Ahhhhhh, we made it! We have arrived at La Pausa, Coco Chanel's Riviera home
This is the original headboard of Chanel's bed that the villa owners used as a wall decoration. Pretty interesting artwork!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Mademoiselle Coco Chanel's Riviera Retreat, 'La Pausa"
Today started with another wonderful breakfast with Patricia and the guests of Le Roquebrune. Then we took the stairs down to the beach to see and touch the Mediterranean. ;->
It was quite a walk down the hill (mountain) to get to the water!!!! And this was the easy part!
On our way down, taking a break!
Wow, we have to go through a tunnel to get there? Quite an interesting route to the beach.
Woohoo, we made it!!!
Our view from the beach - pretty amazing!
My sweet baby girl on the beaches of the French Riviera!
Steve is looking for our B&B to see how far we walked down.
There it is....it's the white one. ;->
I'm just curious who could get a good night's sleep in this hotel hanging off the cliff???? I would be nervous the entire time. It is amazing to me how this building is perched on the cliff and our home on a flat land has such foundation issues!!!!
Look at me touching the Mediterranean!!!
Yikes! Those waves are a little too close to my shoes and I'm not dressed for this!!! :->
Steve's turn.......
Mommy & London on the French Riveria
Daddy & London on the French Riveria
Our view from the beach
On our way back up to the top of the mountain....stopping for a picture seems like a good idea. Actually stopping just seems like a good idea! ;->
I think London is the genius here....getting a 'ride' to the top so we could meet Patricia and head to La Pausa.
This was the entrance from the back side of the villa. If you notice there are 5 windows above the main entrance. There are many signs of Chanel throughout the house since she loved the number 5....very interesting!
This chandelier in the entrance way was designed by Chanel and is original to the villa.
This was the courtyard of the home which Chanel designed to resemble the monastery that she grew up in. We learned so many fascinating things about this home and Chanel from Patricia. Her mother was the main cook at the villa for Chanel and all of her guests.
This was the original speaker system of the villa from the time of Chanel. It is labeled for each room in the villa and actually still works to this day.
We are in Mademoiselle Chanel's bedroom.....this is amazing! London found the perfect sized chair for her! I love this picture!
This is the master bathroom of Chanel and the mirrors and tub are original with house.
This is the view from Chanel's bedroom window.
Another view from her bedroom window
This is the amazing B&B owner Patricia who brought us to La Pausa. Her mother was very close with Coco Chanel by being in this villa everyday and Patricia continued a friendship with the Reves family that purchased the villa from Chanel. Patricia's stories were absolutely interesting. I could have listened to her stories from her mother's experiences with Chanel and her childhood and memories.
The Reves were very much into their collections as they have a huge display at the Dallas Museum of Art. This table in the entry way of the villa had a number of special items on it that were original pieces from Chanel that they purchased with the villa. (Note the gold camilla on the wall....)
Outside the villa with Patricia.
Mommy & London at La Pausa.......last year at Rue Cambon, this year Chanel's French Riviera home....pretty amazing. What will next year hold??? ;-> No pressure.....
La Pausa
The view of Italy from La Pausa
After our visit to La Pausa, we headed back to our little home in the hills in Puyvert. But first we had to take one more drive through the ridiculously wealthy streets of Monte Carlo. This banner had just gone up.....pretty interesting. If only we could come back for the Grands Prix, I'm certain the people watching would be fabulous!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
La Pausa - Letter of Interest
 |
| Our tour of La Pausa was out of this world. The owners subsequent to Ms. Chanel were the Reeves. They entertained at the highest level of society and actually hosted Winston Churchill for an extended period of time. Apparently he had his own section of the house and was quite the artist during his stay at the Villa. As we toured the Villa the collection of various works of art and other items was an experience. We noted the pictured letter (please double click and read) which was from Winston Churchill to General Viscount Montgomery inviting him to come visit the villa with his dog Jock for a week or so in October 1957. General Montgomery was the Supreme British Commander in North Africa, where he commanded against Rommel, and in Normandy during the invasion. |
Nice.....
Today we are headed to Nice for a day of shopping and sightseeing! These were our views while we had breakfast at Le Roquebrune. I cannot say how much we love the ladies that run this B&B. They were amazing to London and we had the most wonderful food and people around us at all times!
London & I on the balcony....it's too beautiful, this is going to be a fabulous day!
Nice was only 15 minutes away from our B&B by mountain road. (Quite close to the road where Princess Grace had her accident for anyone who enjoys Hollywood/Royal gossip) Although once we got into Nice we were a little turned around but we finally found a place to park close to the amazing hotels and shopping on Promenade d'Anglais!
Hmmm, a pink scooter??? Or as London calls it, a pink biker chic???? Love it!
What a great day in Nice. We headed back to the B&B in Roquebrune for another wonderful dinner in the small dining room with the guests. Mary was back to entertain and instruct London on her French lessons and manners and we simply had a blast. Patricia, the owner of the B&B sat with us after dinner and told us countless stories about the war and her family and their connections. I wish we could publish the knowledge and stories that she has to offer, I could have sat with her for endless hours listening!!! Tomorrow she brings us to La Pausa, Mademoiselle Coco Chanel's Rivera retreat, because she said today's weather wasn't worth wasting on real estate and we must explore Nice. Thank you Patricia, as we had an amazing day!!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
No Internet
One day delay in posting....tomorrow, Nice, Monaco (in the casino) and La Pausa. It will be the best.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Daily Map
We have been asked to add a daily map. This following link is a map of the South of France from Nice to Italy. We are staying at Roquebrune Cap-Martin. Click on the link.
Show on Google Maps
Show on Google Maps
We love input and questions so please email us with any questions you may have.
Blog Viewing Tip.....
