(Day 10: Villefranche, France) Our Trip Of A Lifetime: Cruising the Mediterranean

As we approach the "south of France", we are greeted by a lighthouse far off on the peninsula.

The sky lightens as we get closer to the well-lit "welcome" beacon.

And up close... it is a magnificently simple structure... silently guiding us around this rocky point of shoreline.

The sun starts to come up and local boaters start moving about the coastline... cruising around and past our ship.

At first, I thought this floater was some little French kid's crude sailboat that he made and then lost out to sea.

Then, when it didn't move after 20 minutes, I realized it was just a cute little marker buoy to show our boat crew where to anchor our cruise ship in the harbor... duh!

A colorful, pastel sunrise shows fishing boats passing the welcoming lighthouse we saw at "O-dark-thirty" earlier this morning.

Then... surprise, surprise... an early morning (6:30 a.m.) water-skier came zipping by being pulled by a small motorboat!

He made a few passes back and forth before disappearing around to the port side of the ship!

We got to sleep in and lounge around a little bit this morning since our excursion wasn't until 9:15 a.m. ...we were on the value package to Nice, France and Monaco... so we figured it was a half-day trip.

We were WRONG... it turned out to be a very long (but exciting) day of excursions!

We ate breakfast at the Topsider again... then it was off to the Bar D Lounge to meet our tour group. We were greeted by the Mickey and Pluto characters dressed in fine French attire.

Since the port was shallow, we again took tender boats to the port dock.

This time we sat next to a couple of nice ladies from Minnesota and I started asking them about different cruises they had taken before.

Then some self-proclaimed, know-it-all "cruise critic expert" kept chiming in with his 2-cents worth... and actually trying to run down our Disney ship.

The 2 ladies quickly corrected him and put him in his place... he turned away and quit bugging us the rest of the tender ride.

Dozens of sailboats and yachts were anchored in the harbor, surrounded by the steep hillside.

There were fortifications lining the port roadway that zig-zagged its way up to the hillside town.

This 500-year old fortress, Fort Sainte Elme, sat high on the hilltop, overlooking the harbor entrance.

The Fort is seen far off on the hilltop and the high fortified walls protected the port roadway.

(Notice the tour buses tightly parked behind the walls and near the arched roadway... I will talk about them shortly!)

The port buildings were colorful and tightly packed in along the dock and harbor.

Picture-postcard-worthy scenes were everywhere we looked.

The town of Villefranche spreads all along the base and then up the surrounding rocky hillsides.

Just like in the movies!

This Mediterranean fisherman was handcrafting a new fishing boat... from scratch... right out in the open air of the wharf.

We landed at the dock and received our official welcome to this south-of-France seaside town!

Things are so colorful and gorgeous here in port... and the buildings and scenery are pretty, too!

As we hiked to our buses, we passed this railing that had hundreds of colored tour group number stickers stuck on it from previous visitors!

Remember several photos back, I mentioned the big tour buses that were jammed in behind the fortification walls?

Here they are... and one of them is ours!

We loaded up in our bus.

It then took our experienced driver at least 15 minutes of jockeying our bus back-and-forth just to get out of these too close archways, too tight turns, and too narrow 500 year old hillside roads.

As we head uphill, we spot our Disney "Magic" anchored out in the bay... with tender boats still shuttling people in to port.

This is a typical Mediterranean-style of red tile roof on a white-stucco building... notice the steepness of the hillside.

This is the welcoming lighthouse in the daylight... and from about 500 feet above on the hillside.

After a half-hour ride, the seaside town of Nice, France appears... sprawling along another pristine portion of the coastline.

We descend the rocky hills down into the port of Nice, France.

The city is typical Mediterranean... with small streets and old buildings.

Many buildings have wrought-iron balconies and hanging baskets with flowers and dangling greenery.

A look at their marina, filled with sailboats and small yachts.

