Carnival in Villefranche-Sur-Mer!

Every town in Côte de Azur has some kind of celebration for Carnival, our little town was no exception.

We had breakfast after getting ready planning to leave to see the parade around 1:00pm, but we heard the drums thru the window coming down to the harbor and we ran out to the street to see them. It was around 11:30am  The program said 13:30, so never knew if the marching band was practicing or what but this wasn't on the program. Glad that we were 3 minutes away. 

             

Then at 13:30 like the French keep time, the parade started with the carrozas all colorful and grotesque. The boats in the harbor were decorated with yellow flowers and they had a crew dressed as well. There were many vendors on the street selling tons of candy, crepes, ice cream, all kinds of nuts and ballons.

                   

     

Above are some memories of the occasion.

We sat on the edge of the harbor next to a french couple, similar in age as ours, who were enjoying their picnic. They had their basket with dry sausages, breads and cheeses to enjoy the festivities.  On the other side was a french woman in her 70's. She was alone and was using a cane so we helped her step down on the edge of the pier to sit. She wanted to talk to us, we tried but with our poor French the conversation didn't last long.  Just a little bit of history, I read that this area is more Italian than French and many of the traditions have some Italian influence including their food which besides the typical French food, it includes pasta, pizza and tiramisu. The Italian affect is also reflected on the colors of the town that for many it's very Italian. This goes to a great part of the south of France which at one point in history belonged to Italy. In the 1800s the people were given the option to stay with Italy or become part of France. The people voted and the rest is history. Below is picture of this beautiful town. It sure has a lot of pastel colors. If you continue walking to the right of this picture by the water road, it forms a huge bay at the bottom where there is a nice sandy beach. Not common here as many beaches have gravel, big or small, some pulverized. This beach has a large paid parking which is usually crowded on Sunday's. The beach is called "Plage des Marinières". The French people love to named every beach. It's not the town name which is what I am used to in California. You don't get tired of this view, I have taken so many pictures...in sunny days, not to sunny, rainy days, no matter what the weather is, it's always a beautiful site.

   

When this event was over we headed down for our walk of the day. Down to the end of the beach there are some steps that took up to the next town about 15 minutes away. It's located on the other side of the peninsula. It's called Beaulieu-sur-Mer. We continued to be impressed as every town is as beautiful as the other. Every town has a harbor, some bigger than others, a promenade to walk along the beach, instead of walking on the sand, nice boutiques and restaurants, and overall very expensive.  This town has some large villas overlooking the ocean and the typical apartment building downtown.

                            

       

               

After spending the late afternoon there, we walked back approx. 2 miles. We stopped at the creperia and ordered a Nutella crepe. Today, we ate the desert before dinner and ruined our appetite. Not a problem. Enjoying them while we are here; too many choices and not enough time.

Well, two more days here and I don't want to leave.