Grasse and Cannes, France

Before returning to Oklahoma, we decided to visit a small part of France near Nice.  We had to return our car to the airport in Nice and fly back home from there too. So we wanted to be close to Nice for that.  We found an affordable studio apartment in Grasse, the perfume capital of France and less than an hour from Nice.  Grasse is also a short bus ride from Cannes so that was another reason for visiting this part of France.  I’d seen and swam in the Adriatic Sea and now I wanted to do the same in the Mediterranean!    

One of the beach areas in Cannes

Huge fields of lavender, roses, and jasmine are grown near Grasse for the perfume industry there.  Perfume factories and museums in Grasse are open to the public so you can learn as much as you want about the perfume industry there.  We particularly enjoyed the Fragonard Perfumerie and their perfumes.  As with all of Europe, there is much history to absorb in Grasse too.  The Cathedral of Notre Dame du Puy has 3 amazing Rubens inside, along with so many other things worth taking the time to view in this Provencal Romanesque style cathedral.

We enjoyed walking around this small city and being surprised by what we found.  And the views were just spectacular.  You could see all the way to the coast from some places.  There are a few resting places in Grasse where you might be lucky enough to find an empty seat and feel the mist cool you that is sprayed every few seconds, along with the breeze.  What a great find that was as it was hot the week we were there.

One of the sculptures in Grasse

 

The only problem with Grasse is parking.  Arrive early to find a spot and leave the car and walk until you leave Grasse.  We arrived around 3:00 PM and drove around for half an hour before finally finding a spot for our car in one of the car parks.  We left the car there all week and took the bus to Cannes.  It was a great deal.  For only one Euro each we could ride to Cannes and not have to deal with parking the car there.  It looked like parking was at a premium in Cannes too.

      

This is a car park in Grasse!

In Cannes, we enjoyed the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean.  We also walked along the famous for shopping Boulevard de la Croisette and the Rue d’Antibes among other streets.  Along a side street we found a Chinese restaurant and took a chance…it was a wonderful meal.  One reason we chose it was that you could eat inside in an air conditioned room!  We wanted to explore the old  historic part of Cannes, but it was just too hot to do all that walking so we found this lovely restaurant, had a great lunch and took the bus back to Grasse.  This was after we spent the morning at the beach.

The Beach in Cannes

So, which is better – the Adriatic or the Mediterranean?  That depends on what you’re looking for.  The Adriatic has beautiful crystal clear water but mostly rocky beaches.  The Mediterranean in Cannes had nice sandy beaches but the water was not as clear or blue.  Maybe sometime I’ll get to other parts of the Mediterranean to see more and have more to compare…

We had a fantastic send off from France.  On our last night in the country, we got to watch a spectacular fireworks display in Grasse, complete with music.  This was to celebrate France’s Bastille Day which is observed on July 14^th. 

Almost time to return to the USA.

Enjoy more photos at the following link.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100390625521976559356/France2011

Homeward Bound

So many thoughts and emotions running through my mind while packing up all the last minute things.  I will write more next week about all that and our week in France.  I just can't do it now.  I need a few days to sort through my emotions and the laundry! ! !   And time to write it all down for you.  With photos of course.

                           In Cannes, France.  There is one for almost every country you can think of.


Thank you all so much for  sharing your thoughts on this trip.  I was very surprised at how many people read this blog regularly.  And encouraged by it too!  I hope you'll continue checking in here for further posts.

                       One of the many beach areas in Cannes, France

Till next week...

Our Last Week in Croatia

Our last week in Croatia was quite different from other weeks.  We had 2 days of rain which had never happened in one week before since our arrival.  But we managed to get in 3 days at the local beaches, 2 days for laundry, 2 days for packing and another spectacular dinner of Istrian specialties with our friends here.  We leave tomorrow for a week in France, and then on to the USA.  We’ve had a wonderful time here and are so glad we had this opportunity…but, after almost 5 months, we are ready to go home and get settled in there.  In less than a month after our return, the fall semester begins for Steve!

