Beaulieu-sur-Mer

Bon jour, mes amies,

Armed with more up-to-date information I made it to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, which lives up to its name.  It is indeed a beautiful place.  The only issue I had today was the cold.  Despite the layers I was uncomfortable, and had it been warmer I would have walked around more.
I wrote and mailed some postcards and then, since it wasn't raining, caught the tram to where I could pick up the bus.  I had actually seen the bus yesterday, but I did not realize it was the one, but I found the stop easily.  Then I had to wait in the cold--and it seemed like forever.  I used my transport pass on the tram and busses to and from, but I'm running out of trips and will need another.  I do want to say that the transport passes are worth getting.  Regular single fare is 1.50 Euro, but the pass gets you ten trips for ten Euro, and you can spend the rest of the money on cheese,
The bus went through a part of Nice I had not seen--a more real people neighborhood--and then on to the port.  The marina definitely not for real people was full of yachts, and one of them was large enough to be vulgar.  The rest of the ride was so scenic as to be worth the trip all on its own.  We climbed along the cliff but still over looked the sea.  I got to see the back, non-touristy part of Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Then we arrived in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, and I got off at my stop.  Beaulieu is famous for its Belle Epoch architecture, and I saw some of it, but my target was in a very different style.  Villa Kerylos was built as a holiday home in the early Twentieth Century by a Philo-Hellenist with both time and money on his hands.  Theodore Reinach devised his plans and hired a young architect to recreate a classical Greek home for himself and his family.  His vision took six years and (in today's money) thirty-five million Euro to realize.
The setting itself overlooking the bay is lovely.  I got the audio guide--cheesy but informative, which I thought enhanced my experience considerably. Guided tours are on offer, but I do not know if they are given in English.
The villa (a Latin term, but I don't know what else to call it) is exquisite.  Along with the pastiche, Reinach collected and displayed Ancient Greek artifacts and copies of Greek statuary.
His architect and designer Emmanuel Pontremoli saw to every detail from the beautifully mosaiced floors, to the frescoed walls, and coffered ceilings.  The furniture looked uncomfortable because it was modeled after those of Ancient Athens.  Some rooms had elegant marble friezes or marble paneling.  Pontremoli even managed to design stoneware painted in Greek design and adapted modern cutlery to a Greek style.  The Greeks did not use forks and ate with their hands.  M. Reinach and his family did not need to be be that authentic!
So I had a good visit.  I caught the bus back by the train station and it dumped us out in Place Garibaldi where I picked up the tram for home.  The station is right in front of Galeries LaFayette, so I came home smelling of oriental wood.
I had to put on the radiator to take the chill off the room, and I needed a hot dinner.  How about a version of Ravioli Nicoise?  It's filled with a beef stew sort of affair with chard or something similar and some cheese like parmesan if you have it.  I dressed mine in tomato sauce with olives with some extra olive oil, and it's great with rose.
A demain