kmroadtrek: Cagnes-Sur-Mer

(Link to more pictures at bottom).
After leaving rainy Provence we headed towards Nice. We ended up renting a lovely apartment in Cagnes-Sur-Mer (15 minutes outside of Nice). The apartment was nestled in a very steep part of the medieval town - it was really cool. Luckily, a local saw us hopelessly trying to fit our car into a tiny parking spot and he generously moved his car so that we could park ours! How nice - it saved us from having to use the elevator parking lot that went 14 floors underground (I think Marcus secretly wanted to park there just to try it out). As it happened, a Smart car was able to park in the tiny spot we were originally trying to squish into. Gotta tell ya - if I lived here, I'd buy a Smart car or a Fiat. I'm practically bigger than a Fiat. I wonder if they come in orange.

Despite the torrential downpour we decided to head into Nice on our first day. We wandered through the old part of town and I was finally able to convince Marcus to stay in a linen shop long enough to choose a classic Provencal table linen and cushion covers. Despite our shopping success and a yummy lunch (kebabs) the weather was pretty miserable, so we made our way back. We fared better weather-wise the next day and we walked along the seaside promenade and took in a few churches along the way. We went inside the hotel Negresco and were very impressed. Next time (after we win the lottery), we'll stay there!

Overall, Nice is a lovely seaside town. It would be a nice place to stay in the summer to enjoy both the pebbled beach and the surrounding area. We also quite enjoyed our medieval apartment in Cagnes Sur Mer and spent 1.5 half days exploring that area.

After attempting the walk up to our apartment once (it was so steep you had to bend your body forward by 45 degrees and walk like a crab. Honestly!), we discovered a free shuttle that dropped us off above our apartment, with only a short set of stairs to descend. Halleluah! The bus driver was a bit of a maniac (I had to close my eyes), but it was better than crawling my way up.

This is a picture of the little patio we had. Despite being one of a hodge-podge of apartments it was very quiet and private. The neighbourhood was a series of twisted cobblestone pathways, so quaint that we wanted to take a picture of every entryway we encountered. We did tour the Grimaldi castle at the top of the hill and a few artisan shops. One woman had made fantastic pieces made of braided cash register paper. We had quite a long chat with her in German, French and English.

We are very jealous of the moderate temperatures they have here in the winter. They have wonderful potted plants (jade plants and other cactus-like species) that thrive all year long.

We explored the local cemetery, built up into a hill, and had a wonderful dinner at the "Entre Cour et Jardin" restaurant. All in all, we really enjoyed Cagnes-Sur-Mer and we would definitely go back. Apparently you can walk down to the ocean in 15 minutes and they have quite a long promenade there as well, although not as nice as in Nice (couldn't resist!)

A view of Hautes Cagnes-Sur-Mer with the Castle at the top.