A few days ago, I ventured to Grasse which is near Cannes and is the perfume capital of France. I decided it would be cheaper and safer (since I was travelling alone) to just do a day trip. So I woke up at 5:30 AM to make it on the train by 6:51 AM. I was really really nervous about walking in town alone that early because unfortunately, a few of the Erasmus students here have been mugged walking home from the bars. When I go out, I go out in a group of friends and normally take nothing but my key and phone so don't worry about me, I stay safe. However, I was worried about this early morning escapade just because I'm kind of a paranoid person and I had a lot of valuables with me (Kindle, iPod, money, lunch, credit cards, phone, etc). So I decided to put all of my valuables in a money belt and put it under my shirt. Since it was so heavy, I had to put it semi in my underwear so it wouldn't fall down my leg. I also did the same thing with my Kindle haha. :) But, hey, nothing happened. So all's well. :)
The train trip I had consisted of a trip from Aix-en-Provence to Marseilles (about 40 minutes), then Marseilles to Cannes (about 2 hours), and lastly Cannes to Grasse (about 25 minutes). So with time in between for stopovers, I arrived in Grasse at around 10:45 AM. And I would like to just say that I am completely in love with train travel. It's relaxing, perfect for listening to your iPod, and great for landscape watching. It's probably my favorite way to travel. :)
Upon arriving in Grasse, I had to find my way to the office of tourism for maps and such. After a half hour walk and usage of some serious map skills, I finally found it. Along the way I had also found the Cathédrale, Hôtel de Ville, and some other great landmarks in Grasse...but we'll get back to that later. It was at this point in the trip that I realized there was no space left on my camera photo card (which might I add was weird since I had copied and then deleted all of my photos the very night before). So I had to find a photography shop and the kind Frenchman told me that my camera had been keeping backups of all the photos I'd taken (backups which had never shown up on my disk when I put it in my computer, but his computer? sure) and so he deleted them all for me. And once again I was ready for my adventure.
I started out at the Musée International de la Parfumerie (International Perfumerie Museum) which was really great. The exhibit showed how much we relied on scent with a room full of nothing but big screens with blurry images on them. And there was something similar to an air conditioning unit that blew new smells into the room that corresponded to the blurry images. Once I could smell the citrus or pine or rain or grass, I understood what the images were of. Very interesting room. After that the exhibit showed where scents were cultivated and how perfume had changed throughout the ages. Some highlights of the museum include: Marie Antoinette's vanity box, part of the wall in the museum was remains of a 12th century outer city wall, and smelling different scents in each room.
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| Musée International de la Parfumerie |
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| Marie Antoinette's Vanity Box |
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| Part of the 12th century city wall inside the MIP |
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| Part of the 12th century wall, this is a fountain that provided water for the tanners to wash their leather hides |
After the Musée International de la Parfumerie, I decided to take a tour train to get a better idea of the city. While I really enjoyed sitting down (FINALLY!) and seeing parts of town I wouldn't have normally walked through, it wasn't really what I'd been expecting or worth the 6 euros that I forked over. However I did learn that Napoleon spent time in Grasse on his walk back from Exile in Elba to Paris.
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| The marker to commemorate Napoleon's walk through Grasse on his way back from Exile |
While the Musée and train tour were interesting, I was itching to get into a parfumerie and get some perfume. :) So I ventured over to Fragonard parfumerie because I know of their perfumes and scents after buying some in Paris last spring. I was mildly disappointed at the museum they had about Fragonard but I was successful in buying some Christmas presents for family. :) And believe me, I took time in thinking about it. I didn't realize until I'd left, but I spent about an hour trying to figure what to buy and for whom. :)
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| Parfumerie Fragonard :) |
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| The Factory on the lower level of the Parfumerie Fragonard |
After Fragonard it was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and I was exhausted. I'd been awake since 5:30 and had been walking pretty much nonstop since 11, so I sat in a park and ate my lunch (granola, nutella sandwich, and an orange) before heading to the Villa-Musée Fragonard. I had thought Fragonard only represented the parfumerie but apparently Fragonard is the name of an iconic French artist from the 1700s. Jean-Honoré Fragonard was born in Grasse but travelled all over Europe and was an important Rococo artist. The Villa-Musée Fragonard houses some of his and other artists' works. Some of my Fragonard favorites included "Le serment d'Amour" ("The Oath of Love"), and his set of four paintings entitled "Les Progès de l'Amour dans le cœur d'une jeune fille" ("Love's Progress in the Heart of a Young Girl"...the originals of which are on exhibit at the Frick Collection in New York).
