To Sospel at the foot of the Alps

Trip Start May 14, 2008
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Trip End May 28, 2008


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Monday, May 26, 2008

Today, being a bit rainy, we decided to drive up to Sospel near the Italian border and in a deep valley of the southern Alps.  After stopping at a patisserie and finally finding the elusive and rare almond croissant ('the best!"), we continued up the steep and narrow road, through a long, narrow tunnel barely wide enough to fit a car, to the town of Sospel.  Sospel is best known for its role in the French resistance in WWII when they were occupied by the Italians and Germans.  We saw the old bridge, which was a toll booth from the 12th century when Sospel was a major stop on the trade between Nice and the interior.  After wandering around in the drippy weather through what is a pretty dreary town, we pulled into a cafe where we could eat outside under cover and watch the traffic jams at the tiny intersection near the river.

We left Sospel and drove through Menton and on to Monaco by the low coast road.  Monaco was so different today, with business as usual and normal traffic.  We could see the barricades being taken down and the racecourse was mostly open to traffic now, but the crowds were gone.  We parked and walked to the royal palace, which was closed yesterday for the race.  We toured the palace apartments and listened to the audio tour to learn more than we needed to know about the glorious history of the royal family of Monaco and the part the principality has played in world events (almost nothing).  We saw lots of paintings of past princes and learned of their glorious battle heroism.  The palace was pretty cool, though we didn't pick up any decorating hints we might use.

Continuing on down the coast, we reached Villefranche sur Mer for a repeat of the great dinner we had a few days ago.  We walked past the impressive old walls of the fortifications and wandered the old town again, finding it just as quaint and picturesque as before.  We ate at Les Garcons again, this time outside as the rain had cleared to a balmy warm night.  We walked back to our car along the sea wall and up dozens of stairs with a great view of the harbor and Cap Ferrat across the water.. The church at Sospel in the rain
The church at Sospel in the rain
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