A Day Trip to Menton

Well we have been having a fine time just lazing around in Villefranche-sur-mer, but decided we better go do something (so we didn't appear too lazy). We decided on a day trip to Menton on the train. Why Menton you ask? No clue. Had heard of it several times, saw it on the train line, noticed it was the last stop before Italy, read a bit about it... and just went.

From what I read Menton is famous for three things:

1) Lemons (I didn't see any, but that doesn't mean they aren't there!)

2) Jean Cocteau. I had never heard of him before but he is a writer, artist, playwright... all around creative guy. We did not go to the museum in his honour... but might another time 😀

3) Sunshine - I have seen varying numbers... but Menton boasts approximately 316 sunshiny days a year! I DID see the sunshine. As a matter of fact there was so much of it, I was once again a hot mess!

The return train ticket was about 8 Euros each. Another reason I love being in this part of the world. What an inexpensive way to see new places! The train ride was around 15-20 minutes, and the train stopped at no less than 6 villages before we got there. We have been to a few of them, but there are so many more to explore. The problem is we hate dragging ourselves away from Villefranche 😉

Anyway, when we got there we headed towards the water. We really had no idea what we were going to do there other than walk and see what there was to see. It was about 12:30 and let me tell you there was not much to see. Everything was closed. We soon realized that all the shops (or most) had closed for lunch... seemingly for 2 or 2 1/2 hours. Seems very civilized doesn't it?

We did however find a spot for Steve to get his haircut! Look how handsome he looks with his new hairdo 😀

After the haircut we headed out to find our own lunch. Menton has a beautiful walkway along its VERY  long beach area with plenty of tables on the water side of the street. The actual restaurants are across the street, which results in the servers taking their lives into their hands each time they deliver food to the table! Really! It was frightening to watch... French drivers are not interested in stopping for pedestrians!

Our lunch was amazing! Here I am enjoying my "moules frites" in garlic sauce! OH! They were delicious!

We sat for quite some time after eating, just watching people and enjoying the scenery. Another thing to love about Europe. No one EVER rushes you out of the restaurant. Once you sit down you can stay as long as you like!

Could we possibly get more relaxed?

After tearing ourselves away from this delightful spot we walked along the promenade by the water towards what you can see over behind me in the above photo. There looked like there was a breakwater/bastion and we decided to go take a look. Over to the left were also some churches and what looked like a cemetery on top of a hill. I had also read that the cemetery was very interesting... including containing the remains of some Russian nobility... but it was far too hot to even consider traipsing up a hill in the scorching heat. The minute we got out in the sun I was drenched with sweat!

Here is the view from the beach back towards the town. I think the cemetery is up there! When I look at the photo it doesn't look like that much of a trek up the hill, but trust me, the photo is not telling the whole story!

As we were walking we also saw this sign which piqued our interest right away.

Even with my very limited French, I was pretty sure it said library at the beach! Literally, two of my favourite things mixed together! We wandered over and discovered it was indeed a little beach hut with books and magazines. We didn't however stop to read anything, because there was more to see! This seems like a good reason to come back!

We finally made it to the breakwater and decided to walk along the top to admire the view. I was trying to decide if I was actually looking at Italy in the distance but I'm not sure exactly how close Menton is to the border of Italy. It looks VERY close on the map.

After the walk along the top I was actively searching for shade! We walked past the boats in the harbour, were spoken to by a policeman in French (we have no idea what he said, and when we looked at him blankly he drove away on his moped) and finally found a bit of shade closer to the shops. We saw the policeman going by several more times in the area, and deduced that he may have been asking us if we called him (which we didn't... obviously 😀)

The handsome man found us a cold bottle of water to share and we wandered through the shops a bit. As we were walking through what I am assuming is the city centre about 3 teenage boys raced down the street past us... and then another three... and then two policemen. We think this may have been related to the policeman talking to us... but aren't really sure. The police did catch up to the second group of them... talked to them... and then let them go. We have no idea what was going on, but it provided a little excitement to distract me from melting into a puddle 😉

This is the beautiful "Hotel de ville" of Menton (which I think means city hall!)

We enjoyed our walk through the streets and decided that if we are unable to purchase a retirement flat in the old town of Villefranch-sur-mer that Menton would be our second choice. It was quite lovely, and much calmer than Nice.

We eventually made our way to the train station, just in time to catch a train back to Villefranche. Interestingly, the train didn't stop at all the stops on the way back, so if you are here and taking the train ...just be aware of how many stops the train makes. Luckily we saw Villefranche in the list of stops, so knew we were okay!

 I'm just going to include one more scenery photo of Menton here because it is so beautiful!