What things will I miss?  (In no particular order)

Location, location, location.  The Green Market with fresh fruits and veggies and the neighborhood grocery stores.  We could get everything we needed and it would only take about half an hour.   Where we live in Oklahoma, it’s a 30-45 minute drive, one-way, to the grocery store, depending on which store we go to.  There is a small grocery store a few minutes from the house but the prices are exorbitant and the selection is quite limited so I am really going to miss the convenience of everything being so close to this apartment.

Walking around Pula and seeing so much history.  Roman, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, Yugoslav and Croatian history right in front of me everywhere I walk.  Fascinating!  (to me anyway) 

Architecture in Pula.  So many buildings with so many architectural styles!  And then there are the buildings that have multiple architectural styles due to being rebuilt or added on to.   Living in a small town in a rural area in Oklahoma, the architecture is not as interesting so I’ve really enjoyed the buildings here in Croatia and the other countries we visited.

Gelato! Gelato! Gelato!

Apartment Living.  Cleaning the apt. is easy and doesn’t take nearly as long as cleaning an entire house;  no mowing the lawn or raking leaves here either.  Living simpler has it benefits!

The Adriatic Sea and its Beaches.  Just love it.  So blue, so crystal clear, so inviting…  We actually live near a big lake in Oklahoma but never seem to find the time to enjoy it.  But here, we’ve found lots of time for the Adriatic!  

The Idea of Living in Europe.  Going from one country to another is like going from one state to another in the US.  So it’s easy to travel around and experience the history and beauty of European cities and countryside while enjoying the people too.

What things am I looking forward to back home?   

Quiet neighborhood.  Our apt. here is on a very busy street so there is always lots of traffic noise and people noise, especially when the patrons of the café bar across the street stay too long there!  Also, the door to the apt. building slams shut all day and all night long.  Very irritating.

Air conditioning!  Ceiling Fans!

My kitchen.  I haven’t been able to bake any gluten free bread or cookies, etc. since arriving here.  The kitchen here is very small and did not include any baking dishes.  So, I am actually looking forward to baking bread!  And I’m very surprised to be saying that!

A Real Shower!  Not the hand-held shower head that is so common in Europe.

Wireless Internet.   It’ll be so nice to use my computer anywhere in the house and not have all those cables all over the place.  In fact, about 5 years ago I began to use only a laptop.  It saves a lot of desk and floor space compared to the tower/desk-top computers.

The Public Library.  I love to read and didn’t run out of e-books to read that I downloaded on my computer before we left the US.  But I miss picking up a book to read and getting comfy with it on the sofa or recliner.  Sitting with the computer on my lap to read…it’s just not the same as a book and turning pages.  I know there are e-readers out there, I just didn’t get one before we came here.  Maybe that would help, but I still think I’d miss the tactile-ness of turning pages and leafing through a book.

Shopping for Clothes on Sale.  Clothes are very expensive here and don’t go on sale like in the US.  I can almost always find something to buy that’s 50 % or more off the original price in the US.  Those kinds of deals are extremely difficult to find here.

It’s Almost Time to Go Home…

When I began writing this entry, we had two weeks left of our time in Croatia.  Now we only have a week!  We realize there are many parts of Croatia that we haven’t seen; and they are all worth our time, or anyone’s time.  But…we’re tired and know we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the history and beauty of these sites and cities.  The trips would involve too many hours in the car and we just don’t feel inspired to complete any more long road trips.  Living in Pula on the Istrian peninsula means driving further to get to the rest of Croatia and the first two hours of these trips involve one lane highways due to construction.  Those first two hours should only take 45 minutes!  So, we’re staying in Pula and visiting more historic sites here and getting in some beach time.  Oh, and Steve is still working!  He’s proof reading the galley pages for the next edition of one of his books.

