Bordighera, Italy. August 15, 2016
On the foot steps of Claude Monet, we set camp in Bordighera on the Italian Riviera for a couple weeks. We rented a small Airbnb house in this strategic location, very close to Gigia and Claudio who live in Bordighera and not far from Catherine and François who vacation on the French Riviera in Roquebrune-Cap Martin on the other side of the border. A perfect spot to enjoy our good friends and from which we could launch several great expeditions.
Book cover - Birthday gift from Gigia and Claudio Marchiori.
First dinner in Eze, France invited with Catherine and Francois by their friends at "Chateau Isa". A fun evening with stunning views over Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and great company.
We live on Via Romana, our little house is on the side of the Belvedere Hanbury Residences and we enjoy a charming garden with our own pizza oven.
Pierre cooks his favorite risotto (Milanese) under the close supervision of Gigia, the Italian expert. The pressure is on....
Intense sunlight, lush vegetation and exotic plants were the main focus of Monet's paintings during his stay in Bordighera in the winter of 1884. We took a very interesting tour with Gigia and Claudio walking through Bordighera following Monet and witnessing in real life some of his famous paintings. Ending the tour by the house where the artist lived at the time, unfortunately falling a bit apart nowadays.
Numerous jogging "Running Riviera Style" with Claudio and François.
And many great afternoons on the Cap Martin beach with the Pages family.
We celebrated Pierre's Birthday at home around a delicious ossobuco prepared by Catherine and other Italian delicacies brought by Gigia. It was a fun evening!
A few kilometers West of the town of Ventimiglia, right before the border with France, we visited the Giardini Botanici Hanbury . These major botanical gardens, operated by the University of Genoa, cover the entirety of the Cap Mortola peninsula.
Sir Thomas Hanbury purchase the Palazzo Orengo in 1867. Over decades he created the gardens with the help of his brother, a botanist and landscape designer and several scientists.
In 1912 the catalogue of the garden contained 5,800 species. Major collections include agaves, aloes, and salvia, as well as fine old specimens of Araucaria cunninghamii , Casimiroa edulis, olive trees, Olmediella betschleriana, and Pinus canariensis. An orchard of rare fruits include Actinidia, Carica, Diospyros, Eugenia, Feijoa, Fortunella, Macadamia, Mespilus germanica, and Persea.
Hanbury's daughter-in-Law, Lady Dorothy Hanbury, sold the property to the Italian State in 1960 who passed it under the responsibility of the University of Genoa in 1983.
The Villa Garnier overlooking Bordighera's harbor was designed and built 1872 by Charles Garnier, the famous French architect who built the Palais Garnier (Paris Opera) and the Monaco Casino, who had moved with his wife, Louise Bary, to Menton and Bordighera during the war with Prussia.
Today the Villa Garnier is part of a network of Monasteries used as lodging for pilgrims and is operated by a congregation of nuns and a talented gardener whom maintains a lush garden with beautiful views over the Mediteranean.
Rumor has it that Charles Garnier and Claude Monet who were neighbors in Bordighera and actually close friends had a fallout. Subsequently, Monet removed from his paintings all the buildings designed by Garnier. Apparently, talent is not immune to human imperfections!
Excellent dinner with the Pages at l'Hôtellerie Jérôme in La Turbie overlooking Monaco.
Farewell dinner at the Marchiori's with delicious pasta and the cake, mama mia!
Unfortunately, it is time to leave. Our stay in Bordighera was wonderful thanks to our good friends. We will be back!
