Eze Village

Eze Village

The village of Eze, or Eze Village, as it's known, in order to distinguish it from its neighbor Eze-sur-Mer (Eze by the sea), sits perched atop it's eagle's nest location at a stunning 1,401 ft above sea level.  Inhabitants of the area date back to 2000 BC, though the fortified village en haut was apparently constructed by members of the House of Savoy (a ruling family from Italy) in the 1300's. 

Today Eze Village is a quaint tourist stop for those vacationing along the French Riviera.  It's old stone houses have mostly been transformed, like those of other hill top villages, into shops, galleries, and restaurants.  Interestingly, however, some of the former residences of Eze Village have been co-opted by two hotels.  Thus, if you feel like staying in this eagle's nest village, you can rent rooms in what used to actually be private homes datingback to the 14^th century.  In this manner, the hotels actually own perhaps a third to one half of all the structures in the village. It's an interesting sort of arrangement because you have to walk along the old streets to get the front door of "your room." 

There also exists a walking path that connects Eze-sur-Mer with Eze Village.  It was apparently favored by the philosopher Nietzsche in the 1800's for his daily walk.  This area in the South of France, however, gets very hot during the summer, and there are parts of the trail with little shade: I for one would not walk it in midday in summer.  However, Nietzsche supposedly loved doing so, and it was during this time that he wrote his third work, Ainsi Parlait Zarathoustra.  They say it was actually heat-induced hallucinations that inspired his thinking in this important piece of work for him.  I, myself, walked his path, but only in the downhill direction.  I waited for divine inspiration to strike me too, perhaps a few thoughts on how to solve world peace….I may in fact have had some revelations, but if so, I think I forgot them after leaving the trail!  Regardless, the trail offers spectacular views on the way down, as shown below.

This is Eze Village as seen from afar.

In order to get the best views from atop the town, you have to pay 6 euros to enter the "Jardin Exotique," which houses a collection of cacti from all over the world.  I'm not sure what the connection is, but it's well worth it for the stunning views. 

A view of Eze-sur-Mer down below.

I can't help thinking I would have been friends with her,
had we been alive at the same time! ;)

Some paintings in the ancient Cathedral of the town.  I've found that many of the old religious paintings actually feature some pretty disturbing images, as that seen below.
One wonders what induced this poor soul's fate.

Views from Nietzsche's path.