Magnolia log 6-12:
Four magnolias arrived safely in Nice today and began our adventures. We headed to St. Paul de Vence, but took the scenic route, a/k/a got lost. But that's always fun. After winding through the curves and turns on narrow roads and asking directions from a lovely French lady headed to her community garden with her shovel in hand, she guided us to the hysterical -- I mean historical medieval city. Lunch was divine. Tartare, fruits del mar and aspereges and, of course, plenty of vin. We must say van, not ven. So French. The town is full of shops with usual French cadeaus, but we fought the impulse to buy everything we liked, knowing there is much more to see.
We finally set out to find l'hotel Le Mas Le Mougins. While Gina and Sarah D are napping in the back, Sara and Jeanne Marie are following our trusty garmin friend Bitching Betty -- and we do mean bitching. She had to "recalculate" a few times -- driving up and down the same road six times when we finally admitted we were hopelessly lost and called the hotel to ask for directions. Joel, the proprietor, gave up on our French and used a guy from Belgium to translate for him. He finally said he'd come get us. Well----we were half a block from the entrance. But in our defense, the name at the entrance was Chambres d'hotel, which means hotel rooms. Go figure. Why put the name of the hotel on the entrance? That would make it too easy.
We fell in love on sight. It's the villa you dream of. The entrance is open- air with Confederate jasmine blooming profusely. The scent was intoxicating -- or was it the rose'? Well, before that....the B&B has five guest rooms with verandas, beautifully tiled baths, provencal furniture and tiled floors, so airy and fresh. All of the rooms open onto the pool which has teak lounges and an outdoor kitchen. Enough of the decor.
Having been up for almost 30 hours, basically, we decided to skip dinner and have wine on the portico; however, the wine shops are closed on Sunday. Are we in France!!!??? Not to worry, Joel took pity on us and showed up with chilled Rose', which seems to be the wine of choice here, and four beautiful crystal glasses. So there we perched, visiting with Joel and meeting our new friends from California.
Mike, the dad, joined us and filled us in on their family history. Their daughter is the modern-day Under the Tuscan Sun. After a divorce, she moved to Italy, met a younger Italian, married him and now is a trip planner. They live on the Italian Riviera. Her husband is Luigi and is really very nice (translated - a hunk!!!) Really, the whole family is delightful and was a pleasure to meet.
After finishing our wine we all turned in for a restful night. Sara and Gina's, however, was a bit disturbed by an intermittent beep which they finally figured out was the in-room safe. (Joel has hopefully remedied that problem)
P.S. Pictures will follow.
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