Not far from Le Port and a short distance to the east is Mont Boron. We've visited the area numerous times and in May 2019 walked there. This time around I was determined to repeat that walk and did so with far less (dare I say no) huffing and puffing.
The views of the Mediterranean are worth the climb as are the wooded park-like settings that are actually the norm rather than the spectacular sea views I'm posting here.
The walk back down to the port is all downhill and our route alternated between a series of stairs surrounded by trees and shrubs and narrow, winding roadways. As always, the views take one's breath away.
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Looking toward Nice and the port
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Nice Port and rugged coastal walk
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Crashing waves
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| Pounding seas |
Towards the end of our housesit we returned to La Turbie via bus.
We first visited the village in May 2019, but did so on a Monday when the Trophy of Augustus grounds and museum were closed. Vowing to return when both are open to the public, we were rewarded with a glorious sunny day. The original Trophy was a monument dedicated to the Emperor Augustus in celebration of his victory over the tribes people who inhabited this area and further north in the Alps. Its impressive scale and location - perched high above the sea and visible for miles - needed no translation. It declared Augustus a triumphant and all powerful ruler.
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Left to right: life-size statue of Augustus and mock up of the Trophy
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Augustus
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How it (may) have looked centuries ago
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| What it looks like today (after major reconstruction in the early 20th century) |
This portion of the Trophy (seen below) is on the south and opposite side the above photo. One shows how the original may have been completed with massive carved stones, while the other illustrates how badly decomposed the trophy was before restoration. In fact, many of the La Turbie buildings and residences were built with stones and material from the Trophy after the Roman Empire collapsed.
Visitors may climb to the top and while it's rather steep the views make it worthwhile.
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Re those views...see what I mean?!
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The park-like setting surrounding the Trophy and museum offer a quiet place to relax, reflect and enjoy the impressive views of Monaco.
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| The Principality of Monaco - all 500 acres of it! |
After touring the museum and Trophy we enjoyed a delicious lunch inside the Cafe de la Fontaine.
The outdoor cafe may not look that impressive, but the interior is surprisingly classic and tasteful and every table was occupied. It felt as if we'd somehow magically stepped back in time when we crossed the threshold and all that mattered was good food, good wine, great conversation and we count our blessings for having all three.
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| Photo Courtesy of Google |
Plan A was to return to Nice by bus from La Turbie, but when our return bus did not arrive we switched to Plan B and hopped on a mini bus to Monaco. The ride down the steep hill on the narrow, switchback road added to this adventure and there were times we held on tight with both hands.
Monaco is small - it occupies only 500 acres of land - but it is filled with high-rises and as a result is the most densely populated country in the world. We had no idea where we'd end up, but when we spotted the Monaco casino below (that's featured in many James Bond films) we got off at the next stop.
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| Monaco Casino - Photo Courtesy of Google |
As luck would have it the stop was beside a Tourist Information office where we inquired about the bus to Nice. Once again we hit the jackpot as we had only a few hundred feet to walk and less than a 15-minute wait before we caught the #100 bus back to the port.
All in all it was a great day - especially when we realized the worst thing that happened was our having to travel back via Monaco. In what world could that even be considered a hardship?! ;-)
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