Cap St Jean Ferrat Villas

Before I get into describing where we went today, I wanted to post a picture of dinner at home....spagetti arrabiata.  This is pretty much the first meal I have made for us in a little over 4 weeks ( boy, talk about taking a vacation!)  It was very good.  We will do it again soon.

Today we headed east from Nice again, this time to Cap St. Jean Ferrat - home of the millionaires (actually most of the area can claim to be that, but this place is loaded with exclusive villas).  First we visited the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. 

This place was just incredible.  It is perched on the very top of the narrow part of the peninsula, such that it has absolutely commanding views east to the bay of Beaulieu and west to the bay of Villefranche.  It was built between 1905 and 1912 by a woman who was a descendent of the French banking family, Rothschild.  She loved to travel and she apparently loved to shop.  The villa was built entirely to her specification, much of it with pieces and parts from elsewhere.  For example, check out this entrance.

She bought up various chapels and pieces from churches, as well as tapestries.  There is even something in here from Versailles and a table which belonged to Marie Antoinette.  Not to mention the dish collection.   Check out the picture below, bottom right corner.  She had chairs made for her dogs!  You just gotta love someone like that. 

BUT, the really best part of the whole place was the 34 gardens which surround it and extend along the top of the peninsula.  There is a magnificent rose garden - not particularly in bloom now, but I saw it twelve years ago.  There is also a hugh cactus/succulents garden and a Spanish garden and a Japanese garden and a provencale garden etc.

This place just kept getting better and better.  Every twenty minutes there is a lovely water show set to classical music.  

I have inserted a short video I made but I'm not sure how it will work.  It takes a little while to download but it is only 39 seconds long.

After all this, we walked into the village of St. Jean, had lunch and then walked along the water to the next town over (about a 30 minute stroll), Beaulieu to see another amazing villa, the Villa Kerylos.  This one was also built in the early 1900s.  It was a recreation of a classical Greek villa with lovely mosaic floors, columns and artwork.  It also had a spendid setting - out on a point with views in three direcitons of the sea.  Unfortunately, my camera must have been set wrong, as none of the pictures I took came out.

It was a very interesting place to visit, but we sure wouldn't want to live there.  It seemed incredibly uncomfortable with only furniture from ancient Greece.

It was hot and humid today so we were totally done in after this so we hopped the bus for home around 4pm.  We rested for a while and then walked the fifteen minutes to the beach for a quick dip i nthe Med.  Even at 6:30 pm the beaches are quite crowded and it is lovely down there.  A quick stop at the grocery store and we are in for the evening, resting up and planning for another event filled day on the French Riveria.