Now this is a nice 3-masted sailboat!
(I would be tickled just to have the small sailboat that is tied up to it!)

I can't believe it!

Those ladies just sit there jabbering... while there is an apparently dead young lady (in the bikini) who washed up on the rocky beach beside them.

I'm joking... she is not dead... but,

She has to be in some pain, just from lying on that large-pebbled beach without a thick blanket!

Another nice, kids' carousel-in-the-park... like the one we just saw on Corsica.

The public areas in town were very clean, colorful, and peaceful.

These are the famous "men-sitting-on-a-pole" streetlights... they are found in the town center.

A small police car sits in front of a classy fountain... with a large administrative building behind.

A cool, centuries-old clock tower in the center of downtown Nice.

I don't know what they sell in here... but, it sounds pretty sexy with the "brasseries" and all!

Even the pigeons apparently know more French than I do.

An ornate and impressive "Palais De Justice"... like a large county courthouse in the U.S., except bigger, older, and fancier!

Another stately clock and bell tower on the other side of town, near the markets.

Here we were allowed 2 1/2 hours of "free time" to just shop, walk about, and have lunch on our own.

Colorful and unique old buildings line the winding, bustling streets of Nice, France.

Now this is one heck of a "taxi"... but it does look pretty comfortable and thrifty for sightseeing!

We listened to this French accordian street performer play a few tunes... and he was very friendly and genuinely thankful when I tossed 3 Euros in his basket.

Instead of eating lunch... we headed for the beach!

And then we arrived at the beach!

Two things were immediately noticeable:
- the unbelievable colors in the water...
- and the large size of the wave-tumbled pebbles that are the "beach"! (No sandy beaches here!)

Then, uh-oh...
she found what she was looking for... Her tumbled pieces of "sea glass"!

She was now on the hunt... and hooked again!

Kathy searches high and low among the large, rounded pebble rocks.

She is finding a handful of various-colored pieces of the sea-glass for her "collection" back home!

She always jokes that we will probably have to leave some of my clothes behind in order to get her "sea glass" home on the plane! (Little did I know... !!!)

This is a colorful sea wall with a small bandstand area on top.


It was also where a scam-artist tried to pull a fast one on us:

This young guy about 20 (maybe of Turkish or Greek-type ethnicity) approached near Kathy and I as she was trying to get our new camera disk to work.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him bend down a few feet beside me and pick up something...
it was a man's heavy gold wedding ring!

He held it out to me as if maybe I had dropped it... I shrugged and shook my head "no".

He then handed it to me and said I could have it... and he started to walk away!

After walking about 10 feet away, he turned back and said, "That gold ring must be worth quite a bit... can you give me a little something for finding it for you?"

So, like a dummy, I took out my billfold and handed him a 5-Euro bill... which he quickly took... but then kept asking for more Euros for the "found" ring.

I then shook my head "no" and told him to give me the money back and he could take the ring with him.

He got agitated for a few seconds and started looking nervously around.

Then "zoom"... he took off running down the sidewalk toward the busy town center... with only the 5-Euro bill, leaving us with a heavy, 18-carat gold (possibly pick-pocketed) wedding band.

We took it back to the ship and checked to see if anyone had gotten their wedding ring stolen while ashore... no one had reported it.

So... for 5-Euros we had a great story and a valuable gold "souvenir" from that young-but-dumb, scam artist kid!

Some teeny-bopper tourist girls playing in the surf... being washed up on the big pebble "beach".

Another perfectly gorgeous weather and beach day for us here at Nice, France.

The toasty sun, warm waters, and a slight Mediterranean Sea breeze... oh, what a life!

(It's no wonder that Nice is one of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's favorite places for vacation!)

This beach was one of the strangest... and most beautifully unique... beaches we have ever been to!

(NO sand... just millions and millions of smooth, rounded large pebbles and rocks!)

I stand corrected...