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| Villa-Musée Fragonard |
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| Le Serment d'Amour |
At this point in the day, I was really wearing down so I strolled through town taking pictures and wandering into the Cathédrale. And, as everyone should know by now, the Cathédrale was one of my favorite parts of town. Parts of the Cathédrale de la Notre Dame-du-Puy date from the 13th century and it houses three Rubens, the relics of Saint Honorat, and the only religious painting ever created by Fragonard. While I loved the artwork, I really enjoyed the Cathédrale itself. Some of the cathedrals I've seen this trip in Europe have been ostentatious or touristy but this particular one was very medieval and full of character. For example, during the French Revolution, the Cathédrale was turned into a fodderhouse and caught fire in 1795, burning the pillars inside...and the coolest part is that you can still see the black burns on the pillar stone. Also there's a mark on the western part of the church from a cannon ball fired during the town's siege in 1589. Very very interesting how history can shape a building and how years, decades, centuries later, people can still see that history. :)
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| Cathédrale de la Notre Dame-du-Puy |
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| Cathédrale de la Notre Dame-du-Puy (note the burn marks on the pillars) |
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| "Saint Honorat joined by the Pope Saint Clement and Saint Lambert" by Louis Bréa, 1524 |
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| "The Washing of the Feet" by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1754 |
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| Relics of Saint Honorat |
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| Cathédrale de la Notre Dame-du-Puy |
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| The three Rubens in the Cathédrale: "The Foundation of the Cross", "Sainte Helene" and "The Thorn Coronation" |
Next door to the Cathédrale is the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) which used to be the Palais Episcopal (Bishop's Palace). I was kind of taken aback when I saw this knowing how important laïcité and secularism are to the French. But it definitely makes the list of coolest town halls I've seen in France. :)
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| Palais Episcopal or Hôtel de Ville |
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| Me with beautiful views of Grasse in the background :) |
While I waited around for my train, I decided to walk around town a bit more and find a café. I know that I've said this before but I'm very addicted to Orangina and I find every opportunity to enjoy this wonderful beverage. :) My stroll through town somehow found me at a set of waterfalls that were absolutely beautiful so I sat down, ordered an Orangina, and relaxed with the sound of water falling in the background. :)
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| The beautiful waterfalls I found |
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| True happiness :) |
Then comes the fun part. After my relaxing stay at the waterfall café, I headed back to the train station and alas, missed my turn. I ended up somehow walking about a kilometer outside of town before I realized it (believe me, I had my doubts all along but wasn't sure). I'd walked right off my map but in my defense, the street I was on wasn't even labelled on the map. So I asked a shopkeeper and headed back into town. There for a second I was really worried but all turned out well. :) Just like my new favorite quote that I found in Grasse that very day: "Tout fini toujours bien, si ca ne va pas, c'est que ce n'est pas la fin." (Everything always ends well, if it goes wrong, that's because it's not the end.)
Safely on the train back to Cannes, I began to worry about walking back to Cuques once I arrived in Aix around midnight. My paranoia began to overwhelm me but I tried to stop thinking about it and get some rest because I was so exhausted. Later as my train to Marseille was arriving at the station, I received a blessing in disguise. A guy I didn't know came up to me and asked if I was from Aix and if I lived in Cuques. Immediately I began to freak out because I had no idea how he could have known that information. :( I said yes to being from Aix but not Cuques (instead I said I lived in Gazelles which is not far away from Cuques). We struck up a conversation but I was still really nervous and paranoid so I told him lies about myself (that I was from Canada, my name was Katrine, and that I went to the Fac de Droit). As we waited in Gare St. Charles for the bus to Aix, I learned that his name was Jeansteve (haha I know) and he was from Gabon, Africa. Suddenly this drunk guy walked by and I realized that Jeansteve was a blessing. His being there made me less afraid of being mugged and made those possibly thinking of mugging me a little cautious. I watched as this drunk guy did in fact try to steal from another man waiting for the bus. The second man, a very large man I might add (so large that I would never have thought to mess with him), saw him steal his wallet and pretty much beat the crap out of him in front of everyone. Very crazy but that's Marseille at night for you.
Once on the bus and later on the walk back to Cuques from the train station, I was very glad to have met and talked with Jeansteve. I felt safer than walking around by myself and Jeansteve was a really kind, interesting person. But the walk home was extremely cold and I was glad once I got back to my warm room. :) Jerrica came over and we drank some tea and I told her of my crazy day in Grasse. And after she left, I fell asleep like a baby. Grasse was amazing and the memories I have of that beautiful city and my day there are crazy but I'll never forget it! :)
PS: I know my mother and others are probably having heart attacks after reading this so please understand that I am 100% alright and I will no longer be doing day trips alone like that. I also am very cautious while walking around alone (which I do very infrequently) or at night with others.
