Goodness me, what a difference it makes to have warm, sunny weather. It was even getting a bit too hot by 7:30am this morning! I guess many of you reading this may have travelled to the Mediterranean but it is a first for Clive and myself. I said yesterday that we were in Nice, but to be more specific our accommodation is in Villefranche-sur-Mer which is four kilometers from downtown Nice. It is an amazing location – very different from the other parts of France that we’ve visited, but definitely, definitely amazing! And our three storey house is only a few flights of stairs from the sea. I still can’t believe that we are really here. It feels as though we are in a travel brochure.

Margaret and Durelle took me down to the market this morning and then we wandered in and out of the local shops. It was lovely to have a bit of girl power with me. Venturing into the expensive stores is a lot less intimidating when you have two very cultured and experienced shoppers by your side!

Again there seems to be a photo to be taken at every corner. The little cobbled streets between the buildings, the stairways, the colourful houses with their gorgeous doors, windows and shutters, and the brilliant mixture of flowering plants that garnish it all.

We all decided that a dip in the Mediterranean was a must. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially with so many people around and so many very large boats. But the water was crystal clear and extremely clean. A wee bit chilly at first but Clive got in and stayed in for ages – which is saying something. In fact, we’ve decided we might jolly well do this every day.

The late afternoon was spent stolling the beautiful streets to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat which is the next suburb along, and apparently has some of the most expensive real estate in the world. I took a photo of two of my favs. Maison Contemporaine is only 32 million euros, whereas Maison de Matre is 39 million. Hmm – I’m going to mull things over tonight before making my decision. It doesn’t pay to rush into things.

Again, the walk through the streets was so enjoyable and the views were stunning.

We had dinner at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sea. It was a little bit dreamy.

There were other tales from today – of Clive and Mike staring death in the face as they navigated their way through the harrowing streets of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Nice to return our rental car; and of Mike’s encouter with a Mr Boo. Something to do with a quirky wee car and a famous English guy. But these are not my tales to tell.

xxx