There was this one area where they had hauled in some "sandbox-style play sand" and made a 50 foot x 100 foot "beach"... for people to sunbathe without the torture of laying on those rocks!

(By the way... I wasn't looking, but I do think...
there are even more topless French sunbathers here on this "beach" than there were in Corsica.)

Our first camera disk FINALLY filled up, but when we went to change it... the other disk would not work at all... disaster!

We had to find and buy another one ASAP or we would have no pictures for the rest of the day!

Disaster averted... the day is saved!

Kathy found this small, French souvenir shop in the market that also sold film and digital disks... and one of the two co-owners was an American from the Columbus, Ohio area who moved to Nice about 20 years ago! (And she loves it!)

We then headed for the central, open-air market.

Here we saw many unique people, vendor stands, restaurants and cafe's.

Did you notice the basket on the man's bike above?
He has a small wire "cage" built on his handlebars where his little Yorkie-type dog rode comfortably and safely while he shopped at the market... pretty darn clever!

A French outdoor flower vendor... just like you would expect to see in an "American-in-Europe" chick-flick!

So many beautiful flowers and colors... plus the floral scent was amazing!

There were several "pick-your-own-to-eat" restaurants surrounding the market center... like this one, that specialized in many catch-of-the-day, fresh fish specials.

Wow, what a menu (in French of course)!
From what I can decipher... they have soup, salmon, spaghetti... and champagne!

This vendor sold bagels, nuts, pastries, jellies, and much more... between phone calls.

This was a sidewalk cafe' hostess who greeted you and explained their menu if you needed help.

She was a little intimidating with her "new wave" shaved-head, multiple face piercings, macho stance, and more tattoos than a small biker gang... BUT, she did act friendly as we passed by.

This was a vendor who sold only spices and natural cooking supplies... in dozens of varieties.

There was a chain-link fence surrounding this fancy Police Station or administrative building overlooking the market area.

More open-air cafe's near the market vendors in the square.

Another street performer playing music for visitors passing by... this guy with dreadlocks played a Pan Flute and was pretty good, too.

Here's me taking a break at the central fountain of the square in lovely and quaint Nice, France.

Narrow, busy, tightly-packed streets went off in all directions from the town center.

Colorful, typically European, old buildings line the streets... note the French flag overhead.

These were electric rent-a-scooters to putt all around the narrow streets of Nice... convenient and easy to operate... but a bit pricey.

Check out this heavy iron door... this is a security door if I ever saw one!

Now, this is sure one heck of a door knocker!

An ornate doorway above that iron security door (dated 1827).

Just an abstract thought:
It's mind-boggling to think, that... even the cracks in the doorway masonry of this European town are older than 99% of the homes still standing in the U.S. today!

This French maiden doesn't look too happy to be working... but she turned out to be friendly enough (even once she could tell we were Americans).

We worked up quite a thirst while sightseeing at the open-air market and side streets.

So, we stopped at a sidewalk stand for the French version of the Italian gelato... a Frappe'.

We each got a thick flavored frappe' (milkshake) and headed back to rendezvous with our group.

We loaded on the bus... (didn't leave anyone behind this time)... and headed back past Villefranche and on toward Monaco.

Those "golden arches" really are everywhere!

Even in the South of France! (Note the little "smart car" zipping by.)

Duh... Which way do I go? Which way do I go?

Here is a large fountain pool with a tall patron saint statue in the center... (we didn't see which saint, we were on the backside).. possibly Saint Elm0, whom the hilltop Fort was named after, the patron saint of sailors.

More of the upper town center of Villefranche as we pass through on our way from Nice, France to the small principality of Monaco.

No, it's not an earthquake... not a building on a hill... or even the "Leaning Temple of France".

It's just one of my "over-the-shoulder-quick-before-I-miss-it" photo shots!"

We begin our hillside climb in the tour bus... going hundreds of feet above sea level.

From these heights, we had great panoramic views of the coastline and it's many ports; some big, some small.

