Tom`s travels: Roquebrune & Menton (17/04/2022)

The next day as I was still angry with my family, I decided to wake up early and take a train to France and visit a couple of towns there. I first walked the 30 minutes from the house in Riva Ligure to the train station in Arma di Taggia and from there took a ride, switching trains once in Ventimiglia. After just over an hour I reached the town of Roccabruna, or Roquebrune in French, located right on the coast. The town only became part of France after 1861, like all other towns in the area. From the train station, a series of staircases led up to the old town, which I reached after a few minutes of climbing up and stopping once in a while to take pictures of the beautiful coast. As I reached the old town, I walked through the pretty narrow streets lined by stone and pastel-colored houses with tiled rooftops, typical of this part of France, similar to those found on the Italian side. I then passed by the main church in town, Eglise St Marguerite, and continuing further up I then reached the highest point in town where the castle was located. Entry required payment of a ticket, 3 euros, which I did to visit it. The castle is known as Grimaldi Castle, as it was held by the noble family for several centuries after being in the hands of the Republic of Genova until 1395. Its donjon or main keep is the oldest in France. After entering the grounds, I found out I was one of the few visitors in there and so managed to enjoy without disturbance the several rooms of the ancient medieval structure. From the top of the main keep, I then admired a most beautiful view of the old town below and the surrounding coast with the blue sea water glistening in the morning sunlight. It was slightly windy up there but the weather was warm and perfect and quite incredible for April, especially coming from Berlin. Looking westwards I could also easily make out the profile of the old town and the tall skyscrapers of the nearby Principality of Monaco. After enjoying the view and visiting the rest of the castle, I headed back down into the old town and reached a nice square, the Place des Deux-Frères from where I still had a great view of the coast, and behind me the castle perched on the rock. I then continued my walk through the picturesque streets, deciding then it was time to head back down to the seaside. I took some more stairs heading downhill until I reached the rocky coast. Here a nice trail headed along the seaside following the natural form of the Cap San Martin peninsula. I walked all around the cape, admiring the beautiful view of the coast with Monaco in the distance and passing by some truly wonderful and really expensive villas. There were quite some people walking along the trail as well, and hearing them speak sounded like they were from all over the world. After doubling the cape of the peninsula I continued walking along the trail on the other side now admiring the coast to the east looking at the city of Mentone, or Menton in French, in the distance. The trail then joined the sidewalk which later became the large promenade following the beaches of Carnolès first and later Mentone. Here right after entering the municipality borders, I met up with my parents and brother who had come later by car. Together we walked along Mentone's promenade until we reached the city center. We passed by the 17th-century defensive bastion just by the sea and then looked for a place to have lunch. We ended up choosing a restaurant called Coco Loco right on the port, where I had shrimp with rice and veggies. After lunch, we then decided to explore the old town. We entered the maze of alleyways lined by the brightly colored houses which make up the city center. The scenic and elegant staircase led up to the square, Place de la Conception, where the Basilica of Saint Michael the Arcangel, a jewel of the baroque period from the early 17th century was set. Unfortunately, the church was closed, and so was the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, another baroque church built right next to the other one. We then continued on through the old town streets until we reached the highest point in town where the Old Castle Cemetery is located. Once on this spot, an old fortification used to stand, later replaced by a 19th-century cemetery that featured tombs of people from all over the world. In fact, Mentone like the rest of the French and Ligurian coasts was a popular spot for many as a winter and summer retreat due to its climate. In the cemetery, we found tombs of 19th-century individuals from Russia, the UK, Italy, Poland, and even the U.S. It had in fact catholic, orthodox, and protestant sections. The view from there was also worth it, with the old town below and the seaside all around, and the Ligurian coast at just an arm's reach. At that point in fact my parents and brother headed back to the car as my brother wished to see the Hanbury Gardens which I had already visited the previous summer. I, on the other hand, would walk back to Italy on foot. I headed back down through the old town and then left the city center walking along the promenade just by the sea. In about 20 minutes I reached the border with Italy, just as my family was passing by with the car waving at me. Here I then followed a trail passing by the beach of the Balzi Rossi a complex of caves right over the sea which was discovered in the late 1800s containing traces from prehistoric times. The trail then continued on, tracing what was once the ancient Roman road the Via Julia Augusta. I followed it for a while, passing right by the train tracks and the sea below. The views were spectacular and there was no one around. At one point, in order to cross the railway line, I ended up taking a wrong turn and reached an abandoned beach which google maps told me was a nudist beach. In fact, far off in the distance, on the rocks, I did see a man laying. I decided to head back up and managed then to find the trail once again. I followed it for a little while until I reached the spot where it crosses through the Hanbury Gardens. In fact, the gardens were right above me so I called my brother to let him come and say hi. After seeing him, he continued on his tour of the gardens while I then took the trail heading uphill to reach the gardens' entrance. Here I then found my mom and dad sitting in the car waiting for my brother. Eventually at 6pm when the gardens closed my brother came out and we got in the car to drive back to Riva Ligure.