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Taking Life Easy in EzeBy Paula Hughes CourtThe 9th century perched village of Eze ranks high on the list as one of the most popular stops for tour buses in the French Riviera. During the day the village swells with tourists buying postcards, olive wood cutting boards and saffron in sandwich bags. But after the last bus crawls out of town, Eze takes on a magical atmosphere. The torch-lit cobblestone alleys are deserted, and on a recent visit my seven-year-old daughter and I were lucky enough to have the village all to ourselves. We had reached Eze earlier in the day by turning our rental car north and climbing higher, higher up the torturous mountain road of switchbacks and vertiginous cliffs above Monaco. I pulled our car to a stop in front of Chateau Eza’s donkey stand and handed over the keys to the valet. No vehicles are allowed inside the village whose narrow lanes were built just wide enough for donkey carts. The Danish valet pointed to the stone steps leading up through the village to our hotel and assured us our luggage would be delivered promptly. By donkeys, I assumed, since the animals are featured prominently in the hotel's brochures. Ten minutes later, the out-of-breath valet passed by carrying our bags. “Where’s the donkey?” my daughter asked. “You're looking at him,” he replied with a grin. I later learned the use of donkeys had been banned in crowded Eze for fear the animals might hurt someone. After a group of stampeding tourists knocked my child into a stonewall, I understood the concern, because I felt the urge to kick someone myself. Luckily, the feeling didn’t last long. After a ten-minute walk straight up several flights of stone steps, we reached the 4-star Chateau Eza. The general manager, Jesper Jerrik, handed me a glass of champagne and escorted us to our room. The chateau was once the former summer residence of Prince William of Sweden and now is a small, luxury hotel with a gastronomic restaurant.
Our server, a beautiful, sweet girl from Denmark, convinced me to try the award-winning chef Christophe l'Hospitalier's degustation menu while my daughter stuck to her regular French diet of frites. The meal began with an aperitif concocted out of champagne, raspberry crème and one plump cherry. A flurry of courses followed-gazpacho, foie gras terrine with caramel sauce and Crème de Calvados roasted pigeon. When I thought it impossible to eat another bite, they placed chocolate soufflé and a plate of handmade chocolates before us to prove me wrong.
IF YOU GO:Chateau Eza The chateau offers ten individual suites and rooms featuring modern luxuries in a medieval setting. The hotel is not cheap with rates starting at $280, but the view alone is worth it for an once-in-a-lifetime stay. The hotel restaurant offers a three-course fixed price lunch menu for 45 euro. Dinner entrees start at 32 euros. Contact Information:Paula can be reached at PaulaHughesCourt@aol.com. |
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We stepped out on our cliffside balcony hanging 1300
feet above the sea and stared awestruck at the scene before us. Le Jardins
Exotiques, a cactus garden featuring 400 species of exotic plants with a
360-degree panoramic view of the sea and mountains, covered the hill to our
right. To our left was an expansive view of the glittering Mediterranean Sea
stretching from Italy to Saint-Tropez. A hawk soared eye-level mere feet
from our balcony. 
After
the last tour bus crawled out of town, we set off to explore the village.
The numerous crafts boutiques hidden in tiny caves dug out of the rocky
hillside were closed, but we didn't mind. We strolled through the network of
tunnels and past hidden lush gardens of banana, orange and lemon trees. 
Just before sunset, we returned to the hotel's
restaurant and were led to a private terrace jetting over the cliffs. The
lights of Monaco and St. Jean Cap Ferrat sparkled far below like a thousand,
glittering jewels. 
After
dinner, we returned to our room and sat on the balcony until the wee hours
of the morning. My daughter marveled at the brightness of the stars, a sight
she never sees in the city while I embraced the still beauty of the night.
The next morning, we reluctantly left paradise with a promise to return.