Sunday, November 6, 2011

French Riviera on a Song


Ticino - Italian Alps
When you think of the French Riviera, you get images of the Azure blue Mediterranean Sea, the idyllic life in the Cote d’Azur, the Casinos of Monaco (and Monte Carlo). But what excites your senses is Cannes – the film festival and red carpet capital of the world. However, what really motivated us to take a tour was the chance to explore the Mediterranean & the old towns of Nice, VilleFranche’, Eze and Vence. 
These are all quaint wonderfully preserved old towns along the Cote d’Azur, and places where time has stood still since the 14th century or roundabouts. Now don’t get me wrong… while there we also planned for Marseille and St. Tropez. But we didn’t really want to get lost in St. Tropez as eagerly as we did in the forgotten backyards of St. Paul De Vence or Eze’. This was a ‘historical’ trip in the true sense of the word.
View Of Italian Alps
 28th October: The day we bunked work, both Tushar and Avik and started at around 6 am from Basel. It was still dark, and the 4 of us were still sleepy - but the drive was grand. Through the Italian Alps and Ticino (we reached Ticino by 9 a.m.) – The snow covered Alps and Lake Maggiore – it was worth the early start. Through Italy and through the toll gates (at a heavy cost of 25 € toll each way!), we rambled on to the France and were welcomed by the grand drive along the coastline. It was easy to understand the significance of the simplistic name ‘Cote d’Azur’ for this side of France.
After bypassing Monace, and VilleFranche on the way to the Ibis hotel in Nice, we returned to Eze’ by the most amazing view points on the coast. 
View From VilleFranche of Coted'Azur
 I think we stopped about a ton of times to look out and finally reached Eze’ just before the info office closing time (5 p.m.). It was still daylight saving, so we did manage to wander around till 6:30 when dusk did finally settle in. But the charming town captivated all of us. I think we were debating on the practicality of staying over in the Hotel Chateau Eza despite having hotel reservations in Nice – just 10 km away and another time era away! Breathtaking! The narrow alleys, the decorated shops, the myriad cul de sac – it was straight from some animated movie from the bygone era ;) We fell in love – again!
Anyways, off to Villefranche-sur-Mer, and here was a different sea side town. The yacht city (almost) was a contrast to Village of Eze' and the sea side dinner shops were as inviting as were the captivating Rue Obscure and Église Saint-Michel of the Cite Historique.
Eze' Village
By Eze' Village
VilleFranche Coastline
But dusk intervened, so we decide to retire to Nice with a sample of French wine and some Doner kebabs from a roadside diner in Nice that was always overcrowded, despite being run by Algerian migrants.
The dinner was as fulfilling as the wine was wasted.
Eze' Village
Posing - Eze' Village


Map Of Eze' and Chateau Eza!
29th October: This day we had planned for Nice Old Town - Vieux Nice – it looks and feels exactly like it did two or three centuries ago! Promenade de Anglais, Cours Saleya and Place Garibaldi – the main city plaza – were the feature attractions we had planned for. The Promenade was inviting, and we spent a fair amount of time frolicking there and watching dog tricks. Then we headed for the Marche’ Aux Fleurs – Cours Saleya – the flower market for the uninitiated. And then we headed off to the old town - Vieux Nice. Vieux Nice was where we were lost for the next couple of hours before we realized that we had to head for Vence, and St.Paul De Vence also. And Antibes and Capd’Antibes – if time permits…
Vieux Nice

Vence Old town and St. Paul de Vence - Again there was a feeling of time travel. And an appreciation of the charm of Europe vs living in Sydney or in the U.S. It is an uplifting experience… and it makes for a hugely rewarding and life changing experience.
Posing by Vieux Nice
It changes you and you feel puzzled by the rush in India to discard the old for the new! Old is Gold – and it is nowhere truer than in Europe. It is also big money – serious money – apart from being the culture marvel. We wandered about – just getting lost in the alleys and marveling at the picturesque town. One resident helped us with directions and tourist guide map of Vence, another cemetery flower seller with directions to the Old Town – but the most interesting part was the lunch at an Italian eatery in Old town. It was the most amazing assorted Italian platter – with lasagna, pizza, gelato – to go with roast chicken and bread. Mmmm… that was the tasty and it cost 31€ for the four of us.
Nice Old Town House
Vence Old Town House
Vence Town Centre