For those who are interested, the tourist regions of Croatia are generally divided into: Istria with Pula and Brijuni Islands and Pazin and Poreč; Kvarner with Rijeka and Opatija and several islands like Pag and Krk; Lika - Karlovac with Gospić and Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park; Dalmatia with Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Hvar Island, many other islands, and the Krka Waterfalls National Park; Central Croatia with Zagreb and other locations; and Slavonia with several cities also.  It would have been nice to see more of the Dalmatia and Slavonia regions but time, energy and other personal resources were getting low!!!   And don’t forget the islands of Croatia.  I think the tourist books for Croatia should include a separate entry for the islands of Croatia – 1,244 of them!  Many of these islands have lighthouses on them with units to rent.  Now that would be a unique vacation!

Meanwhile, staying in Pula we visited some sites new to us and returned to some favorite places too. 

Naval Cemetery.  The Naval Cemetery, dating from 1866, is the site where 150,000 soldiers from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (until 1918) were buried. This cemetery holds the remains of soldiers from before World War I through World War II and even those who died after World War II.  We saw several monuments that marked the burial site for women in this cemetery too.  And many have photos attached to the monuments that I found fascinating...

Tunnels/Underground Shelters in Pula.  One short section of the extensive tunnel system opens in mid-June every year.  Construction of the tunnels began just prior to World War I and was completed during the war.  After the Great War, the Italian rulers expanded the network.  The tunnels and shelters were dug under all the hills in the inner city.  Rooms were built for ammunition storage and storage of other military equipment, men’s quarters, and a prison to hold captured soldiers.  After World War II, the tunnels were designated as shelters for the civilian population and as emergency hospitals.  Pula’s tunnels and underground shelters can hold 50,000 people! 

Church and Monastery of St. Francis of Assisi.  This monastic complex was built in the 14th century at the site of a previous cultic edifice. The Franciscan community was first recorded in Pula in the 13th century. The church was built in 1314 in the late Romanesque style with Gothic ornaments, as a firm and simple building of the preaching Franciscan order.  The columns on the first floor of the cloister are identical but each column on the second story is a different shape.

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  This is usually referred to as “the Cathedral” and was built at the site where Christians gathered in the time of their persecution (until the 4th century).  Inside the church you can still see fragments of the floor mosaic from the 5^th – 6^th centuries with memorial inscriptions of worshippers who paid for the decoration.  From the notes I read about this church, I think it was destroyed three different times, once by fire, and always rebuilt!

Communal Palace.  This was the seat of the municipal government since Roman rule and is located in what was once the Forum.  During Venetian rule it was the seat of the duke.  Municipal government offices are once again located in this building.  The building includes several architectural styles:  Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. 

Chapel of St. Maria Formosa.  It is one of the two chapels built in the 6th century as part of a large Benedictine abbey demolished in the 16th century. The floor and walls were decorated with mosaics, some of which are now in the Archaeological Museum of Istria.   (Remember those photos of mosaics I took awhile ago when in the Museum?)

Floor Mosaic, The Punishment of Dirce.  I tried to find this but gave up – it got too hot!  But it’s an interesting story, and here it is:  “After the bombing of World War II remains of Roman houses with mosaics were found under the block of houses around the Chapel of St. Maria Formosa. The most impressive one is surely the floor mosaic with the central field presenting the mythological scene of the “Punishment of Dirce” (Amphion and Zethus are tying Dirce to an enraged bull, since out of envy Dirce had been cruel to their mother, Antiope.) This figural scene presents the central field of a large floor mosaic composition (12 m x 6 m). The entire mosaic composition is divided into two equal sections with altogether 40 decorated areas dominated by geometrical patterns with animal details (fish and bird). The mosaic covered the floor of a central room of a Roman house, probably from the 3rd century. It has been preserved at the site where it was found, so that the level of house floors in the Roman times, which is 2 m below today’s level, is clearly visible.”

