1958 Le Chateau d'If

 
While we were in Marseille, my mother insisted we go to le Chateau d'If.  I was very excited to see it.  

By age 11, I had read "The Count of Monte Cristo" many times.  In fact, I had brought my copy on the trip with me.  We absolutely had to go to le chateau d'If.  


In actual fact, my mother and I went, and my dad and my sister had their own adventure somewhere else.




The Chateau d'If
Built in the in the mid-1500s on the tiny island of If, the fortress was originally intended to act as a coastal defense station. By the 1800s the space, useless as a fort, was converted to a prison that used its island status as its main escape deterrent. During this time, a range of inmates were committed to the jail ranging from murderers to political prisoners. The conditions ranged from over-crowded dungeon cells for the lower classes to small apartments equipped with fireplaces for wealthy prisoners. The prison held a bit of notoriety thanks to its unique position, but it was catapulted into history when author Alexandre Dumas used it as the jail where his famous Count of Monte Cristo spent over a decade before escaping.

The chateau d'If is located a little under a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille.

 

1958 Sur le Pont d'Avignon

On the way to Juan Les Pins, we made a detour to Avignon, to see "le pont d'Avignon".  After singing the song for so many years, how could we not go? 

♪ Sur Le Pont D'Avignon ♪

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse, on y danse

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse tous en rond

Les beaux messieurs font comme ça

Et puis encore comme ça.

Les belles dames font comme ça

Et puis encore comme ça.

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse, on y danse

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse tous en rond.

 

It's actually called le Pont Saint-Benezet, and was built between 1175 and 1185.  It was destroyed and rebuilt several times, but finally fell into disrepair.  The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhone were built around 1345.  The Chapel de Saint Nicholas is on the second pier of the bridge.

Eventually in the middle of the 17th century the bridge was abandoned. The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhône are believed to have been built in around 1345.  In 1995, the surviving arches of the bridge, along with the Palais des Papes and Cathedrale Notre-Dame des Dome, were designated as a World Heritage Site.

1958 La Grande Corniche and the Princess

When we took our trip to Juan Les Pins for our summer vacation, my mother wanted to visit Monaco.  My dad agreed, but the only way he would go was if we first drove on La Grande Corniche.

There are actually 3 different roads:  La Basse Corniche, La Moyenne Corniche, and La Grande Corniche.  Nothing less than the high one would do for my dad.  However, we drove from La Turbie to Monaco and didn't go all the way past Menton.  That short cut was one of the scariest parts though.

It was terrifying.  And my dad, of course, made it even more so.  He kept saying he was having trouble staying on the road, things like that.  We were in our convertible and I was scared I was going to fall out!  He got such a thrill from our screaming.

Many years later, I had similar experiences when Trey (husband #3) was driving through the Rockies in Colorado, namely over Wolf Creek Pass.  And I admit that I would scare myself driving up to Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I also scared my mother once on the way to Aspen.  

The Grande Corniche is where Hitchcock filmed Grace Kelly driving her roadster in To Catch a Thief. Built 1,600ft above sea level by Napoleon over the ancient Via Julia Augusta, its landmark is the monumental Trophée des Alpes (14 BC) at La Turbie, commemorating Caesar’s conquest of the Gauls. 

Scene from "To Catch a Thief"
overlooking Monte Carlo.  Did she
know that soon she would be the Princess?
This is when she met Prince Rainier.
They were married in 1956.

The Corniche Inférieure

Firstly, the Corniche Inférieure or Basse Corniche (Lower Corniche) starts in Nice, leading to Menton following the coast. The Corniche Inférieure was laid out in the 18th century by the Prince of Monaco.

The Moyenne Corniche

Built between 1910 and 1928 when aristocratic tourism on the French Riviera was booming on the Corniche Inférieure, the Moyenne Corniche (Middle Corniche) is another scenic driveway of 31km long from Nice to Menton . It follows the border with the Principauty of Monaco at Beausoleil before descending to the Cap Martin peninsula. It is a very frequented road and was the preferred route from Nice to Italy before the construction of the A8 motorway.

The Grande Corniche

The Grande Corniche (Upper Corniche) was constructed by Napoleon I and follows the ancient Roman route known as Via Julia Augusta-the old Route Aurélienne.

Running 500 meters above the sea, it offers spectacular views over the Mediterranean coast. The Grande Corniche, 31 kilometers long, passes through the Col des Quatre Chemins,La Turbie before descending to Roquebrune and rises as high as 450 meters above the Principality of Monaco.