St. Paul was 2-3 km & we spent the rest of the day relaxed - doing nothing & yet marveling at everything unfolding before us. Antibes was a disappointment though. But primarily because of us - it was already dusk and we hadn’t done our research too well. So we just wandered a bit and then headed for the Cap d’Antibes, which was the beachside version with fantastic views. Overall the French Riviera was easy on the body – aimless wandering had never been so rewarding.
'Italian' Lunch at Vence! 
 All the European cities we had visited – Paris, Rome, Barcelona – were huge and needed proper planning to see them in their best sights… and was usually hard preparation work before and after. Cote d’Azur – was easy, just head where the heart takes you and be prepared to be amazed!
A feature highlight of our tour was the night car parking we did at Nice in front of our hotel – 2 wheels were parked on the pavement, and we somehow just about managed to get the parking place!
Vence in all its grandeur and 'plane' trees! 
St. Paul de Vence

St. Tropez!
30th October: This day was for Marseille and St. Tropez… yea the beaches and the sun. Also the occasional topless women! So we set off early on this Sunday – finding breakfast was hard early in the morning, but eventually we found a nice place serving French Breakfast omelet. Then off to St. Tropez – a pretty pretty pretty port town – the original play area of the super rich Europeans. The coffee, the lighthouse and the yachts – all reeked of old money, European grandeur and Mediterranean easy lifestyle. Marseille had to be postponed to another time – it was too late and we had Cannes in our sights.
Lighthouse at St. Tropez
Posing by St. Tropez
We took a quick self guided tour of Fragonard at Grasse – the free factory tour was already closed by then.
An hour of perfume trying later – we got the 2nd most exotic perfume since the marriage – the first being the Givenchy during our honeymoon trip to Mauritius.
My Cutie Pie at St. Tropez!
It was fun and it was late by the time we started back for our Ibis hotel – night car parking was a headache in Nice – and that night was no exception. We had to budget an extra half hour at least to find a decent free parking place (between 8 p.m. till 9 a.m.). We had a quiet dinner and then retired for the night. We had planned for an early start to Basel the next day – stopping over at Monaco and Villefranche.
Cannes!

31st October: Through Monaco after a hearty breakfast at Villefranche – we witnessed the Monte Carlo beach, the casino and the most impressive of all – the McLaren F1 race car.
A long drive and another 25 € toll through Italy later (we tried for Avoid Tolls option – only for the GPS to suggest an alternate route that would take 12 hours extra!) – we reached Basel around 6 p.m. 
Cathedral Russo in Nice
View From From Villefranche
The highlight was the scratches we got on the car at the Russian Cathedral parking and then again at Villefranche parking – a heavier cost the bill of which is yet to be reconciled!

Cannes McLaren Showroom
Thus ended our Cote d’Azur adventure – it was adventure, and it was an eye opening culture tour.
Cathedral Russo













Wish we could do the same back at home in India too!

At The Cannes
At The Fragonard


Here is a picture that captures it all – the simplicity, and yet the richness that makes one wonder how much poorer we would be without our old towns!
Charming Old Towns

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Oktoberfest In Munich: A Weekend To Remember…Hic!


A road trip vs DB Bahn Regional travel pass to Munich… that was the question.
Also to be considered was the possibility of driving while a lil drunk, given the obvious occasion, so also the availability of hotel in and around Munich over the Oktoberfest weekend, starting on the 17th September… if the hotel was in the suburbs, car might be better. Eventually what finalized the decision was the option to drop in at Triberg to buy cuckoo clocks along the way…

So on a crisp autumn day in Sep., we started for our first Oktoberfest adventure in a Citroen with 2 more of our colleagues. A 4 hour drive – we interspersed it with a stopover at Triberg for a (what else) Blackforest cake and a clock buying spree.
Factory Showroom 'House of 1000 Uhren' - Triberg on B500

 3 (expensive) clocks and 4 cakes later, we were on our way to Raeter Hotel (Dependence!) in the outskirts of Munich. Devrupa got stomach cramps, our friends alternated between excitement and endless droning, while Tushar alternated between dangerous high speed driving and alarm on finding the speed cameras in Germany towns – but by 3 p.m. we were camping in our hotel rooms getting freshened for the major event in town – Oktoberfest 2011!
Yummy Black Forest Treat







