Cote D'Azur

15.06
Out early as planned and a short drive to Grasse where we found a Big Macs and spent 3 hours on the internet.  Continued onto Valbonne and our French friends Arlette and Jean-Michel who we met in 1976, a long time between drinks! They now have a golden retriever named Enzo.

 Valbonne must be one of the best places to live in the world.  It’s only 7kms from Antibes and the Med but is snuggled into the mountains.  It has a lovely, well touristed village with both old and new parts. The cafes and restaurants are based around a square and have a nice relaxed feel about them.  In winter it’s possible to lay in the sun and be skiing 45 minutes later.  Consequently it’s incredibly expensive here with the house prices averaging over 1.5 million euros, second only to the prices in Paris.  Some of the places have to be seen to be believed.  The shop prices also reflect the money that is around these parts.

Jean-Michel and Arlette have a beautiful home with a pool (needed as the temperature is close to 40 now)  and wonderful views of the mountains that get covered in snow come winter.
We are getting some sun and catching up.

 16.06

We all took Enzo for his morning walk in the forest close to his home.  He has been walking here since he was a pup and knows every inch.  He heads off looking for pheasant and loves swimming in the river that runs through it.  Relaxed by the pool, had a cruisey day, and wandered through the village in the evening.

17.06

Jean-Michel and Arlette left to visit friends so we are in charge of Enzo for the day.
Another day around the pool!!  Life is tough!!!  Not a cloud in the sky and very hot!

18.06

Had an awesome day out on the beautiful clear blue Med in Jean- Michel and Arlette’s speed boat moored near Antibes.  They took us to the pretty islands of Ile St-Honorat and Ile Ste-Marguerite which make up the Iles De Lerins about 20 minutes away.  We explored the Abby and small chapels on the Isle St-Honorat which has been a monastery since the 5^th Century, then had a picnic under the pines overlooking the Med.  We headed to the Ile Ste-Margerite for a swim, then passed Fort Ste-Marguerite, (where legend has it King Louis 14^th imprisoned his brother in a mask in the 17^th Century – ‘the Man in the Iron Mask’), towards the coast and a spectacular panoramic view of Cannes and Antibes with Nice in the distance.

We passed an amazing RBB (Rich Bastards Boat) ‘Le Grand Bleu’ superyacht and couldn’t decide whether to take the onboard 10 metre yacht or the 10 metre speed boat out for the day!  Did we mention the helicopter?, decisons, decisions! 



Swims in a pretty rocky cove below the many multimillionaires homes including one belonging to the Russian Abramovitch who owns Chelsea Football Club.  Not one of them asked us for tea!!!

Passed the famous ‘Cap d’Antibes’ Hotel (the most exclusive hotel in the world).  They didn’t ask us in either!!

In the evening we had ‘aperitifs’ at Jean Michel and Arlette’s friends, Susie and Norman – a great evening!



19.06        

Jean-Michel took us on a ‘tiki tour’ around the environs of Valbonne.  We went to Sophia which has the largest technological  business park in Europe. The ‘Amadeus’ site alone has 3,000 employees.  On to the 16^th Century hillside village of Biot, famous for glass blowing and producing bubbled glass.  We saw ‘glass blowers’ in action.  Back home via the coast and Villeneuve-Loubet with it’s huge marina and surrounding ‘pyramid’ like apartment blocks.

In the coolness of the late afternoon we walked the cobblestone paths of the ancient medieval hilltop villages of Tourettes sur Loup known for it’s perfume made from violets and St-Paul de Vence known for it’s art.  We saw the ‘Thumb’ sculpured by Marc Chagall.    
 20.06


Quiet day spent around the house and pool, took the dogs for a walk and the highlight of the day was the arrival of Jean-Michel and Arlette’s daughter Virginie and her partner also called Virginie.  Virginie was only 4 months old when we first met her and she has grown into a beautiful, intelligent woman who can speak English fluently. Two bottles of champagne were opened in celebration and we had fabulous night. 


21.06

Arlette’s birthday today so Jean-Michel took us to the local patisserie to buy a cake.
What a magnificent range to choose from, they are made freshly each day. We decided on a cake covered in fruit and it was delicious!

As always it will be hard to leave tomorrow as we have been looked after so beautifully by Arlette and Jean Michel.  We have eaten numerous French dishes prepared by Arlette who is a wonderful cook and had incredible hospitality shown by them both.  Our French has improved heaps with their tuition and we’ve had an incredible week.

 22.06

Time to move on today and we headed for the coast (only 7k away!)  Jean-Michel has found us a terrific camp only 1k from the beach, close to Antibes. The camp is called Camping L’Eden, it’s quiet and we have a nice site.  It’s close to Marineland and a huge fairground.  We can base ouselves here for the trips to Nice, Cannes, Antibes and Monaco.

 We set up camp and cycled into Antibes to find a bike shop, as Col had a slow leak in his tyre (the one he mended!!)  Antibes is the second biggest marina in Europe and many super yachts are moored here.  The ‘vieil’ Antibes is a small,  pleasant mix of food shops, boutiques and restaurants with a great vibe.  We strolled through the small alleyways and along the sea walls to Juan-les–Pins with fantastic views of the Cote d’Azur and were stunned by the size and opulence of the many super yachts. As normal we were late home and had a quick salad at 11pm.

23.06

 Off to Nice today for lunch with Richard and Carole Long.

Had an incredible 17k bike ride sharing the seaside bikepath with walkers, runners, cyclists, and skaters of all ages, shapes and sizes. Passed through Villeneuve-Loubet, Cagnes-sur Mer, Saint-Laurent-du-Var and the Nice airport.  The pebbled beachs along side the cycleway were full the entire trip with cars, campervans, swimmers and fishermen.

It is exhilarating being a part of it all!


Arrived at Nice and rode to the end of the palm lined ‘Promenade des Anglais’ for a swim.  There is a major Ironman competition tomorrow and there are film crews and event organisers everywhere.


The beach is packed with sun bathers (they don’t seem to know about skin cancer here!)
Bodies everywhere with not much clothing!

 Met Richard and Carole in their apartment in ‘Old Nice’ for a super lunch and catch up.
They have a neat fifth floor apartment (76 stairs) in an alley -  way in the heart of the old town.

We strolled the back streets and markets of the old town, checked out the Ironman tents and stalls and had a quick look at the modern squares and cafes.

Sat for a beer and ‘people watched’ then back for dinner.  Having such fun we forgot the time and had to start our return journey after sunset.  A fantastic ride, arriving home in the dark at 10.15 (no lights on the bikes) so walked the last part.

Yet another incredible day!

 
With many of his friends in Europe at this time we believe Chas must be looking a bit like this!!!