Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild's Garden

When you have a beautiful house, you should have beautiful gardens surrounding it.  Beatrice loved her gardens, although she hired gardeners to do the work, she was instrumental in the planning.  The gardens are divided into several different themes, so as you walk though, each has a distinct feel.

The view from Beatrice's bedroom terrace.

In the distance, the sea beckons.

Pools at every turn.

The water has been synchronised with music.

It moves up and down and swishes!

A temple at the top of the garden,

Below the temple, and at the far side of the garden, another view.

Mediterreanian plantings.

Beneath a staircase a hidden statue can not be seen from the top garden.  You must come down.

A grotto with running water, fish and statues.

A fountain inside the grotto.

At one time, you could get a cooling drink from this faucet.

Tucked in the middle of the garden, amid the Greek and Roman statues, temples and beautiful mediterranian plantings, is a tiny Japanese Zen garden.  Beatrice was enchanted by Japan and sent an envoy to come back with the pieces for her garden.

A tranquil garden.

The planting here have a lush feeling to them.

Koi waiting to be fed.

This is a garden I wish we could visit during each of the seasons.  I'm sure it changes beautifully.

Ephrussi - Rothschild Mansion

Before you visit the mansion, visit the website:  www.villa-ephrussi.com

A visit to the Ephrussi - Rothschild Mansion located in St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, was a must on our list of things to do.  We arrived by bus from Nice, about a 30 minute ride.  The estate is situated on a hilltop to take advantage of the wonderful views to the sea and the mountains.  Walking up to the front, it doesn't appear to be especially large, but looks can be deceiving.

The entrance to the gift shop where one purchases tickets.  The mansion doesn't appear to be that big.

Madame Ephrussi was a member of one of the wealthiest families in Europe when she married the much older M Rothschild.  She is the one responsible for the style, design and decoration of the house and garden, as M Rothschild died.  I would guess pink was a favorite color.

The main entry

The house is built around this main courtyard with natural lighting filtering through skylights in the attic.

The Main Parlor

A collection of clocks.

As in all these mansions, don't get so distracted that you for get to look up!

The public rooms are as expected, large, lavish, with uncomfortable, but stylish, furniture.  Obviously, no expense was spared to impress visitors.  Gilt is everywhere; edging the seating units, wrapping around the columns, highlighting the paintings on the ceiling.   These rooms have floor to ceiling windows that open to the seabreeze and the views.  Doors open to a terrace for alfesco drinks.

Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild's personal quarters, with her writing desk.

The furniture is a smaller scale as befits a smaller lady.  The two little chairs were for her dogs to sit upon.

Her collection of beautiful gowns.

There are several glass cases full of china plates, teacups, teapots; some match, others are one of a kind.  This is a close up of one of the designs Bill thought was pretty.

A collection of porcelain Monkeys dressed as humans.  There are muscians, dancers, and a gentleman with a wig!

Leaving the private quarters, we wander out onto the upper level of the entry area.  The arches have a large walkway and then a narrow one which is not easily accessible, presumably for maintenance.  We couldn't help but think this would be a wonderful place to be a child playing hide and seek.  While there were no children born to the Euphrussi - Rothschilds, there were several neices and nephews, so maybe.....

Beautiful from every window.

Upper tier of the entry way.

The door from a Chinese temple collected at her request.

The double spaces around the mezzanine.

This covered area, just off her bedroom, overlooks the beautiful gardens to the rear of the house.

When Madam Ephrussi - Rothschild was older, realizing that none of her heirs had need of the house, and probably wouldn't enjoy it's old fashioned style, she left it to France, with money to help with the maintenance.  During WWII, many of her family members were killed in the concentration camps.  An interesting book on the Ephrussi family which you might enjoy, The Hare with the Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal.

This beautiful carvied ceiling in the Ephrussi - Rothschild Mansion says simply, "Peace".

There's a Storm Coming

Sunday morning we awoke to heavy clouds with occasional sprinkles.  We took a walk to the market in Vieux Nice to buy flowers as a gift for our luncheon hosts; Roxanne and Bruce, our homeowners from 2011.  It was good to visit with them again and to see their cats, Jack and Tess, even if Jack did sleep most of the visit.  By the time we returned home, the sky had mainly cleared.  No more rain today, or so we thought.  Good thing we aren't meteorologists.

The houses on the mountain are starting to disappear.

Now there are no houses at all.

What looks like specks on the picture are the huge raindrops.

There was beautiful bright sunshine over us, but the mountains to the north disappeared.   The wind came up, then the rain started in large, huge, drops.  The sun was still shining on the front of the apartment.  It rained for the better part of two hours.  For about half that time, it looked like the sun was still shining over by the beaches to the south.  Really odd.

When the rain is over, these odd shaped clouds start building in the east.

This storm really cleaned up the air, washed all the plants and buildings, and left the place much fresher.

Eglise Russe

The symbol of the Czars.

Nice has been a warm place to escape the cold winters of Northern Europe for a long time, especially after train travel was introduced.  Kings, Queens, Czars; they all left their marks on Nice.