We asked the hotel reception for directions and set off with the 5 person wochande Tag pass with a city sight-seeing add-on. It was an experience managing to find the right ticket from the Deutsch vending machines, but the sub urban train line took us to Munich and then Theresienwiese by 5 pm. And then the fun started …
Munich 'Street View'!
The entire city was filled choc-a-bloc with party revelers. The bridges, streets and the sidewalks – were without exception – filled with people, like you get to see only back in Hyderabad. And they were dressed in their traditional 17th or 18th century costumes. It was like a big costume party – men and women, boys and girls – everywhere in all shapes and sizes of the most amazing clothing – men in half military dress with shorts and women in Dirndl beer girl Gretchen costumes and aprons. 
 It was like a huge animation movie set.
When we finally hit the entrance, and managed to get inside the actual party zone, it was a bit overwhelming. We required reservations to order once were inside and we hadn’t booked in advance! So we tried our luck at a couple of places and didn’t score any hit. But we used the opportunity to get our bearings on the ways this thing works. First you need to be seated – either outdoors or inside the tents.
6-pack anyone!

Outdoors is easier, but the real revelry is inside the main halls – where the locals usually go in. The waiters and waitresses however will serve you anywhere as long as you are seated. And you don’t need to call them over. They will take the food and beer order and come over with cash payment only bills juggling in somewhere in between their 6 pack beer glasses. Now this is the origin of 6-pack abs that is touted on the movies these days!

We finally managed to get a seat at the AugustinerBrau tent. And It was well worth the wait … and not only for the beer … Our table was a melting pot of cultures… we had our German friends on the right, with a US Connecticut-couple currently staying in Prague at the other end, with a British lady across and an Italian – travelling back from his Croatian vacation- at the extreme left.   Then there was the inevitable Bohemian on his cigar at the other extreme left of the table… Whew you would think it was a billiards table :) And of course, the 4 of us were in the middle of everything. We started off with a beer mug for each and some of the choicest duck and cabbage potato dish – this was the special of the beer house – AugustinerBrau. 


Having a Great Time - ROTFL
And we had a few more nibbles, but the best was the starters’ conversation with our newly found friends who gave us the lowdown on everything this side and the other side of the pond (The Atlantic, that is). We got to know of the rumours in Prague, the scandals in Bohemia, the local Berlin – Munich rivalry update and finally the Stamford CT update …
And we got drunk… Me and Thiagu that is… And we also acted quite drunk… did silly things, but managed to avoid the Police… at the grounds and at the station and till the hotel… pretty much everywhere. Oh, we had taken the public transportation – the sub-urban train, that is why. We managed to somehow reach back the Hotel although it started pouring on the way back. Back home and dry, we dropped dead on the bed without even a shower! That is the luxury of staying in a hotel :)

Having a 'Double' Great Time



The next morning was our last day in Munich – it was a weekend getaway from Basel. So we packed and rushed to Altstadt to see the Rathaus, Residenz, Marktplatz…


Grand Opening Parade
... well well, little did we anticipate the Oktoberfest Opening parade in Munich near to the Residenz.                 
Opening Parade - Oktoberfest


It was grand… and it was fun… despite the drizzling rain… We were statues for the next 2 hours admiring the grand procession, and in fact were fighting to get a ringside view of the whole spectacle. Boy, sometimes the things that you don’t plan for are the most amazing. God’s plans for what you haven’t planned for! Yeah - have a look.
Opening Parade - Oktoberfest

And then we dragged ourselves to the Residenz – and had a grand tour of the amazing palace of the Wittelsbachs. 


At The Residenz



As we started on our return journey via Bodensee and Swiss countryside, we all were grateful for a most eventful weekend getaway in the middle of a wet September in 2011. Now if we could only do this again!
By the Lake Constanz
Swiss Vineyards by the countryside of Lake Bodensee


P.S. - I also managed the impossible - I managed to "befriend" my Gretchen barmaid Frau Dufner... who she sent me a "love letter"! see below ... I have hidden her phone no!