Down by the water is La Basse Corniche
About half way up is La Moyenne Corniche
The picture is taken from La Grande Corniche

The walls are low and so are the guardrails.
In some places, there are neither.

The Death of a Princess

The death of Princess Grace in 1982 hit me hard, but not as hard as it hit my mother.  It seemed like yesterday that we had driven on that road, just 2 years after she had married the Prince. 

The curve where Princess Grace's car went off the road

A rose left at the site of the accident.

Death of a Princess

On the morning of September 13, 1982, Princess Grace and her daughter Stephanie were to head back to Monaco from their vacation residence, Roc Agel. They loaded the Rover P6 with luggage and prepared for the 35-minute drive back to town. The car was so packed full of belongings, Princess Grace suggested to the  chauffeur that she would drive them by herself

At 9:30 in the morning, with Stephanie in the passenger seat and Princess Grace behind the wheel, the car would set out down a narrow, treacherous and windy road, CD37 (Route de La Tourbie). Contrary to popular belief, this was not the same road on which she drove in her 1955 movie, To Catch A Thief.  Ten minutes into the drive things would go horribly awry.

A motorist driving behind the Princess’s vehicle would report seeing the Rover swerving erratically back and forth. The concerned observer would honk several times to get the attention of what he assumed to be a drunk or sleepy driver. As Princess Grace’s car approached a hairpin curve in the road known as "Devil’s Curse,” it suddenly accelerated to well over 50 m.p.h. The car crashed through the stone barrier before careening down the 120-foot hillside, clipping the tops of the trees as it lurched its way down the slope.  A local gardener heard the accident and upon reaching the scene, noticed the wrecked vehicle had struck a tree near the bottom of the hill and rested near a pile of rocks. The good Samaritan observed that Stephanie had extricated herself from the car and was yelling to help get her mother out of the vehicle. “Help, my mother! My mother is in there! Get her out!” The unconscious Grace was removed by smashing the vehicle’s rear window.

Princess Grace and Stephanie were taken to a local hospital in Monaco for treatment for their injuries. Reports say that Monaco Hospital (later renamed Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace - Princess Grace Hospital Center), where the injured survivors were taken, was not well equipped for these types of injuries. Surgery was performed on Grace’s lungs to stop the internal bleeding. Her other injuries included multiple fractures of the collar bone, thigh, and ribs. A CAT scan revealed that shortly before the accident, Grace had suffered a stroke which rendered her unable to control the vehicle. Fearing that the princess may survive as a helpless invalid, the royal palace attempted a cover up of the extent of her injuries. But at 10:30 p.m. on September 14, 1982, Princess Grace was taken off her life-support equipment and she passed on. She was 52 years old.

1958 Monaco

From Monte Carlo back to Juan Les Pins

While we were in Juan Les Pins and after we had driven La Grande Corniche (see separate post), we made a side trip to Monte Carlo in Monaco.  

Monte Carlo at Night

My mother had always been a tremendous fan of Grace Kelly and I think deep down she thought maybe we would catch a glimpse of her.  

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco

We had lunch at the Castleroc, which at the time was the most famous restaurant in Monaco.  

Castleroc Restaurant

Castleroc Restaurant

We looked out at the marina and the harbor and all the incredible yachts.  There were a lot of yachts all over the French Riviera, but nothing like Monaco.  It was spectacular!

Monte Carlo Marina

We drove up to look at the Palace as well.

The Royal Palace

1958 Marseille and Velvet

In 1958 when we drove from Gravenchon to Juan Les Pins, one of the places we stopped for the night was Marseille.  It's a city known for seafood and my mother couldn't wait to get her favorite:  Moules mariniere (mussels cooked in garlic, butter, and white wine).  There is something about the sound of those shells clinking against each other even now, 60 years later, that takes me right back.

Moules Mariniere

We walked around the city that night, particularly around the docks.  But what I remember best is what happened the next morning.

We had our dog Velvet with us.  (He went on the trip and stayed in a kennel in Juan Les Pins, for some reason).  The room my sister and I shared had a big window that opened really wide onto a square.  There was a small balcony outside, just about big enough to stand on.  

Hotel Vieux Port, Marseille

I dressed Velvet in a pair of my red shorts with thin white stripes and my white t-shirt, and put him out on the balcony with me so we could watch the people walking below.  After a few minutes, apparently someone spotted him and before long, everyone was pointing up to him (we were on the second floor) and clapping and laughing.  He loved it.  I loved it.  My parents didn't love it so much.  It was a moment that stood out in a long road trip.

