Annecy

Another beautiful day, but today slightly chillier since I’m in the Alps.  Roland and Christine dropped me off at the lake (Lake Annecy is the third largest lake in France) and I walked for almost an hour, ending up in the old part of town.  The little building in the middle of the canal is one of my favourite spots in the world.  I can’t explain why… I just find it really pretty.

Roland and Christine then picked me up in the car and we drove right to one end of the lake where we were able to see parapenters jumping off the mountains towering above.

Roland dropped Christine and I off and we continued back along the lake and through the old town.  France just keeps offering up these little gems where you turn the corner and see something more beautiful than the thing you have just seen and the old part of the village is certainly like that.

Grotte de Chauvet

We left Nîmes quite early this morning and set out for the Ardèche region.  The countryside was nothing short of spectacular, with the Ardèche river meandering though the limestone mountains.  The most breathtaking site was the Pont d’Arc, a natural bridge which spans the river.

In this area we visited the Grotte de Chauvet, or at least the replica of it.   It contains the earliest known and best preserved  cave paintings in the world, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life. Discovered on December 18, 1994, it is considered one of the most significant prehistoric art sites and has been granted it the World Heritage status.  The artwork in the caves predates Lascaux by about 15000 years.  The dates have been a matter of dispute but a study published in 2012 supports placing the art in the Aurignacian period, approximately 32000–30000 BP (before present).

After saying goodbye to Anne (until I see her in 2 weeks back in Vichy), I headed for Annecy where I am staying with our very dear friends, Roland and Christine.

Arles and the Camargue

Arles has always been on my bucket list and it didn’t disappoint. The town dates back to Roman times and the amphitheatre remains.  It is here that “bullfights” take place.  However they are different from the bullfights in Spain where the bull usually dies.  The most well known event is the Cocarde d’Or where ribbons are tied on the horns of the bull and young men run into the arena to try and get the ribbons.  Perhaps more spectacular than the arena though, was the Roman theatre.

Next, we went to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a lovely little seaside town that had a real Spanish feel.  Unfortunately, because it was Sunday and the weather was spectacular we had trouble finding a park, so we stopped for lunch and then headed straight for our next destination.  But lunch was amazing!  I had a goat cheese salad for entrée and then a bull steak in a mushroom sauce – YUM!!!

This area is famous for the Camargue, a swampland in the Rhône river delta. It is known for its white horses, bulls and birdlife (there are meant to be lots of flamingoes but we only saw four).  We did a nice little boat cruise on the Rhône, the highlight of which was seeing the “guardien” with is bulls and and his horses.  The foals are born dark coloured and don’t attain the white colour of their parents for 6 or 7 years.

Our final stop before arriving in Nîmes was Aigues-Mortes, a fortified village which was procured by Louis IX (St Louis) in 1240 as a base to send troops to the Crusades.  The streets were teeming with tourists, so I can only imagine what it would be like in the height of the tourist season in summer.

We did a little drive around Nîmes when we arrived but didn’t stop to take photos.  However, there is an amphitheatre which is even more impressive than the one in Arles.

The calanques of Cassis and Marseille

We began the day today by heading back to Cassis where we hopped on a little boat called the Tiki  to explore the Calanques.  These are little inlets with the bluest of blue water and limestone cliffs shooting skywards.  This stone was quarried by prisoners and used for such things as the pedestal of the statue of liberty.  On ledges, people were fishing and sunbathing and trees were growing out of the rocks.

We then came back to Marseille and did a bus tour of the city.  Marseille is the second biggest city in Paris and like most big cities anywhere in the world, it has areas that are ugly and in need of serious renovation.  It’s actually quite sad to see beautiful old buildings which are filthy dirty and with shutters that haven’t seen a lick of paint for a century.

But the area near the port was truly beautiful.  Our little bus ride took us to the spectacular basilica called Notre Dame de la Garde.  Something I have noted in France, not just on this visit, is that in order to be faithful in this country you have to be fit.  All the magnificent churches seem to be at the top of several flights of stairs.  In any case, it was worth the effort – the interior was absolutely beautiful.

