Bob's Blog

This Blog will follow my adventures - well holidays really. Hopefully you will want to tell me what you enjoyed in the countries I have visited and maybe recommend places to go.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Gardens of he French Riviera

Cheryl and I spent a week (May 5 - 12), based in Nice on a Ramblers Holiday that had the Royal Horticultural Society stamp of approval. I must say it exceeded my expectations. I feared that there might be just academics who only referred to plants by their latin name! Not so, the group was varied, 22 strong and all were interesting to talk to.
Nice itself was charming and Old Nice (Vieux Nice) sits cheek by jowl with the modern Place de Massena, with its modern sculptures and fountains, and fashionable shops.
The group’s walking abilities varied enormously but our excellent guide, Simon, catered for this by offering a range of ways of tackling each day; walk, bus or simply relax.
On the whole we had good wholesome food, in small family run restaurants that had character and this was achieved within what I imagine to be a tight budget set by Ramblers. The weather was wonderful and I never needed a second layer. Walking back to the hotel at night, with the temperature still comfortable, was a delight. Hotel Vendome is 3 star and very good value for the price of the holiday. Breakfast plentiful and the staff very obliging.
As for the activities on the holiday, we had as much art as gardens. In Menton, within sight of Italy, we saw the Val Rahmeh garden and had a great guided tour of the Serre de la Madone garden so we understood how it is being restored to its original condition after many years of neglect. We visited the Ephrussi garden and the Rothschild Villa, on the Cap Ferrat peninsula, which was billed as the most beautiful place on earth. Perhaps an overstatement but seven different styles of garden and so lovingly maintained. The gardens at La Napoule, to the west of Nice, were in the Spanish style and so very relaxing. My favourite was the cactus or exotic garden of Eze, high above the sea with most spectacular views.
We visited the Matisse museum which did not feature many finished works but had a lot of preliminary sketches. Some line drawings certainly expressed the body but where he had drawn simple outlines of heads, I didn't think these should be framed and presented.
The Chagall museum was breathtaking. Huge canvasses with so much going on. I was happier gazing at them and not trying to understand everything. In fact reading an explanation spoiled it for me! Also it was free to go in and photography was allowed!
Another garden featured some wonderful sculptures and many Miro’s which I would not have in my garden!
Finally we had a bonus day because of a late flight back and went to Monaco which was preparing for the Grand Prix. Although it made it difficult to walk around I found it very exciting to see the preparations and to imagine driving in those restricted areas. The opulence of modern Monaco as displayed by the unbelievable yachts was matched by the opulence of by-gone days in the furniture and art in the Royal Palace. Monaco is the only place where I have seen ‘garden police’, checking that everything was in order. I am sure deportation would follow a dropped sandwich wrapper!
Overall I can see why the French Riviera was so popular for artists and indeed still popular today for the climate and the beauty of the coast line. I just wish the pound had maintained its value when it would be an even better place to visit