My French Adventures: St. Paul de Vence

We had an absolutely glorious day on November 1 which is a national holiday in France known as La Touissant or All Saints' Day. The weather was superb - blue skies, brilliant sun and 20 plus degrees. We began the morning with a quick trip to our nearby market, Le Marché du Buffa, to pick up some fresh green beans for dinner. Then we walked up Gambetta to the Promenade des Anglais. The promenade was busy with cyclists, runners and walkers and people were already staking out their places on the beach. Several people were swimming. Brian ran down to the water's edge and said it was pretty warm. Our plan was to catch the bus on the Promenade and head to St. Paul de Vence for the day.

A number of people, including the lovely lady I met in line at the grocery store yesterday, said this village was a must see. It took us about an hour to get there. It wasn't as pretty a ride as it was to get to Eze, but once again, it only cost a euro. Once there however, we were all pretty impressed. St. Paul is an intact medieval village perched on a hill between two valleys.

The ramparts surround the fortified village which is charming, small and artsy. Even though it wasn't really busy when we were there, we understand that it is overrun by tourists, especially in the summer. We stopped for the proverbial "smoko" in a restaurant just outside the ramparts. After coffee, we passed through the entrance that was erected in the 1400's and features a cannon muzzle that was a trophy from the Battle of Cerisoles in Italy in 1544.

The rest of the day we spent exploring this quaint and pretty village wandering up and down streets and alleys visiting a variety of boutiques and art galleries. Some of the artwork was the best we have seen in France to date.

The streets were particularly pretty as the stones were laid in shapes of flowers - painstaking work no doubt. Because of the holiday and the time of year, the museums weren't open. However, we did visit the cemetery where Marc Chagall, the Russian born painter is buried. He has a simple white tomb piled with small stones placed by visitors which is a Russian and Jewish tradition.

In contrast, the rest of the cemetery was awash with colour because many families bring flowers and plants to honour their deceased loved ones on All Saints' Day.

Near the cemetery, there was also an excellent vantage point for some panoramic views and photos.

You know us well enough by now that food and drink figure prominently in our travels. By early afternoon, we were getting a little peckish and started to look for a place to have lunch. Our first choice of restaurants was closed, but we found another close by called La Sierra. We were seated at the front so that we had a magnificent view including this unusual sculpture.

Brian, Keith and I with our glasses of wine.

Brian ordered Les Petits Farcis which are stuffed vegetables accompanied by a lovely green salad.

Keith and I ordered les lasagnes avec les épinards et la chèvre (spinach and goat cheese lasagna)

For dessert, we had a tart tatin with apples and cinnamon and nut ice cream. Of course we asked for three forks. It was delicious as was the rest of the meal.

For the rest of the afternoon, we continued to walk around the north and east side of the village once again admiring the scenery, the buildings and the art.