Menton, France, The Riviera and The Pirate !
Written: Jan 18 '03 (Updated Jan 18 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: location, location, location...so many sensational and diversified places nearly.
Cons: I'm not there!
The Bottom Line: The best of many worlds in one small easily visited area of France..
|
|
|
| ifif1938's Full Review: Menton, France |
Today in the mail, I received my annual package from the French Government Tourist Bureau and found myself reading about the area that was one of our favorite vacation spots and the event that would soon be taking place there. The Lemon Festival of Menton, a small city located in the South of France, the Cote de Azur other wise known as the Riviera
We have spent a nice amount of time in the South, and had visited the area on three different occasions, twice, when we stayed in Monte Carlo and the last time, more recently, when we spent 8 days in Menton a spot that wasn't too well known, sort of "off the beaten path."
Some friends of ours had just returned from vacationing in Corsica and mentioned the town of Menton, where they had stayed on their way to that island. They couldn't say enough good things about the place and all it has to offer, so......how could we resist? We then realized we had been there on several occasions while staying in Monte Carlo,and had experienced one of the most fantastic and bizarre dining experiences of our lives there...That story is what I want to share in this review..But first, a little information about Menton.
Located just a few miles from Monaco and only one mile from the Italian border, the location seemed ideal to us, as we had toyed with the idea of going to Italy that year anyway. Menton is as Italian as it is French, with more British tourists than Americans. This seemed just perfect to us. We could have a little of both worlds!
Located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, within walking distance of the Italian border, (one mile), on the East and just a few miles from Monte Carlo in the other direction. In the hills above, are those incredibly beautiful, perched, medieval villages, scattered from one end of the Cote de'Azur to the other, just waiting to be discovered and explored.
Explore them we did, we rented a car and ventured off each day in another direction, with everyday a different adventure than the one before. I have written other reviews about those perched villages and will add the links at the end of this review, for those who might be interested in reading them.
Menton is also within close driving time to all the more famous beach resorts, Nice, Cannes, St Tropez and, of course, Monaco......You do not even have to rent a car as there is a local train that takes you from one resort town to another. But, you do need a car to take you up into the hill towns and the roads are very steep in some spots.
The town of Menton itself is worth spending a day or more exploring...The old quarter is wonderful with its steep alleyways and twisty, cobblestone streets that lead to the top of the town and a visit to the centuries old Church. From up there are outstanding views into Italy as well as nearly the entire French coastline...In the morning, the square in the center of town hosts "the morning market," where venders set up each day to sell everything from wonderful Provencal soaps to fresh herbs, freshly baked breads and pastries, all kind of tasty goodies. My favorite was a lemon tart that was both sinful and heavenly at the same time. Menton is the "Lemon Capital" after all, and each year a Lemon Festival is held in February with floats made out of lemons like the Rose Bowl Parade in America. The festival that will be taking place in just a few weeks.
We enjoyed exploring the old port with it's 17th century fort made famous by the painter Coquette who's death portrait hangs within the Musee de Jean de Coquette, just inside it's walls.
And, I mustn't forget all the lush gardens throughout the town with their profusion's of flowers and lemon trees everywhere you looked. Menton is famous for it's gardens and even during the 8 days we were there I felt I didn’t see enough!
One day, we drove into Italy twice, first to see the huge market that takes place every Friday in Ventamiglia, just across the border. What an event..It seemed as if the market took over the entire city. Everything and anything you could possibly look for was for sale. It was incredible! Then in the evening we went back for dinner. The meal was Italian-French, like nothing I had ever had before. Actually, everywhere we did eat in and around Menton was extraordinary. The best of both worlds, Italian and French, how could you go wrong?
That was one of the things I loved most about Menton, it's accessibility to so many diversified places to experience and savor to the fullest.
One day, as we were driving down a hill after a visit to one of those fantastic old hillside villages, we stumbled upon a building at the edge of the sea and saw a sign for a restaurant we both recognized immediately...It’s Le Pirate‘we exclaimed!