Way above another seaside village and small harbor.

A very large citadel-like fortification sits high on a very steep and commanding side of a cliff.

As we entered the outskirts of Monaco and neared Monte-Carlo itself, we began to see even more unique architecture on the buildings.

FYI... Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world... (second only to the Vatican)... and it covers about six times the acreage as the Vatican!

It has the French Riviera directly west of it, and the Italian Riviera directly east of it.

The driver parked our bus underground beneath the busy streets of an older section of town known as the "old Monaco village" area (actually is called "Monaco-Ville", too).

Here there was a huge, Oceanographic museum/institute with several large outdoor displays and attractions. (We didn't have time to go inside... but, we did see the outside and the surrounding, walk-through gardens.)

Hey, what is she looking at back there?
Like she hasn't ever seen a half-skinned, white Unicorn out in public before!

Some of the impressive statuary and columns of the museum/institute.

This copper and brass shield of Monaco embellishes the main entrance doorway to the building.

Here you see Margerite, our tour guide, with her Mickey locator sign and a smile.

There's Kathy behind her, like everyone else... towering over all 4' 11" of nice, little Margerite.

A colorful example, on a local Audi, of their "Principality of Monaco" license plates.

This is one of the favorite summer houses of Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie of Monaco... both are the daughters of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace (the former American actress Grace Kelly).

This house overlooks the beautiful walk-through Saint Martin Gardens, the cliffs, and the seaside below.

An amazing and large bronze "Octopus" statue in the garden... paying tribute to all marine life in the Mediterranean and the local fishermen who pursue them to feed their country.

A tall, cool Banyan tree with multiple trunks and vines is a centerpiece of the garden.

Bronze, near life-size, statues (like this nude maiden looking out to sea) were scattered around the well-manicured Saint Martin Gardens.

An ornate resting area and secluded bench for us weary visitors.

A sexy statue of two nudes... (this is still a European country, you know)... titled "Invitation" in the garden.

Another shady, vine-covered resting/waiting area along the path (and near the restrooms).

Large Koi, Asian carp, and/or goldfish swim lazily in a large pond along the pathway.

A cool fountain in the fish pond keeps their water circulating and clear.

There were many varieties of palm, yucca, eucalyptus, and olive trees growing in the garden and hanging onto the cliff-side overlooking the Mediterranean!

Now you can see just how high above the village and the sea we are while walking through the gardens.

This seagull is hoping for a tidbit from one of us... but, no such luck for him this time.

Below him are the many new high-rise apartment buildings crowding the dock and port areas... it is non-stop construction down there!

Another view of the harbor, full of million-dollar yachts, just below the "old Monaco village" area.

A bird's-eye view of a few of the nice yachts in the harbor.

This is an official government building of Monaco, flying their red & white flag... I think it was a magistrate's office building of some sort.

An outside view of the massive Monaco Cathedral in old Monaco-Ville... more amazing pictures of this are coming shortly.

This Cathedral was built in 1875... (on the site of an earlier 13th century church)... and holds the remains of both Prince Rainier and Princess Grace.

Another winding, scenic pathway overlooking the gardens and the modern seaside village below.

Another government building with an impressive entry staircase... the local courthouse for this village area.

Statue of Saint Nicolas near the entrance of the Monaco Cathedral... very detailed.

An ornately decorated altar in the Cathedral.

Shown in this Cathedral wall mosaic, is Saint Nicolas... a patron saint to sailors (and also to merchants, thieves, and children)... (he is also who our Santa Claus became patterned after because of his generous gift-giving tendencies.)

Roman influence is historically reflected and acknowledged with this statue and altar display.

Holy Mary, Mother of God statue below one of the many gorgeous stained-glass windows.

A magnificent statue of Jesus addressing his flock of the faithful below.

Frescoes on the ceiling of the dome in the main hall of the Cathedral.

The gorgeous main hall with a view of the amazing pillars and floor tiles.

