Ville Franche

The little next-door-neighbour village of Nice is called Ville Franche. It is one of the most exquisite places I have ever visited. It is with great pleasure that i invite you to take a walk with me to discover this amazing little town.

P., lives in an apartment that has a view over the little Ville Franche bay. All this real estate that you are about to see is one of the most treasured, expensive, photographed areas i the world.

I wanted to stay on P's balcony all day so that I could wallow in the beauty of the view.

The serene scene looked fabulous in the afternoon light.

The flights of stairs, leading down to the waterside were numerous.

The yellow painted houses had a vibrant, cheery feel.

The impossibly narrow streets highlighted the quaint, village-like ambience.

The descent towards the waterfront provided a picturesque landscape.

Nearing the water, made my heart go pitter, patter.

Please, please, someone invent how to bottle moments of pure bliss. The soft, grainy sand between my toes, the crystal , clear water  wooing me with soft lapping noises and the expansive clear sky. OMG!

It felt so good to remove my walking shoes and paddle in the sea. The memories of a snowy winter in the mountains disappeared as Summer tantalised me with the salty, sea breeze.

The beach at Ville Franche had such a different feel to it, than the type of beach that I have known all my life in New Zealand.

It felt so good to rinse my feet under the tap and lie on the concrete. I pretended I was a lizard soaking up the sun, for a good 15 minute stretch.

We walked passed some very interesting sights.

Oooohhh! How exquisite! The sleepy port framed from an ancient roman bath house window.

  An underground, Roman road just magnifies the charm of Ville Franche. back in the day, this was the main street.

How is it, that someone hanging out their washing, looks charming and quaint when framed with a mediterranean backdrop?

The rich used to live on the ground floor, or first storey. Their windows were large. The higher up you go, the windows are smaller, as the less affluent lived in the higher stories.

It seems to be the other way around these days.

These internal steps almost seem ladder-like.

Peeka boo: sea.

Peekaboo: clock tower.

 Trendy, over-priced clothes boutique. It is extremely common to see shopkeepers spending wickedly enormous chunks of the day outside their shops; smoking.

Before leaving Ville Franche, the scene from the railway station had me in awe of it's unique character.