On Monday we made sure that we set our alarms and didn't let ourselves sleep in. We had a full day of adventuring up the coast and we had to make sure we had time for all of it. Our first adventure of the day was the Nietzsche Path up to Eze. Every travel tidbit I had read said that if you want stunning views of the coast this is the way to do it. Most of them recommended that down was probably all you needed to do, but I thought my kids would enjoy the walk up too. I had no idea how far it was. I had no idea how steep it was. I only knew that it was supposed to take about an hour to reach the village of Eze up top. Imagine my surprise when the "path" I thought we would be walking up was actually a full-blown hiking trail. It was steep and rocky, and definitely too much for Daxton to handle unassisted. My other kids were actually loving it, which is what I expected. It was warm but we had expected that and packed plenty of water. The kids found walking sticks and up we went.
Even though they were little rockstars it was still huge relief to come around a point and see our destination up top.
The village itself was just as picturesque as it claimed to be. We were greeted by a little spice vendor and I wish that I had bought something, just because it looked so colorful and yummy.
Inside the village the streets were just wide enough for two people to pass side by side. It was a hillside village so the streets were pretty steep and wound through the village in unexpected ways. I felt like I saw something beautiful at every turn.
We had promised the kids some gelato once we made it to the top, so we made that our first priority in the village. It took us a couple of meandering turns, but we eventually found a shop that had the perfect scoop for each one of us.
After the kids were refreshed we explored the village some more. We found the chapel up top. I noticed that most of these hillside villages had very similar chapels perched in the center of the city.
We also found the Eze cemetery. It was one of the more unique cemeteries I've ever been to and I just enjoyed the peaceful walk through it. My kids were shockingly and amazing quiet too as they walked.
We knew it was about time for us to head back down the mountain but I thought that a potty break would be really good idea before we hit the trail. We found the public toilets back near the chapel. There were a couple of signs that said we had to pay (not unusual for Europe) but a couple signs that said it was libre (free). I decided not to take my chances because I didn't have the right coins, and grabbed the door before it closed once someone was done with it. Kelton went in first with McKenzie in the stall next to him. I couldn't tell what was going on, I just heard squealing and commotion and confusion. Kelton came out with water dripping from his face. What on earth? Cambrie and I went in next. I didn't notice anything unusual except that the floor was wet. Meanwhile I could hear Cambrie next door squealing. Jeremy took Daxton in, but Dax did not want to go in willingly. You could tell that he was not okay with the noises he was hearing. Somehow Jeremy got Daxton to go potty even with the screaming but he brought him out of the stall still half naked and screaming. I caught a glimpse behind him of the toilet being retracted into the wall and suddenly everything started making sense. In between each patron the bathroom would go through a cleaning cycle where it would completely spray down the floor and toilet. The kids all happened to be in the stall during the cleaning cycles. Poor Cambrie and McKenzie were still sitting on the toilet when it started being sucked into the wall and they were pushed off! It was the most dramatic, hysterical, and memorable bathroom trip we have ever had. I don't think Daxton is going to be quite the same after this.
Now fresh and clean we made our way back down the path. Going down was definitely faster but not necessarily easier. Daxton kept face planting and my quads were killing me. The views were simply stunning though just as promised.
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