1958 Juan Les Pins, BB, et les measles

1956 Ford Sunliner

In the summer we went on vacation to the French Riviera; to be more exact, to Juan-Les-Pins.  We drove but I don't remember much about the trip except that we were driving our 1956 Ford Starliner convertible, the turquoise and white one.  

I think that was the year my grandmother Frieda was with us, which is probably one of the reasons we went to several of the chateaux of the Loire Valley.  

The one I remember the best is Azy-Le-Rideau.  That was my favorite.  We also went to Chambord where we saw a 'son et lumiere' show at night, and a couple of others.  But Azy-Le-Rideau was the one that captured my imagination.  My second favorite was Chenonceau.

Azy-Le-Rideau

Azy-Le-Rideau

Chenonceau

Chenonceau

Chambord at night

Chambord

I remember going to Nice and having lunch at the famous Hotel Negresco (which I called the Hotel the Crisco, much to my mother's chagrin).

Le Negresco, Nice, France

Juan-Les-Pins was a very upscale tourist resort, even then.  The hotel where we stayed, Le Provencal, was very famous, and looked out over the boulevard and the beach.  There was entertainment every night and we usually went and sat on the patio and watched after dinner.

L'Hotel Provencal, 1955, Juan les Pins

Beach, Juan Les Pins

Port du Crouton Marina, Juan Les Pins

Juan-Les-Pins had a great marina where we would stroll around in the afternoon when we weren't at the beach.  

Chris Craft Cabin Cruiser

Chris Craft Wood

I remember in particular my dad pointing out to me all the Chris Craft boats.  He said they were top of the line and we would look at them really closely.  He admired fine craftsmanship.  Sometimes, if we could find an owner around, we would talk to them, with me translating if necessary.  

A couple of days after we arrived, I suddenly developed a horrible itchy rash.  It drove me nuts, I couldn't' sleep at night, and nothing helped.  My mother decided I was allergic to cantaloupe and told me I couldn't eat it anymore.  That was a terrible fate because I had it at least 3 times a day, I loved it. After another couple of days, the rash wasn't any better and she took me to a doctor.  The verdict:  I had the German measles!  The next 3 days, I had to stay in the hotel room in the dark because my eyes were watering so badly.  It was hell.  I couldn't even read.  Finally, for the last few days of our visit, I was allowed to go back outside again.  



The last day, we went to Cannes, and this time we ate in a fancy restaurant.  While we were there, I went to the bathroom, which wasn't just a bathroom.  It was very fancy and had a lounge area with antique couches, etc.  There were about three or four women in the lounge area, all agog.  I kept hearing "Bebe, Bebe est la" and sure enough, there she was, Brigitte Bardot.  She was  gorgeous.  And she was very nice.  She shook hands with everyone, even me.  

BB in what appears to be a Chris Craft

BB playing the guitar

Brigitte Bardot in 1958

I thought she was the most beautiful person I had seen in my life, and I haven't changed my mind all these years later.

We also went to Marseilles and Monte Carlo (see separate posts).  It was a wonderful summer trip.

Juan les Pins by Pablo Picasso

1958 William the Conqueror

One of the places Fifi and Jacques and I used to go was to an old ruined castle.  It was about 2 miles away and we would be gone all day.  Ruins really intrigued me, so I asked about it at school.  One of the girls told that it had been a lookout tower used by William the Conqueror, but I didn't really believe her.  She said we weren't supposed to go there, though, because it was dangerous.  When I asked my mother about it, she was appalled that we had gone there and told me not to tell my dad.

Partially restored

We explored everywhere and amazingly enough, never got more than cuts and bruises.  It would have been a longer ride home injured than the time Jacques fell out of the parachute tree.

Restoration

It wasn't until just now (April 23, 2017) that I decided to look it up and I was taken aback to find it.  Not only that, but it has been restored.  I can't believe it.

Restoration showing tower

"Former castle of the count of Evreux, of which the walls have been restored.  Medieval tower with viewpoint dominating the Seine Valley and pathway around walls with drawbridge.  Inside the walls, remnants of wood store and old chapel.  At the foot of the site, an old wash house has been completely restored."

William, Count of Evreux (died April 16, 1118) was a powerful member of the Norman aristocracy during the period following the Norman conquest of England.  He is one of the few documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.

To think I used to climb around on these ruins.  I wish it was still wild and overgrown the way it was then.