Day 1
Now that I'm back in my room and have a little time to kill, I will post some more pictures and tell you all a little more about this place.
So, this is it: This is Le Cap Furat. Now, a little history lesson. (Click to enlarge)
The cliffs in this cape have been inhabited since prehistoric times, because of its numerous caves that were the perfect habitat for prehistoric men and women (there is a painted cave that I have yet to visit). But the city wasn't properly established until the 13th Century, when this little rock was bought from the Counts of Provence by the Republic of Genoa as a stop in their Southern commercial routes, since storms are very common in Spring and Summer, and they needed a safe port near Genoa itself. They built a fortress and a port, and the city started to grow. To make the story short, it was finally acquired by France in 1805 after Napoleon annexed the so-called Ligurian Republic that had replaced the old Republic.
During the 19th and 20th Centuries, the cape became a holiday resort for the elite, and many villas and country estates were built for people ranging from kings (King Leopold II of Belgium) to well known mogul families as the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds or the Krupps.
Enough.
Anyway, this is where I'm staying, the little Hotel Belle Aurore, in that orange corner building near the Cathedral of Saint-Vincent. That open window on the second floor is my room!
I've been visiting a few museums today. I really wanted to visit the Rothschild Foundation Museum, a building designed by David Chipperfield, so that's where I've been this morning. It's is in the cape, you can locate it in the first picture. The views ware amazing, the art collection not so much.
Then, I went to have lunch in a restaurant at the seafront promenade in downtown Saint-Vincent. There I met an American guy. I was re-reading my brochure from the early museum visit and he asked if it was worth it. One thing led to another, and now I'm invited to a party!
So that's why I'm in my room now, I'm taking a shower and I'm dressing up for the occasion! The party is in a penthouse in the most luxurious hotel in the Cape. It was build in 1996, and it's a 40 story skyscraper called Palace Génois Hotel. I'll tell you about the party tomorrow!
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