Our objective for this week in Villefranche was to find a spectacular view and relax after the fairly hectic first month of our summer travel. This was the view Pat found and we are carrying out our plan.
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I have been a member of Goodreads
– (sort of a Facebook for readers … http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2950260.Lewis_M_Weinstein) –
for several years, and I truly enjoy reading and often discussing the reviews of my GR friends, which gives me a fine literary conversation each morning before I begin my own writing.
When I saw that one of my GR friends lived near Nice, I contacted him. The result was this delightful harbor side lunch with Trevor and Julia on our first full day in Villefranche and a visit with them in their home 3 weeks later (See Nice post).
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I could have taken hundreds of photos like these (Actually I think I did). Every change of the sun or the clouds produced another spectacular vision. This one was taken soon after a short downpour.
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I have never seen more vibrant photos than those produced by the Indian photographer Roger Bella who had an exhibit in Villefranche in a small building along the path we took from our apartment down to the sea. All of these photos are taken in the village where he lives.
See more of Bella’s stunning photographs at … http://photo.net/photos/Bienvenus_chez_moi
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We saw fireworks over the harbor almost every night from our balcony. Apparently they are scheduled for view by those on the cruise ships which sail in and out every day.
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We walked along the beach road to Cap-Ferrat, the site of magnificent mansions for a century, and still the playground of the very rich. On the way back, the road was blocked by the police (fallen trees?) and we had to climb to one of the higher roads. This turned out to be quite fortuitous, since we soon realized we were looking across the bay from exactly the viewpoint of Cary Grant and Deborah Carr in “An Affair to Remember.” We looked to our right and there was a road which we choose to believe led up to Janou’s villa.
Later that night, we watched the movie on our balcony, looking across at the same view shown in the movie.
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One of Villefranche’s major attractions is the Chapelle Saint-Pierre, dating from the sixteenth century. Used as a storeroom for local fishermen’s nets and equipment for most of the 19th and early part of the 20th century, it was restored in 1957 with Jean Cocteau adding murals depicting the life of the saint and of local fishermen.
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Of many beautiful views of Villefranche, here are just a few …
And last, since this is our scrapbook, the living space in our beautiful apartment …
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TRAVEL with pat and lew 