Éze le Village

We've all heard of mountain top villages with a castle in the center and fortified walls protecting it. Éze was one of these villages. Louis 14th did not like these fortified towns because they gave his nobles confidence. So the king tore down hundreds of castles and forts from the Rhine to the Mediterranean Sea. Éze's Castle was reduced to rubble. Not much happened in Éze until after WW2, when somebody decided to make an "exotic garden" in the castle ruins. Then artisans opened shops and the tourists came.

My family visited in 1975 when it was not well known. My father's French coworkers had never heard of Éze. We fell in love with the town and the view of Cap Ferrat and Villefranche sur Mer from the top of the garden.

Today, there were more Americans than French in the town and a giant underground parking lot for the tourists. There are twice as many tourists in hotel rooms than town residents. The Exotic Garden is much bigger and fancier but the views have not changed.

I had a wonderful lunch.of ravioli bourrache with butter sauce and sage. It's flavored with the borage flower that grows here. Imagine the flavor of a cucumber skin, but stronger. It was delicious.Leia mais