In our meanderings, we came across a church in Cap Ferrat, France. We had to stop after having glimpsed this enormous statue next to it in the distance while driving up a windy road. It's just incredible! Next to the stature is my son, who is staring up at it. You can see the height by using him as a comparison!


As all art European, the detail is just stunning but it was the sheer size of it that left us in awe!
The statue is of the Madonna and Child and is located inside of St. Hospice. We stepped inside the church next to it to see if we could learn about this super-sized icon and heard several voices chanting in unison. Not wanting to intrude, (actually it was more like the chant reminded us vaguely of a horror film where things escalate very quickly when there's chanting involved...) so we quickly left.


We'd originally come to visit Eze, a small medieval town that is now home to many artisans. Being December however, most of the artisans were gone, closed down for the season.
Sigh..


But we weren't disappointed because we discovered something we'd never expected or even guessed we'd find in France; a large garden, a garden dedicated only to cactus!
This garden houses some of the rarest cacti on earth. It was such a treat to explore! Little pathways circle up and up until you finally reach the top where you can look down at not only all the cactus plants, but the entire sea view and local areas. (On a clear day, you can see all the way to Nice!)

All in all it was a nice little day trip, and thanks to the season very quiet, no crowds to fight.

It costs €3.00 to get into the cactus museum, which is worth it just for the majestic photos you'll take.

Eze is just outside of Monaco. Above it actually, very easy to find on your map

The statue is located on Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. Here are the directions from the Wiki, as we stumbled upon the lovely lady and her child by accident!

On Cap Ferrat, just behind the town, go right up the lane from La Madone. At the end, turn right and follow the road up to the chapel.
Here's the link for the Wiki on Cap Ferrat.