Years earlier we had eaten there one night when we were visiting Monaco and staying at the Loews Monte Carlo Hotel. Earlier that day we had met some people in front of the Rainier Palace who were from Tampa Florida and after chatting a while, decided to have dinner together that evening. We asked for a recommendation from our hotel Concierge for a “unique dining experience”... Unique, this was more than that, it was a trip in and of itself. We often speak about that evening and always recommend it to anyone we know who is going to be in that area visiting the Cote de Azur.
Le Pirate’ is located by the sea on the western end of the Bay of Menton, just over the hill and only a few miles away from Monte Carlo, you could probably walk there from Monte Carlo but I wouldn’t recommend it! Actually I wouldn’t recommend you even bring a car, taxi’s are a good idea, and make sure you or whoever you are with are in the mood for a dining event..You can even negotiate the price of the meal before starting out on this dining extravaganza other wise you will realize at the end of the meal that the owner was truly a Pirate!
Upon entering, the chief pirate greets you at the door with a hearty welcome.. He is bare breasted, wearing gold medallions on his glistening muscles and hands you a drink of what he calls “Sangria“, (stronger than any Sangria I can recall), makes a toast, then throws his glass against the wall..Then it’s your turn to do the same, and the fiesta begins.
You can expect anything to happen, as I soon realized after a few more "Sangrias", it is time to let the child within you loose.. Everything and anything can happen in the next few hours, you might end up barely dressed with a bandana on your head singing and dancing with the pirates as I recall seeing a few others doing... But, I did keep my clothes on!
I remember seeing a donkey pass by our table, then fireworks over the Mediterranean just outside the door. There is a giant fireplace and when the fire goes out or nearly goes out and they need wood, the furniture will be thrown in the dying embers... When you are finished with your food, you just throw your plate against the wall to make room for more..Glasses were thrown after each toast. I was astounded, but played along and just went with the flow of the evening....The last thing I remember was being serenaded out to our taxi by the Pirates at the end of the evening and bidding our new found friends a fond farewell..I don’t know if we were the last ones to leave but it seemed that way..Oh, and by the way, the food was incredible, we had lobster grilled on an open fire, some mussels Provencal and other tasty little side dishes..It was a prix fixe menu, though very highly priced, our splurge for that trip.
Next morning my hubby couldn’t believe what had transpired the night before and took a cab back to the scene, (I was a little hung over so I stayed in bed), lo and behold, directly across the street from the restaurant was a furniture and china factory!
So, on this more recent trip when we saw Le Pirate’ again we just had to go in and see if it was still the same. Since it was late afternoon, dinner wasn’t being served yet but we were greeted by someone who was as friendly as could be, though not dressed up in his pirate gear yet. We explained that we had dined there a few years earlier and wanted to know if the same thing was still going on and we were assured it was..We were shown a menu for that evening and told the price...egad, we thought silently and asked if we could just come for a drink which we were invited to do....as a matter of fact the “pirate” offered us one on the spot!
These are some of the indelible memories I have of that incredible evening and the whole Menton, Cote de Azur experience.
The people, the food and the sights, all of it, are some of the reasons this part of France is still and always will be one of the most fashionable and popular vacation spots in the world.
And, if you are to be on the Riviera during the coming month of February, I would highly recommend taking side trip to Menton to attend the Lemon Festival that will be taking place during that month. These people certainly know how to put on a party and I can just imagine what will be taking place on that little spot near the sea, at Le Pirate’s
Also, at this time, I would like to thank all my friends here at Epinions, for all your kind comments and thoughtfulness during these past three years.. I could name names but I would be afraid to leave anyone out..you all know who you are and have kept me here writing during the times I have thought of giving it up because I would have missed you all! So, Merci Beaucoup, Grazie, Danke, and a good old fashioned Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Happy and Safe Travels
links to the reviews I have written about the hillside perched villages of the Riviera;
http://www.epinions.com/content_77404278404
http://www.epinions.com/content_77958188676
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.