Walked over to Vieux Nice and wound up in Cours Saleya, which is very lively.
After layover at CDG we arrive in Nice in early evening. Hotel Petit Palais — they have assigned Room 202 which has a large terrace outside the room with table, 2 chaises longues. Walked down the hill for dinner at Les Sens in central Nice — duck for Monique, cod for me. Walked over to Vieux Nice and wound up in Cours Saleya, which is very lively. Uber back to hotel with a Lebanese driver who is very engaged in Boy Scouts with Syrian leaders across Europe.
Visiting the Chagall Museum and a concert at Eglise St-Jacques were highlights.
Breakfast at hotel. Walk to Marc Chagall Museum about 7–8 minutes away — core collection is bible story paintings. Museum includes a mosaic and stained glass created by Chagall for permanent installation. An exhibit about Chagall's sets and costume for a production of Stravinsky's Firebird in NYC Ballet in 1945.
Walk down to Cours Saleya for shopping and sightseeing. Socca and Pan Bagnat at Chez Theresa kiosk in the market — ate on the seawall. Walked around point to take a one-hour cruise on 'Charlotte', saw Villefranche-sur-Mer and shoreline. Walked back to market area and shopped around. Cheese and wine at the Fromage Bistro (?) pre-show. Went to see Bach et al guitar and organ show at Eglise St Jacques in Vieux Nice.
Had a drink and a pizza in the courtyard at The Carlton Hotel.
Morning — hired a driver to take us around to some locations related to To Catch a Thief — we went to Villefranche-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eze, La Turbie and finished at Tete de Chien, where we could look down on Monaco and saw (mostly heard) cars in practice for the F1. The Royal Clipper was anchored offshore there.
Afternoon — quick nap then walked to the train station and went to Cannes. Had a drink and a €62 pizza (!) in the inner courtyard. Walked along the Promenade a way and stopped in at a Gallery where all the art was from painters/artists that were dead (no contemporary) that the proprietor was very proud of. No art from auction — he said if you can find that it was auctioned he'd give you the piece :-)
Train back and taxi to the hotel, then decided to get an Uber down to Cours Saleya for dinner. Ate at Marika, a Greek/Med place, then walked a bit more and watched a bit of weekend night life.
One last day in Cours Saleya, then boarded the Royal Clipper.
Last Day in Nice. Relaxed morning at the Petit Palais for breakfast and packing, then had a drive over to the Quai to drop our bag, then get dropped at Cours Saleya. A final day of walking through the shops — light meal/coffee overlooking the Promenade, shopping and extensive wandering through the streets — kitchen store (Le Petit Kitchen?), some fresh figs from the market, until eventually getting an Uber back to the Quai to board the Royal Clipper.
On board the ship, everything went smoothly, we had dinner, met a few people (Judy, from NY/California, Jennifer and Mike from Milwaukee) and then watched the late departure from the harbour.
Grand Prix de Monaco.
Breakfast etc (going to be the usual experience) before taking the tender to the city — plan was to be in time for the Porsche Supercup race at 11:45.
Surprising that the Porsches actually rattled the stands more than the F1 cars did.
Our seats at the Swimming Pool corner and we could see into the pit lane. Fortunately the seats stayed in shade the whole day, and all we had to do was occasionally shoo people away who were squatting there.
At lunch, incredibly we found seats at a café and had table service — a Salade Niçoise and a 3-cheese pizza plus beer. And then found a store open and Monique found a nice dress.
F1 was won by Kimi Antonelli, had a red flag incident which stopped the race for ~25 minutes. Evening aboard the boat and another late departure for the next port of call — Corsica.
All in all, a pretty great day for one that started with the disappointment of a cancelled excursion.
We had planned to do an excursion but it was cancelled and we didn't pick up the alternate. Rather we went to the port after lunch, walked a bit and planned to take a taxi to a Patrimonio vineyard for a tasting. Sensibly, we realized we could taste some local wine at a bar in the village, did that while watching some guys play bocce in the square. Followed that with a little more light shopping (another outfit for Monique) and waited for the tender with a takeout beer (Pietra) and then back to the ship.
Music on the deck provided by a guy who says he was in Bad Company, guessing in the 90s — Paul Cullen who played in the band for a tour in 1990–92 or so. But not Paul Rodgers :-)
Captain's reception for repeat guests (about 30%, he said) and then dinner. All in all, a pretty great day for one that started with the disappointment of a cancelled excursion.
Should have done the watersports and local walkaround on our own this day.
Porticcio Beach (Corsica) in the morning, but we stayed on the boat and did very little of anything.
In the afternoon took a tour to Ajaccio. A disappointing visit as the tour guide was very weak. We stood near a statue of Napoleon (but never got to see the front of it) while the guide talked about the healing powers of the local curry plant. Later the tour walked through the city, went through a couple of churches, and detoured to a place to buy the essential oils (which most people went to). We stayed by the port, did a little souvenir shopping and just went to the restaurant where there was charcuterie (a lot) and beer.
Should have done the watersports and local walkaround on our own this day.
Pretty cool walkabout, and some nice vistas at the water.
The full-day excursion we wanted was cancelled for too few participants; we switched to an archaeological tour that spent time talking about and walking through the ruins of a nuraghe — a prehistoric domed building built without mortar and with a self-supporting domed roof. Pretty cool walkabout, and some nice vistas at the water before returning to the ship for an early sailing back to Corsica.
Eventually we dropped the tour guide and had lunch at a cliff-top restaurant — what a great alternative!
Rougher weather (windy) meant we couldn't anchor off Bonifacio, and instead made port at Porto Vecchio. That meant a 50-minute bus ride to Bonifacio. The guide was not much use, didn't manage time on the bus well (too much talk about moule frites when it could have been about the destination). Eventually we dropped the tour guide and had lunch at a cliff-top restaurant — what a great alternative! Had Bonifacienne-style dishes (veal stew for me, aubergine for Monique) and a great view, then walked our own way back to the meetup point for the return ride.
(And started running into Jennifer and Mike on the way back.)
That evening — Invitation to the Captain's Table for dinner — pre-drinks, meal and after-reception as well. The best shipboard meal of the week (steaks and lobster, done properly). A highlight of the onboard experience even though no one knew quite how any of us rated the invitation! 4 couples joined the captain for the evening.
Elba — maybe the best surprise of the ports-of-call.
Elba — maybe the best surprise of the ports-of-call. Arrive at Portoferraio and after breakfast join the excursion to Porto Azzurro, with wine tasting at La Chiusa winery and free time in Porto Azzurro (a very pretty small town with harbour). Also stopped at Villa San Martino, where Napoleon was exiled. Simple and pretty house surrounded by a hideous addition in a 'neoclassical' but fairly brutal style.
Had a walk around the town after, lunch at a nice restaurant on the boardwalk (great pizza and a salad).
Ten days on the Côte d'Azur and the Mediterranean