The final resting place of Monaco's beloved Princess Grace (Grace Kelly)... fresh cut flowers are always placed here.

I believe this was the resting place of Prince Rainier... with acknowledgments of his predecessors... the previous Princes of Monaco.

A statue of an unknown saint (or young Pope) protecting and guiding a young boy or girl.

Back outside, we roamed the narrow streets, marveling at the buildings' architecture.

A people-shuttle train drove by... picking up and dropping off... visitors to this old Monaco-Ville square.

There were many colorful, French-style restaurants in this old village area.

Some of the Monaco police... awaiting the arrival of some dignitary or royal family member.

The Palais Princier... "The Prince's Palace"... is closely guarded by Palace Guards and houses the family of the current Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II (son of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace).

(The flag flying high on the flagpole means that Prince Albert II is already inside the Palace.)

Uh-oh!

Kathy has spotted some shops! Hang on to your Euros!

A super-cool, exotic-looking, international circus poster for an upcoming Monte-Carlo festival!

Kathy takes a break from shopping to enjoy the sun and Mediterranean sea breeze.

These vendor shops and buildings line the square across from the Prince's Palace.

Suddenly, motorcycle policemen begin herding people off of the square itself and onto the sidewalks... someone important must be coming to the Palace soon.

People begin moving about the square again... after a black SUV in a small protected convoy entered the Palace gates and disappeared inside.

A photo showing the storybook wedding of young Princess Grace and her Prince Rainier in 1956.

A tall, sea maiden statue... in the half-skinned-style of the Oceanographic Institute's other models (like the unicorn and man's torso statues earlier)... welcomes visitors at the seaside level

"Gran Prix of Monaco" driver jerseys... on display in the basement parking garage where our tour bus was parked.

Back on the road in a few minutes, we headed for the next stop... Monte-Carlo!

Along the way, we can see in one glance where three countries meet...
one promontory is Monaco, one is southern France, and the other is northern Italy!

The road to Monte-Carlo gradually rose again till we were driving along the cliffs a thousand feet above the Mediterranean... and it gave us awesome views every time our big tour bus came around a scary, tight, hair-pin curve.

We actually drove on a couple miles of the Monaco Gran Prix roadway that winds through downtown Monte-Carlo and the surrounding hillsides.

There were people driving very fast here, in regular traffic, in their own small racy cars, scooters, and motorcycles.

I'm sure they were just trying to get a feel for the thrill of driving on the actual Gran Prix course... especially the tight-turns of the switchbacks that wind up and down the hillsides!

As we walked on the sidewalk along the winding racecourse... (pretty dangerous in its own right, by the way)... we could still see the skid marks from the most recent Gran Prix race where the racers skidded around each tight corner!

An aerial view of the racecourse we just walked up... and some of the drivers "racing" their way up the roadway!

An even higher view of the curvy city street/racecourse with the Monte-Carlo harbor beyond it.

And off in the not-too-far distance, you can see the rolling hills and coastline of northern Italy.

At the top of the hillside walk/climb, there were expensive shops and apartment buildings overlooking the harbor.

Our tour guide, Margerite, led us through a neat public garden and park area... (uh-oh, Kathy is finding another "souvenir" of some kind).

A gorgeous fish pond with numerous pots, flowers, and glass spheres decorating it.

This is what spoiled-rich, Monte-Carlo ducks look like... they were very nonchalant, care free, and not afraid of us at all.

Margerite then showed us our rallying spot to meet back at in about 45 minutes... the large fountain of the Square.

Then we saw it...
the world famous Monte-Carlo Grand Casino... and the expensive shoppes surrounding it!

A small tram shuttles visitors to, from, and past the impressive Grand Casino and its grounds.

This magnificent casino is the one made famous in the "James Bond, 007" movie "Casino Royale"... where it was referred to and they actually filmed scenes in part of it.

Of course, there were police cars and high security around the Casino at all times.

