My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

guillotine at the age of 37. It was a dream come true for me and my
wife to see the place where she lived.
France is an unforgettable place to visit, but no trip to France is
complete without a trip to the south. The Cote D’azur, named for
the color combination of sea and sky, constitutes the French
Riviera. We took a very modern fast train from Paris to Nice with a
stop in Marseille. We spent a few hours visiting Marseille’s most
important sites, but it is not a very glamorous city. It is a mariners’
port with constant traffic of ships heading off to the wide world.
There are several beaches away from the ferry, freight and fishing
ports. We travelled to the island where the famous Count the
Monte Cristo was imprisoned. Then we saw the magnificent Notre-
Dame-de-la-Garde with its gold Madonna that balances above the
dome of the Basilica.
From Marseille, we took the train to Nice where we stayed for a
week, because we wanted to visit some of the surrounding towns.
Nice combines the thrills and pleasures of the French Riviera with
its picturesque old port and grand town center for shopping and
gambling. Although Nice is a very beautiful city with a broad
water front, we were a little surprised that there were no sandy
beaches. We rented a car and explored St. Raphael a town that
attracts sun worshipers by day and casino lizards by night.
Further down the coast, we got lost for a couple of hours on our
way to St. Tropez. We found a truck with a man selling fruit that
tasted so good, because we were very hungry! St. Tropez is a town
with very beautiful sandy beaches and resorts. It is known as one
of French actress Brigitte Bardot’s favorite towns. It’s always well
known by the tabloids for its topless bathing. This former fishing
village has a reputation as the playground of Hollywood in exile.
The town is named after the decapitated Roman martyr, St. Tropez.
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