Eze

May I begin this post by apologizing for my previous pictures in the last few blog entries. For whatever reason, they are washed out and not "crisp". We fiddled with the camera yesterday and finally reset it to its previous settings. Now I am pleased to say that the photos are bright and "crisp" - at least I think so.

As mentioned previously Brian had hurt his achilles tendon, so after school yesterday Keith and I went to the hilltop village of Eze on our own. We caught the bus and made it there within an hour. It only cost us 1€ each by using our bus pass which is much cheaper than the public bus/tram transport in Edmonton. Not only that, but the views were spectacular en route. We travelled east along the coast and up into the hills overlooking the coastal villages of Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu-sur Mer before arriving at our destination. 

Eze is a charming medieval village with beautiful cobblestone streets and alleys lined with local perfumeries, art galleries, small boutiques and cafés. Once you get off the bus, you walk towards the old city and begin the steep climb upwards to Le Jardin Exotique, also known as the Garden of Eze.The first thing we noticed was the sign for Le Chevre d'Or. This is a 5 star restaurant and the prices for lunch "Menus du Dejeuner" range from 75-135 € and dinner "Menus du Diner" 195-230 €.  It was a bit more than we were willing to spend, but I thought I might at least go in to have a look and take some pictures. I was stopped by a handsome young man at the entrance who told me that I could take a picture, but only from the gate. Here is my photo.

From there, we continued our way up the narrow streets admiring the vibrant colours of the flowers, including bougainvilleas.

As you can see, many of the beautiful old stone buildings are covered with vines and wild roses. We wandered into some of the art galleries and unique boutiques dotted along the way to the top.

There is a modest entrance fee to Le Jardin Exotique, but well worth it. It has been built on what remains of the castle which was demolished in 1706. The garden was designed by Jean Gastaud in 1949. It is home to many species of succulents and cacti alongside beautiful sculptures by an artist named Jean-Philippe Richard. Not only did I find the sculptures pleasing, it was interesting to learn that this renowned sculptor has his studio in Mirabel en Barronies, a village in the Drôme in Provence where we stayed last spring. 

Anaïs is the sculpture on the right. 

This a view of some of the remains of the ruins.

It was from this vantage point that we had panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea, Eze, hillside homes etc.

The bell tower of the La Chapelle des Penitents Blancs (White Penitents' Chapel) is the oldest building in the village. The Penitents were an order founded in the Middle Ages and were in charge of providing support to plague victims. 

The viaduct of Eze or the Bridge of the Devil, spans 80 metres over the Gaffinel ravine enabling the completion of the middle coastal road.

Yours truly...

L'Église Notre Dame de l'Assomption is a small baroque church in a square below the garden. According to one of the bits I read, Bono from U2 got married there.

After a good look around the garden and taking in some of the breath-taking views below, we began our descent. Keith ahead on one of the narrow streets.

At the bottom, I turned to take a picture of the top of the ruins. 

Eze is also known for its perfume factory, Fragonard L'Usine Labatoire. But by this time, the sun was disappearing. We chose to give it a miss this visit even though they offer a tour and an opportunity to buy their products. Instead, we opted to head back to our apartment for happy hour and homework. Un verre de vin vous aide à faire vos devoirs.