We just had to go inside and try our luck!

First, after an initial attempt to "sneak" past the entry guard without turning in our camera, we had to leave our camera at a checkpoint desk.

Then we were off and gambling!

Only high-rollers were allowed in the main Casino area...
but, we were allowed in the side section (for us small-timer, "low-rollers").

We ended up betting at the .20 Euro video poker machines... (I had already quickly "donated" 10 Euros in a .50 Euro machine on the way in).

Lucky for us, Kathy is good at video poker... she lost at first but then ended up cashing in for a whopping 14.80 Euros!

That's not a lot of money... but, at least she made us a Little Winner at the Big Casino!

This other-side-view of the "Sky Mirror" sculpture reflects the stunning Grand Casino of Monte-Carlo... the real life "Casino Royale" of James Bond fame.

Also, from this point... the border with France is just 3 blocks or so North of here... straight behind this mirror!

And the border with northern Italy is only about 3 miles to the East of this center of Monaco!

Woo, woo... sexy lady!

One of the many detailed, bronze sculptures decorating the Casino building.

Then it was back to the rallying point and the trek back through the adorable garden park.

This park is also near the only public restrooms in the Square area... and they charged .50 Euro (about 50 cents) for visitors to use the restroom!

We hiked back down the hill on foot... walking along the dangerous "racecourse" city street.

While walking here, we had to be very cautious crossing the street.

You just never knew when one of the local "wannabe" Gran Prix drivers might come screeching around the blind curves... on a motorcycle or in a car!

The hillside buildings and mansions of Monte-Carlo were magnificent to see!

We say "goodbye" to our amazing visit to Monaco... and we head back to our Disney Magic!

This has been a very long and eventful day!

We are worn out and relax in our tour bus, just soaking up the gorgeous Mediterranean coastline.

The sun is almost setting as we approach the harbor at Villefranche.

It is nearly 6:00 pm by the time we spot the Magic at anchor.

Rounding the cliffs overlooking Villefranche and the sailboats in the port, we can see Fort Saint Elme far off on the hilltop.

A local artist paints and sells his plein-air pictures (open air or outdoor paintings) of the harbor and beach scenery below him.

A "postcard-worthy" last view of the lovely French town of Villefranche sprawling up the hillside.

The stair-stepped streets and red-tile roofs of Villefranche as we approach sea level again.

Our bus driver maneuvers those tight archway turns to return us safe and sound to the port.

A great pictorial map of the many sites to be seen when visiting the Villefranche coastal area.

This statue is a little too abstract for me... give me a good, old bronze nude any day!

Kiss the Clown! Kiss the Clown!
(Note: It's not quite as funny as Kathy's "Kiss the Moose! Kiss the Moose!" trip to Maguire's Pub in Pensacola, Florida was... but pretty darn close!)

Then it was back to the tender boats for a quick shuttle out to the Disney Magic. (This was the next to last tender boat back to the ship... that's cutting it a little too close!)

We were back on board by 6:30 pm!

There was just enough time to relax and clean up a little.

I went to see the 7 pm showing in the Disney Theater of "The Dream Goes On"... the story of Walt Disney's career, how he started it all, and where it goes from here. It was great!

Kathy was beat... so, she took a nap instead... to rest up for our dinner time.

Dinner was at Parrot Cay and only the Connecticut folks were missing from the table.

Another spectacular dinner followed by their always fabulous desserts!

Our table staff came to the rescue and helped Pat (from Philly) when she said she was a little bit chilly.

They made her this lovely tablecloth "robe" and a Minnie Mouse bow "hat" to keep her warm!

We were too tired after dinner to go see the juggler in the Rockin Bar D lounge... so we just went to the "free drink" area for a nighttime iced tea... and then we hit the hay by about 11 pm.

And to greet us back in our stateroom, was this cuddly "Beagle" towel dog... with big, chocolate- brown eyes!