Today, Charles and I got an early start and headed by train to Ventimiglia in Italy. The main highlights in Ventimiglia are their market, the view from old town, the beach, and the fact that it is Italian, adding another country to our trip itinerary. We checked out the covered market first, which reminded me a lot of Vancouver’s covered markets (except Italian). Charles and I had a hard time switching gears from bad French to bad Italian, but nobody seemed to care whether we mispronounced French words or mispronounced Italian words or even just spoke English, so it was okay. We brought some strawberries, cherries, and cheese in the market before heading up the hill to old town.

The old town in Ventimiglia is different from the others we’ve visited so far in that it is almost completely residential, with few tourist attractions other than a church and a view from the top of the hill on which the old town was built. We worked our way up the hill, stopping in the church first, which was really pretty. James, would you say this is a column or a pilaster? I’m confused…

After checking out the church, we finished our climb, admired the view, and headed back down to the beach. By the time we got to the beach, it was just before lunch, so we sat on the shore and ate our goodies from the market. Everything was good, but the cherries were the best – so much more flavorful and juicier than what we can find in our grocery stores back home.

The beach in Ventimiglia is a little different from that in Nice, as it’s a hybrid of the rocky French Riviera beaches and the sandy beaches we’re accustomed to – with the worst features of both types of beaches. The rocks extend all the way out and end just short of the tide, turning into course sand with some larger rocks mixed in. Unless you want to sit in the tide, you’ve got to lie on the rocks. The rocks are hard on your feet, but small enough to make sandals or water shoes useless, since the rocks just filter INTO your shoes. Nevertheless, the sun was bright and the beach was pretty.

We attempted to wade out at one point – but found the water a little too cold for comfort. We hung out on the beach for a while, but the sun was pretty hot – so we packed up and headed back to the train station to head to Menton (France), stopping on the way for Italian gelato which was very cold and refreshing.

We boarded our train and went a couple of stops before stopping in Menton. The information we had on things to do in Menton indicated that everything was pretty close to the train station – which was good news, since the sun was hot, I was tired, and the backpack of beach towels and sunblock I’d packed against Charles’ advice (how heavy could beach towels be?) seemed to be getting heavier and heavier. We followed some signs for the Tourist Information center, since they are usually located wherever the tourists are or should be. We walked for a ways before we found it and checked out the map and planned a circuit route around the tourist area that would take us along the waterfront.

This was about 1:30 in the afternoon when the sun was high and hot and there was little shade to be found. We stopped a couple of times when we found benches in the shade. In the shade, it was actually very pleasant. We passed through a square and watched some sort of recognition ceremony regarding the French Resistance, which was interesting, even if we understood only every tenth word or so.

And then true to the theme of the trip, we had to climb a sizable hill through old town to get to all of the cool old stuff. I’m not sure if this hill was any bigger or steeper than the others – but it sure felt that way. We finally made it most of the way to the top, took a rest, and checked out a couple of cool churches both located on the same plaza. After Charles got some pretty good pictures, we finished our hike up to the top to check out the view from the cemetery. I can’t imagine being a pall bearer here…

The view was fantastic and the sea breeze in the shade even better. While in the cemetery, we checked out the grave of William Webb Ellis, the founder of Rugby, then headed back down the hill to the train station. The walk was further than we anticipated, especially in the hot sun and after having climbed to the top of the hill, so I was pretty wiped out when we made it to the train station!

We returned to the apartment and took a rest, then headed out for dinner at a restaurant here in Old Town that we’ve been wanting to try called Le Bistrot du Fromager (the cheese maker’s bistro). The restaurant is downstairs in an old cellar and everything on the menu is centered around cheese and wine – two of my most favorite things. We started with a cheese sampler, then Charles ordered a cheesy potato dish and I ordered baked camembert with sliced potatoes. They brought me an ENTIRE WHEEL OF CAMEMBERT!! I love cheese – but could only make a very small dent, especially considering the four cheese sampler we had before. When we got our ticket at the end of the meal, my meal was labeled “Camembert Surprise”. “Surprise” is right!! We finished up with a lemon tart – which was really more of a cross between lemon flavored cheesecake and creme brulee. It was all delicious though I don’t think I’ll be wanting anymore cheese for at least another few days.

P.S. While we were sitting in Le Bistrot du Fromager, a couple asked if there was anything on the menu that did not have cheese. Charles and I might not know a lot of French, but how does someone walk into a restaurant in France with the word “fromage” in the restaurant name and expect not to eat cheese? And what kind of person (aside from someone with a lactose intolerance) doesn’t eat cheese?