We went to the medieval village of Eze today. Eze is a beautiful little village carved out of the top of a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea about half way between Nice and Monte Carlo. The village was originally a sanctuary for monks whose purpose was looking after people afflicted by the plague in the middle ages. Three hundred years ago a fort was built on the top of the mountain and the village survived as a city state until the 1860 when it joined France.
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| Village of Eze |
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| Cote d'Azur as seen from Eze |
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| The town of Eze as seen from the old village |
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| Cote d'Azur as seen from Eze |
The shops and restaurants are carved into the mountain and these the caves function as retail and living spaces adjacent to the narrow winding lanes. On top of the village is a wonderful cactus garden with the most amazing view of the Cote d’Azur coastline. Along this coast famous celebrities have their vacation homes. They include Bono, Elton John, Tina Turner and Keith Richards.
The bus ride from Nice rivals any drive in the world. It is equal in scenic beauty to the Almalfi Coast in southern Italy and the Pacific Coast Highway in California. Your traverse the southern edge of the Alps and have the most amazing views of the harbours and bays that dot the southern France coast.
On our ride to Eze we were reminded of the threat of pickpockets in Europe. After about ten minutes on the bus, one of the passengers and his wife got very upset as they realized that his wallet was missing from his back pocket. The governments in Europe have to realize that tourists don't consider this to be a minor property crime and they are losing valuable tourists euros because people just don’t want to risk a ruined vacation because of these despicable criminals. They need to be a lot tougher on these vermin and removed them from their society.
Tonight we went to the city center in Nice and had a wonderful meal at the VIP Grill. We had a conversation with an Indian gentleman who sold granite and marble to firms in Canada. His sales territory included London Ontario so he was very familiar with our hometown area. We then went for a romantic stroll down the English Promenade with its lite trees and the hotels flashing their opulence.
I now know why I am considered a Red Tory in my political outlook. We have two train trips and one flight to make in order to arrive home. Here in France the rail workers are on strike and should we fortunate enough to make it to Paris on Monday, our flight to Toronto on Tuesday may be affected by the air traffic controllers strike schedule for the day we are supposed to depart.
Unions and striking are such a foreign and obsolete concept to me. I never participated in a strike during my career and I can never support this as a negotiating tactic by an industry. It seems to me from what I've read about these strikes, the main purpose is to hold on to some utopian idea about worker's rights from the 1950s and to hold back the reality of European Union and its standardized regulations.
I think their leadership has lost touch with reality.
I now know why I am considered a Red Tory in my political outlook. We have two train trips and one flight to make in order to arrive home. Here in France the rail workers are on strike and should we fortunate enough to make it to Paris on Monday, our flight to Toronto on Tuesday may be affected by the air traffic controllers strike schedule for the day we are supposed to depart.
Unions and striking are such a foreign and obsolete concept to me. I never participated in a strike during my career and I can never support this as a negotiating tactic by an industry. It seems to me from what I've read about these strikes, the main purpose is to hold on to some utopian idea about worker's rights from the 1950s and to hold back the reality of European Union and its standardized regulations.
I think their leadership has lost touch with reality.
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