Amidst all of these travels to and from, you might wonder “well, where from exactly?”  No worries, I’m certainly not packing up and moving on every couple of days; given that I had planned on staying in maybe 3 places throughout the entire summer, I did not bring the proper luggage for that.

No, instead I holed myself up in lovely little place named Carnoles, settled roughly in between Monaco and Menton, on the east part of the coast near the French-Italian border.  I wish I could take credit for how I ended up here, say that I asked the right questions, did a lot of comparison shopping, etc., but I didn’t.  I found this place on a last minute, impulsive whim, my requirements being only (i) low cost, and (ii) central location for day tripping.  Not in my wildest dreams could I have predicted its perfection.

Carnoles itself is very small, as most towns are around here; so small, in fact, that I can walk to its neighbors.  The beach is made of smooth stones, the boulangarie creates outstanding lemon tarts with a delicate, porcelain-like meringue, and a few select restaurants are dotted along the shore.  After my wallet snatching, though, I had very little disposable cash, so ended up creating most of my meals from the local shops, something like: fresh baguette with soft, salted butter, cherry tomatoes on the vine, cut in half and smeared with creamy chevre, olives stuffed with pine-nuts and herb-marinated artichokes with fleshy centers.  Not horrible.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed Carnoles, the real draw was its vicinity.  Lovely, slightly larger Menton is a stone’s throw, just next door – it’s how I stumbled into one of its luscious citrus gardens (per Post #44).  Walking the other direction, you hit Roquebrune-Cap-Martin immediately, and reach Monaco about an hour later, followed by the picturesque, quaint locales of Cap d’Ail, Eze, Beausoleil sur Mer and Villefranche sur Mer.

Exquisite in the light of the late afternoon sun (or, let’s be honest, just about any time), these tiny towns are what I think of as the “sleepers” in the region.  It’s not that they’re unheard of – they aren’t desolate, and there are many vacation homes here – but they don’t usually make their way into general Cote d’Azur conversation.  And oh, should they.  Simply put, the Sleepers are my vision of the South of France.

Spending most of my time in Roquebrune, simply because of proximity, I was in awe on a regular basis.  The name “Cap” implies that this particular area juts out into the sea, a sort of mini-peninsula surrounded by the Mediterranean, so walking around it is entirely pleasurable (the pictures below are from one of my walks, starting in Carnoles).

Roquebrune’s edges are pale, jagged rocks against which waves crash, and without too much trouble you can find a flat stone surface perfect for fishing or restoring yourself in the sun.  Its inland is thick and green, dotted with white and magenta flower clusters, cacti, and wooden benches at particularly beautiful stopping points.  And turning around the corner of the Cap, walking west towards Monaco, you get a perfect image of houses clustered in the hills, just above a calm beach.  This alone made Roquebrune my solid favorite of the bunch.

Villefranche challenged Beausoleil for the second spot on my list and quietly won.  A quick stroll from its train station leads you straight to narrow, intriguing alleys in between colorful residences, unbelievable panoramic vantage points, a small local market, and – even amidst the obvious tourist influx – a palpable old-world personality.  Beausoleil seemed contemporary and more spread out in comparison.  With manicured gardens and elegant restaurants, it was exceptionally pretty.

But let me just reiterate:  they’re all exceptionally pretty, all amazing.  I kept feeling like I should’ve been charged more for my train rides towards Nice because of the landscape.  Then again, though, I don’t know how you would even begin put a price on it.

Villefranche sur Mer

Stairs in Old Town, Villefranche

Restaurant, Beausoleil sur Mer

A Day on Rocquebrune: Carnoles

Lunch

Birkenstocks

My Favorite View at the End of Day