and whitewater rivers.

We arrive at the Village of Entrevaux.

Note the citadel at the top of the mountain.

The draw bridge entrance to town and citadel above.

 Entrevaux is a small village against the mountain.

Most of its structures are medieval.

 Entrevaux is snuggled between the Var River and a mountain.

 The village church.

Interior of Entrevaux church.

We didn't have the energy to climb the 800 meter path (30 minutes) that lead to the citadel above.  So we took a quick stroll though the narrow streets of town and caught the train back to Nice.  Once back in Nice, we had lunch at a side walk restaurant about 2 PM.   This was our last day in France, so we had to do some souvenir shopping.

More sights from Nice

We stayed in Nice three days and found our way to some of the same places many times.  Here are some of the pictures of that adventure.

 Place Massena. 

 The beach in Nice is really pebbles, not sand. 

 Mementos for the slain from July 14, 2016.

 Terrorist attack kills 85 people of all ages by running them down with a truck.

 Viewing mementos of the recent victims.

 Yes, he's naked!  Well what did you expect of Neptune, King of the Sea?

 How does he handle so many head pigeons?

 Lignes D'Azur, the Blue Coast Line is a street tram.

 Balloon mignons land in France.

 People enjoying the park on a warm sunny evening.

 Can you find me in this picture?

 Does your McDonalds serve McCine ?

Votre dessert "very Parfait".

By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea.

After a full day of art museums, parks, monastery, and garden...it was time to return to the beautiful Mediterranean seaside.  Nice has a wonderful tram that runs down the main street to the sea and then on to the Hospital Pasteur. ( Ah, yes.  Remember Luis Pasteur, the fellow who found out how disease could be stopped by a vaccine.)  We took the tram from the Central Rail Station down to the Place Massena and walked through the Vieux Nice area ('Old Nice').  Our objective was to find the Castle Park and ascend its free elevator to view the wonderful coast line.  On the way we stopped for some frozen yogurt to last us through the trip. 

The streets of Vieux Nice (Old Town). 

Palais de Justice

Walkway of the United States

Approaching Castle Hill on the Walkway of the Etats Unis

There is a free elevator to take you up to the top.

And then you see the magnificent coast line from all directions.  You see the harbor. 

 The coast line of the Mediterranean at Nice.

 The harbor at Nice.

We walked our way down the Castle Hill enjoying the views.