Today, we headed over to Beaulieu to visit Villa Kérylos and Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.
Our first tour was of Kérylos, a beautiful Greek Revival estate on the edge of the water. The mosaic floors of the home-turned-museum differed from room to room and the wooden ceilings had ornate designs painted on them. It was a very accurate representation of an ancient Greek home.
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| Mosaic floors |
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| Living room |
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| Terrace behind the Kérylos |
We had lunch afterward at a nearby restaurant.
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| Vegetarian pizza! |
Our second tour was of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. It was incredible. Built during the Belle Epoque, it was very extravagant. Constructed by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild who had a taste for Louis XVI style, the rooms were filled with ornate tapestries, furniture, and carpets (many of which belonged to Marie Antoinette or were once in the Palace of Versailles). She also inherited a love for porcelain from her father so there were tens of sets of various porcelain and china collections.
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| Outside/inside of the Villa |
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| The Baroness's bedroom |
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| Mini chairs for the Baroness's pet mongoose and dog... |
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| Part of the porcelain collection |
Not only was the house itself fabulous, but the NINE gardens were too. Each of them a different theme: Florentine, Spanish, Garden à la française, exotic, a stone garden, a Japanese garden, a rose garden, Provençal and a garden de Sèvres. They were designed in the shape of a ship (to be viewed from the upstairs terrace of the house, which was like the bridge of a vessel) with the sea visible on all sides.
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