For more photos go to:

https://picasaweb.google.com/100390625521976559356/WalkingAroundPulaPart402

And now I’m off to the beach.  Only a few days left to enjoy the beautiful, blue, crystal clear Adriatic Sea.

Impressions

One of the funniest comments we heard on this trip was from a couple from Calgary, Canada.  We met them at Eagle’s Nest in Germany and we were exchanging stories about the good and the not so good of traveling.  Before continuing I must apologize to Italians and Italy even though the comment has some truth in it.  The subject of Italy came up and the man said, “Italy has millions of visitors every year and only 4 public toilets!”  He’s not too far from the truth, and be sure you have coins with you because you have to pay for the privilege of using one of these toilets.  And to make matters worse, the women’s toilets are often stand up toilets or regular toilets with no seats!  Tricky business in Italy for women…To be fair, many countries in Europe require payment to use their toilets but you usually get a seat with it!  And yes, you must use the word toilet or WC (water closet), not “bathroom.”

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While in Skradin on the Krka River in Croatia we had an enlightening conversation with the owner of a souvenir shop.  He owned 2 shops and when we were walking back to the boat at 11 PM, he was just closing up!  He mentioned he has a mechanical engineering degree but when he graduated, “nobody cared.”  In other words, there were no jobs available so he’s made his own way to succeed here in Croatia.  He also told us that over 50% of the population receives a pension, including those who fought in the war in the 1990’s.  That explains the crowded café bars.  Many of these people are still young enough to work but choose not to.  And unemployment in Croatia is rather high, almost 20%.   This was one smart young man.  He went on to tell us about this region of Croatia.  This area was an important outpost for the Roman Empire with the Krka River and easy access to the Adriatic.  He’s very proud of his country and wants to see things improve here.  And we also hope with him that the job situation and economy also improves here in Croatia.

                     Souvenirs for 5 Kuna each (approx. 1 USD)

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The previous paragraph mentioned the crowded café bars here in Croatia.  You can see lots of people enjoying beer, wine or some type of coffee as early as 8AM.  Yes, beer and wine at 8 AM!  What an unusual site for this small town girl from Oklahoma.   

The coffee comes in a small cup and that’s all you get, no refills here or anywhere in Europe.  So, we’ve been wondering what these people talk about that they stay in the café for a couple of hours as it only takes about 5 minutes to drink the coffee.  We’re still not sure but we’ve been told that more work gets done here drinking coffee than anyplace else.  Guess that means “networking” is big here!  When trying to get something done here, who to call and who not to call is complicated!   Oh, and did I mention that smoking is all the rage here too; lots of coffee and lots of cigarette smoking in these café bars.

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Now, on to the food.  I do love the Green Market in the City Center.  The produce is so fresh.  The grocery stores have fruits and veggies too but they’re not as fresh or as varied as at the outdoor market.  I think there are no GMOs here – genetically modified organisms, unless they are labeled as such (same for EU countries).   Wish the US would require labeling for GMOs!  I’ve been able to eat all kinds of vegetables without any problems, which is not the case back in the US.  That’s why I think there are no GMOs here.  My system must not like GMOs which, unfortunately, are hard to avoid in the US.

                              One of the fruit stands at the Green Market, Pula, Croatia

                              Mostly veggies in this aisle of the Green Market

 There is also a huge fish and meat market next to the Green Grocer’s Market.  The fish is fresh every morning and they will fillet the fish for you.  Can’t ask for more than that, unless it’s to have someone cook it for you too!  And Istrian beef is really, really good; always tender.  Cheese vendors are also in the meat market.

 Okay, now for the olive oil, cheese, honey, and wine.  All excellent here too!  Venders at the Green Market sell a variety of olive oil and honey.  You can sample these to decide which ones you want.  Yes, it’s just like wine tasting!  This part of Croatia is also famous for its wine, both red and white.  Although some insist it’s only the Istrian white wines that are famous.

                   Lots of different kinds of honey for sale at the Green Market.