Not much more than an excuse to post a few photos as the south of France enters one of its loveliest times of the year ...
Another trip up into the Mercantour, an Alpine haven from the Côte d'Azur north of Nice, followed by a leisurely drive back along the Corniche west from Cannes and then a day in Marseille ... things could be worse.
Saint Martin Vésubie is an attractive little town, with a fascinating history from the Italian and German occupations of the Second World War - part of which I have recounted here - and I was delighted to return so soon after a visit at the end of last summer.
This is La Bonne Auberge, the hotel favoured for out-of-town gatherings by Nice football club and where we stayed last September. Highly recommended ...
And this is the vew from the hills above the town ...
The fondue bourguignonne, in a small restaurant revisited during this shorter stay, should perhaps have been a fondue savoyarde (also available but I'm a bit of a carnivore). It was hardly gourmet fare, but went down well with little his-and-hers pichets of red and rosé.
The idea was to stop for a drink in Cannes but we always seem to arrive there when festivals are in full swing. Parking looked too much of a challenge. So we headed on we reached Saint Raphaël, pleasant enough without being as elegant as Cannes or offering that town's dramatic seascape.
The Le Lavandou seascape is also relatively simple, easy enough on the eye without making a shuddering impact. I like it best when it is - as it was when this photograph was taken - agitated ...
But as you rise above the town towards the Varois hills, the absence of seas views of any kind is more than compensated by the splendour of the early evening skies ...
And yesterday, we headed for Marseille to catch Joan Baez in concert. Cassis was the intended lunch stop but a police officer was waving cars away from the port and we would have ended up so far from the town that it would have taken all day to walk in.
The Vieux Port in France's second city is not for everyone. I love it, just as I am very fond of the city itself, warts and all. But if you want to know more about that, or indeed about the concert itself, you will have to go along to Salut! Live.
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