Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

Maya and Adam had an appointment to be at so Todd and I had the day free.

To the East of Nice is a long peninsula that juts into the sea.  Apparently this is where the truly wealthy of Nice and this part of world live.  There may be more tax friendly locations further to the East in Monaco, but there is an exclusivity to living in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat that seems worth the price to pay.  Once again, having a car proved invaluable as we drove around the peninsula trying to find a good spot to look around.  We struggled to find anything as all the best land was unsurprisingly taken up by private estates and properties.  Instead, we drove towards the central area which housed the "Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild".

The villa and its surrounding gardens were some of the most opulent I've ever seen.  The whole place just felt... rich.  Everything looked expensive and at times I felt like I was trespassing.  Surely it was only a matter of time before an old Frenchman come out of the villa with a shotgun to chase all of us riff-raff off of his property?

Every part of the entire property was diligently maintained and visually beautiful.  The interiors and the gardens, as well as the views they provided of the surrounding region were stunning.  It was one of those places where at every spot, you could quite easily decide that what you were looking at was worthy of being in a painting or portrait.

As we walked around the grounds, we didn't talk too much.  We just wanted to enjoy the surroundings, to relax and experience the peacefulness it provided.  In the middle of the gardens there was a large pond with fountains.  Soft classical music came out of speakers hidden in the ground which were choreographed to the fountains.  The villa and grounds were by no means empty either, there were other tourists doing similar things to us, just walking around and looking at the beauty of the place.  Like us, they seemed to all do it quietly.

Loud noises and chatter seemed so out of place here and so people stayed quiet.  To have done otherwise would have ruined the place for others, but it would have also ruined the place for that person as well.  Instead, everyone was content with simply sitting and looking out.

Sometimes a bit of quiet is all you need to feel refreshed.