The decoration on the outside of the church is beautiful.

Czar Alexander built a mausoleum on the side of the hill for his son who died in 1865 in Nice at the age of 21.  Then 40 years later, Czar Nicholas II built a Russian Orthodox Church in memory of the same man, his brother.  The church is beautiful on the outside, but sadly in need of restoration on the inside.  The inside did smell wonderful, though, from all the bees wax candles burning.

The onion shaped domes; there are four small ones surrounding the larger one. The gold topped on to the side is over the bell tower.

We tried to see the inside of the building when we were here in 2011, but, it was closed due to a legal battle between the church and Russia.  This time the legal battle was settled (Russia won).  Unfortunately, they do not let men in wearing shorts, even the longer ones that cover the knees.  So, third time was the charm for us.  Bill wore pants, I wore crops and inside we went.  Again, no pictures were allowed.

The walkway to the church, which is nestled in the middle of a peaceful garden.

Housesitting Sneezes

The view out our bedroom terrace.  While we haven't found any nests in the tree, there are always different birds sitting in it.

When we accept a housesit, we really don't know everything we are getting.  For the sit here in Nice, we didn't even have pictures, just a recommendation from folks we had stayed with before.  This was not a bad thing, as the apartment here is lovely, a penthouse with a terrace, large rooms and wonderful views in all directions.

Looking through the kitchen doors into the dining room.  Our bedroom is the door beyond.  All the doors are mirrored, which visually increases the size of the rooms.  The kitchen is reflected.

What we couldn't have known was the allergic reaction we both have had to the cat hair.  The cats are gorgeous, but they have extremely fine hair. So we have spent the better part of a week cleaning, washing slipcovers and pillow covers. Vacuuming every surface we can reach.  It has helped, as we are both better, but still cough a bit, as well as being congested.  We have decided to vacuum every other day to prevent a build up of hair.

The front terrace being used as the dryer. Although we have a tumble dryer, the rack works very well.  There are two lemon trees on the terrace, as well as several different herbs.

We have stayed with many cats over the years, but this was a first for both of us.  Will we take cats off our list of pets?  NO!  Besides, these two are affectionate beauties.  What's a bit of sneezing compared to that?

Who Me?  I wouldn't make you sneeze!  It must be the lemon trees.

Nice 2013: Un Ete pour Matisse

Musee Masena is in a beautiful building which was once the home of the Masena family.

There are several good museums in Nice.  This year they have come together to celebrate Matisse and the 50th anniversary of the Musee Matisse.  "I decided that I will not leave Nice, and I stayed all my life."  He lived here from December 1917, until his death in November 1954.

A palm tree in the front courtyard of the Musee.

Each of eight museums in Nice has a special exhibit to honor Matisse.  The exhibits focus on one aspect of his work.  The Musee Masena, for example,  is set around palm trees.  They show palm trees which Matisse did and palm trees from their own collection.  So you get to see a range of photography, paintings, modern art, and Matisse's paper art, all focusing on palms.

The gardens are lush and contain many types of palm trees; some native, some imports.

We bought a pass to visit all eight over a week's time, for 10 euros.  Photos are not allowed in the exhibits, which is a shame, as the buildings, in some cases, are as amazing as the art work.

Bienvenue a Nice

Nice

After a horrible night at the B and B in Bristol (they had forgotten the mattress on the bed, only a thin pad covered the springs), we flew to Nice.  Flying on Easyjet is simple, especially when compared to Ryanair.  Our flight was early into Nice.  The line at passport control moved swiftly; gotta love the French and their passport control!  Luggage arrived intact.  They now have an express bus from the airport to the gare with only one stop; unfortunately, it costs 6 euros.  After purchasing our tickets, while waiting for the bus, I remembered we could have taken a different bus, not an express, but for 1.50 euros.  It always takes a while for the brain to start remembering these little details.

Philip and Gloria; they are as nice as their smiles!

Gloria and Philip welcomed us to their apartment. Their cats are Jasper and Zoe, Burmillas, a cross between a burmese and a chinchilla.  They are  beautiful cats!  Their fur is white underneath and tipped in shades of brown and grey.   Jasper is very friendly and talkative; Zoe more reserved.  Both demand belly rubs!

Jasper sitting on the front balcony.  He has pale green eyes.

Zoe on her special spot, keeping an eye on Bill.  She has pale blue eyes.

We Have Left Alderholt

But there is more to say or see.  Unfortunately, our internet is slow, so we can't upload the videos of Trevor.  As soon as things improve, you will get to the wonderful Trevor running, jumping and doing he best to impress!  If we could have fit him into our carryon, we would have stolen him!  (Just kidding, Andy and Theresa!)

A First

Bill and I have been married for 44 years.  For the first time, I let him give me a haircut.  It would have been easier with proper scissors instead of the kitchen scissors, but we used what we had.  Turned out pretty good, don't you think?

Bill cut about 2 inches off.