On the tour we passed lots of notable buildings including the pool where French Olympic champions train.  One of the little islands just out of the port has the Château d’If, a former prison which was the setting of Alexandra Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Christo.”

Some of the things Marseille is famous for is the fish soup called Bouillabaisse, soap products and aniseed flavoured alcohol such as Pernod, Pastis and Ricard.  At lunch time Anne and I ordered a Pastis and I thought the waiter was going to choke when he saw me putting Coke in it. There was a local couple sitting near us and the lady asked what it was like.  Anne said, “Not bad.”  The man was hilarious – he said, “Ben, ce n’est pas mauvais, mais ce n’est pas bon non plus.” – It’s not bad, but it’s not good either… as if to say it simply is not the done thing.

Nice - Marseille

Another busy day today with us leaving Nice and heading for St Tropez. First of all we explored the port and had a coffee in a called Sénéquier, the oldest bar in St Tropez and a place celebrities frequent… well Anne had a coffee – I felt that 9 euros for a cappuccino was just a tad overpriced.  I just took advantage of the free wifi, haha.

Next we headed for the beach.  Unlike in Australia, some of the beaches in France are private, but we chose a little public beach.  Something that I found really bizarre is that despite the spectacular weather ( 27°), there was hardly anyone on the beach.  I know it was a Friday, but if this was on Australian beaches, it would be filled with people. Anne found this to be quite normal and explained that during the summer holidays in July and August it would be very busy.  I dipped my feet in the Mediterranean, but that's all because it was pretty chilly.

We then went to a little village called Ramatuelle where we ate a traditional cake of St Tropez -  une tarte Tropezienne.  It is kind of a brioche texture with thick, creamy custard in the middle.

Next stop, Cassis.  Another port town where we will take a boat ride from tomorrow.  Finally we headed for Marseille and Anne did very well to manage the traffic in France’s second largest town.

Rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous

Another spectacular day in the south of France. We started with breakfast in a town neighbouring Nice called Villefranche.

Then Anne and I headed for Monaco, the 1 mile square principality was mindblowingly opulent.  The Museum of Oceanography was an imposing building.  From here we started our little train tour which showed us the major points of the city.  At the port there were hundreds of luxurious yachts.  Anne said there were more than usual due to the fact that there was a yacht show on. We considered dropping in and putting a couple on order.  We particularly liked the ones with the helipads!  Our tour stopped at the royal palace. The flag flying signalled that Prince Albert II was in residence.

ROYAL PALACE

MUSÉE OCÉANOGRAPHIQUE

We enjoyed a lovely pizza lunch in a little café near the palace and then we headed for another village perched on top of a hill called Èze.  As in previous day's exploring the Provençal countryside, we climbed and descended little streets which oozed charm.

Our last stop was the “beach” in Nice.  We sat on the edge and looked out to the Mediterranean Sea.  It’s easy to see why this area is called the Côte d’Azur; the water looks almost artificially blue.

Avignon - Nice

After leaving Avignon this morning we headed towards Nice.  But there were lots of amazing towns and villages to see on the way.  All of the places we went today were perched on top of hills with spectacular views into the valleys.

First stop was Fayence where we stopped and had a walk around the town and had a look inside the church.

Next stop was Grasse which is famous for its essences and extracts used by the nez (noses) of perfumeries such as Geurlain and Yves Saint Laurent.  Even just walking around
Grasse you could smell perfume in the air.

Next we stopped at Goudron where we explored the little shops which sold lavender products, pottery, santons (small statues which are famous in Provence – they normally depict traditional figures as well as livestock), and pastis (the local alcoholic beverage which is aniseed flavoured – usually mixed with water).  From this town, we got our first glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea.

On the way to Tourrette-sur-Loup we stopped to see a waterfall called les Desmoiselles.  Then onto Tourrette-sur-Loup.  This village truly seemed like something out of a fairytale.  I could imagine Shrek popping his head out of one of the windows at any moment. Around every corner was another quaint ruette (little street).

Our final destination was Nice. As we arrived late, I haven’t seen anything here yet but driving along the esplanade I saw some of the ritzy hotels where the rich and famous would stay.