Exploring the South of France

Have never figured out why it is so difficult for the hotels not to make a great cup of coffee when the local cafes put it out all day long.  We headed into St Jean-Cap Ferrat, the town, for coffee and a baguette.  A local watering hole.  Most definitely our best cup of Joe here.

The next stop was Villa-Ephrussi where Beatrice Rothschild resided.

Beatrice was married at 19 to the Russian banker Maurice Ephrussi, both of them heirs to incredibly wealthy families who were in business together.  The home was completed in 1912 after six years of construction.  It still remains filled with antique furniture, paintings, rugs and sculptures.  This room is pretty much what the entire house looks like just different types of furniture.

The gardens are absolutely beautiful.  She had a Japanese, Rock, French, Spanish and other different gardens created throughout the property.

What is more spectacular are the views.  Waking up to this every morning is pretty amazing.

We decided to take a drive over to Eze after we saw the property.  Eze is a tiny town with really nothing but residential homes and two hotels at the top where the restaurants are.  If you blink you can miss the town.  We walked down to the beach which definitely has a groovy vibe to it.  There are a bunch of small beach homes on the water front almost shack like.  Keep in mind it was about 90 degrees out and we were just sweating!

We continued up the coastline to check out Monte Carlo but stayed in the car as we drove through.   I had to sit in the car and cool off for a good 5 minutes before moving on.

Dinner was in town at Le Sloop.  A tiny place on the water in St. Jean-Cap Ferrat.  It was like a good home cooked meal.   This is a simple green salad with shaved Parmesan and black truffles.

I am really glad we got to see the Rothschild estate.  When I was a kid my Grandmother took me to see a play about the Rothschild family.  I remember being fascinated with their history.  At one point they were the wealthiest family in the world.   Mayer Rothschild was born in the ghettos of Frankfurt who began his banking business in 1760 eventually building a big enough empire where the 5 sons each ruled over a piece of it (including the wine and oil business).  The family is still in banking today.  I am definitely going to read a book on them.