We have noticed the posted pictures really do not show the details we want. PLEASE DOUBLECLICK THE PHOTO AND IT WILL EXPAND TO FULL SIZE FOR BETTER VIEWING. I recommend going back and looking at some of the photos, including Pont Du Garde and Gordes.
French Riviera - Roquebrune Cap Martin
Well we left the country life behind today for the Cote d'Azur! So exciting! We will be spending the next two nights here and discovering everything from Monaco to Nice to Cannes, plus all the little villages in between. It was about a 2 hour drive down and very pretty. Big decision.....where to go, where to go???
I was looking at hotels on the promenade in Nice and then actually Steve has a friend that recommended a B&B in Roquebrune Cap Martin. It has 6 rooms and is right on the coast just past Monaco. Since it came highly recommended we came here. Also, small additional note, Steve's friend represents La Pausa, the former Riviera residence of Coco Chanel and mentioned that the lady that owns this B&B could give us a tour!!! YAY!!! This is also going to be a Chanel experience.....I LOVE France!!!!! For any Chanel fans out there, this website describes the property we will be seeing tomorrow.
http://la-pausa.tumblr.com/about
The view as we arrive into the coastline. We were surprised that the coast is basically all one - it is completely developed along the whole coast with no distinction between villages/towns.
We arrived at Le Charme/Le Roquebrune and London couldn't wait to take pictures of the beach!
Patricia, the owner gave us the most amazing welcome and we had champagne & apple juice (London) with her while she told us of everything around and the best way to get around. I felt like we were arriving at a family member's home instead of a hotel/B&B, it was so nice!!!
Once we dropped off our luggage and got situated in the room, we were off to Monaco for lunch.....hello Monte Carlo Casino!!! ;-> We were starving as it was way past our normal noon lunchtime - so we parked at the Casino parking lot and headed to Cafe de Paris right in the square. It was the busiest cafe ever and the greatest people watching!! I love to see what people are wearing and the bags they are carrying in a place where money is no object!
This guy made me think that we were in a Mission Impossible scene.....was Tom Cruise going to pop out somewhere??? What a look for a afternoon in the cafe, very fancy & mysterious!!!!
The Monte Carlo Casino - the cafe had the greatest views of everything important in Monte Carlo - the casino, Hotel de Paris, all the couture shopping and the greatest valet stand in the world. Steve went in to check it out but didn't opt to play anything considering we were outside since London couldn't get in.
Hotel de Paris with the Louis XV Alain Ducasse restaurant. Dinner here will only set you back 425 euros pp.....yikes!!!
Cafe de Paris, where we had lunch
The Casino's valet parking.....
They have this stadium seating set up all around the square getting ready for the Grand Prix which in mid-May. That would be wild to attend!!!
Yes, I know it's hard to believe...more ice cream!! Actually we are so close to Italy, they have gelato stands everywhere, how lucky!!!!
I was very sad when we got to the shopping area because today is a holiday in France and the stores and everything is closed. London was sad because her gelato fell off her cone......now that's a sad face!!! Way to tarnish the entrance to Chanel with some pink gelato!!!
No shopping for us today.....;-< Another French holiday!!!
Steve was paying for our parking when London found these mirrors and started playing....yikes, twin London's!!! I don't think I could handle that!!!! ;->
These were our views on the short drive back to our B&B. Simply amazing. I do wish is was a little warmer and sunnier!!! I'm afraid my 'Riviera attire' won't be able to be showcased this trip, it's just too cold!!!! Maybe we can come back later in May for some sunshine and beach wear!!!!
We of course took our afternoon naps as it is a wonderful ritual here in France. Then we went for a drive to discover more of the area where we are staying. Unfortunately, the combination of rain and the holiday with everything closed made it uneventful. We came back to the B&B. We were a little concerned how we would feed London dinner, seriously everything is closed! When we got back to the B&B, there were people in the small 4 table dining room. Now, they don't have a restaurant, but if you order in the morning, you can have what looked to be an amazing 5 course dinner. Obviously we weren't here in the morning, but they went to the kitchen and made us the most delicious melon and prosciutto and homemade spaghetti for London with a 2007 bottle of Bordeaux Pomerol. I could certainly get used to it here!!
This lady was at the table next to ours and took a liking to London. She lives in Grenoble outside of Lyon and is on a 2-3 week holiday. She gave London a french lessons throughout dinner on everything on the table and what she was eating. Then two of them discussed their dogs and the beach and of course Disney princesses and their english vs french names. She was so lovely, we hope to see her again tomorrow!!! Again, it was like having dinner at your family's house. So amazing!!!!
Au Revoir & Bon Nuit!!! We have to go to bed & get our beauty rest for our big French Riviera Chanel day tomorrow!!!!
We had entertainment the entire drive down. I don't think London stopped talking or singing the whole way here!!! Who said kids sleep in cars??? Not ours!!!!! ;->
http://la-pausa.tumblr.com/about
The view as we arrive into the coastline. We were surprised that the coast is basically all one - it is completely developed along the whole coast with no distinction between villages/towns.
Once we dropped off our luggage and got situated in the room, we were off to Monaco for lunch.....hello Monte Carlo Casino!!! ;-> We were starving as it was way past our normal noon lunchtime - so we parked at the Casino parking lot and headed to Cafe de Paris right in the square. It was the busiest cafe ever and the greatest people watching!! I love to see what people are wearing and the bags they are carrying in a place where money is no object!
This lady was at the table next to ours and took a liking to London. She lives in Grenoble outside of Lyon and is on a 2-3 week holiday. She gave London a french lessons throughout dinner on everything on the table and what she was eating. Then two of them discussed their dogs and the beach and of course Disney princesses and their english vs french names. She was so lovely, we hope to see her again tomorrow!!! Again, it was like having dinner at your family's house. So amazing!!!!
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