6/11/14. The post where we have an action-packed day and I talk about several inappropriate things.

6/11/14: we rose fairly early again this morning and decided to walk into the village for breakfast and then go on a bit of a trek.  There is a walking path that winds completely around the harbor and passes multiple seaside mansions, including one formerly owned by the Rothschild family that is now a museum with spectacular gardens.  It was another hot, sunny day, but much of the path appeared to be flat, so we decided to try it.  (On a separate note, I woke up this morning to discover that I had multiple bug bites on my legs and feet, presumably from the garden.  I wonder if they have chiggers in France?)

While at breakfast, we remembered that today is the day a sightseeing boat leaves the harbor for a two-hour afternoon cruise down the Côté d'Azur (how many of you are now humming the Gilligan's Island theme song?), so we bought our tickets and then headed out for the walking path.  The path begins on the beach.  And this being France, of course it was a topless beach.  As we passed by, it struck me that the people who enjoy being topless are rarely the people others would enjoy seeing topless.  We saw some things that can't be unseen, no matter how hard we try.

We soon hit the part of the path that passed by the mansions.  Wow!  We had read earlier that this area was the second most expensive place in the world to live (the first being Monaco) and I believe it. Beautiful homes with lovely gardens on the land side and the harbor on the other side.  And many were in the process of being remodeled or updated.  What a place to be a building contractor.

By the time we got to the Rothschild museum, it was mid-morning and already really hot.  You know that feeling when your legs get really sweaty while walking and your thighs start to stick together?  (Okay, a few of you have been really slim all of your life and have never experienced that, but the rest of you know what I'm talking about, and don't pretend like you don't.)  I mean that kind of heat.  We toured the mansion first, which was not air-conditioned, but at least got us out of the sun.  Then we toured the gardens, which were breath-taking.  The property is at the highest point on that part of the peninsula and has 360 degree views.  Hard to believe someone actually lived there.  

After the tour, we took the path back to the village, being more careful this time to avert our eyes as we passed the beach.  Despite my comfortable shoes, I was starting to get blisters on the back of my feet and we weren't up to walking back up to the apartment yet, so we sat down for a nice leisurely meal before our sight-seeing cruise.  

When it was time for the cruise, we opted to sit inside the boat, since we'd been out in the sun all day and were both starting to turn pink.  The cruise took us past even more beautiful mansions and down the coast to the harbor in Monaco, where we chugged past yachts so large they looked like cruise ships to me.  After leaving Monaco, we took the same route back to our village.

On the trip out, several parties on the boat were talking very loudly.  Not the drunk and disorderly kind of loud, just the inconsiderate kind of loud.  That is not the kind of thing that normally bothers me, so I quickly tuned them out.  On the trip back, several people who had been sitting out on the observation deck elected to move inside.  Among them was a young British woman who appeared to be with her mother.  The young woman was wearing a sensible hat, a flowered jumper and butterfly earrings - very British and very proper.  She stared serenely out the window for about three minutes, while the men behind her continued to talk loudly.  Suddenly, with no warning, she turned around and yelled at the top of her lungs, "WILL YOU SHUT THE @&$% UP??? I'M TRYING TO ENJOY THIS!!!"  Then she turned back around and continued staring serenely out the window.  The most interesting part?  The men did shut up.  As did the two women who were talking loudly behind us.  In fact, everyone in the boat shut up and stayed that way for the remainder of the trip, which was much more pleasant and relaxing than the trip there.  Not how I would have handled it, but I have to admit it was effective.  

After the cruise, we were still too hot and tired to return to the apartment, so we had another sinfully delicious meal in the village, effectively canceling out any good we had done ourselves with all the walking.  We chatted with our very friendly waitress and learned that the heat we have been experiencing here is very unusual.  We also learned that last week, it was cold and raining.  I think we picked the right week.

We were finally ready to walk back up to the apartment to have a nice, long shower and watch the full moon rise over the harbor.  According to my health monitor, we walked more than 20,000 steps today. As I sit here with a screaming foot, blisters on my heels, a rash on my thighs where my legs rubbed together, a sunburned neck, and legs covered in bug bites, I couldn't be happier.