Retirement Odyssey
Pleasant drive on the A8 from Salon de Provence to Vallauris, our first stop on the Cote d'Azur. We passed some impressive mountain ranges on our drive west to east, many of them bare rock on top.
The strong winds of the Luberon and Provence have followed us here to Vallauris where there has been a steady wind at 20+ MPH with gusts over 30MPH we guesstimate. Our B&B hosts tell us this is unusual weather for this area.
Our B&B, Mas Scalamandre, sits high above the harbor of Antibes with great views from the patio to Nice and Monaco on the bright blue Mediterranean, and the majestic Maritime Alps inland and beyond. Looking forward to breakfast on the patio each morning of our 4 night stay. Our room is quite big with A/C and good lighting and internet connections!
Had our first authentic pain bagnat sandwich since 1972 for lunch then took a short walk through the Vieille Ville portion of Vallauris. Reminded us a lot of the upper portions of Lisbon. Picasso lived here for 14 years after WWII, so there is a small Picasso museum in town. The town of Vallauris is a major center for pottery, and this is where Picasso developed his interest in that medium, creating 1000+ objects over a few short years.
Had a nice dinner at Llorca, a bistro style restaurant run by a chef who has a Michelin starred restaurant in St Paul de Vence, further north in the Maritime Alps.
Walked - 3.6 miles
Drove - 207 km
Blowing Onto the Cote d'Azur
September 14, 2017
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Vallauris, France
Pleasant drive on the A8 from Salon de Provence to Vallauris, our first stop on the Cote d'Azur. We passed some impressive mountain ranges on our drive west to east, many of them bare rock on top.
The strong winds of the Luberon and Provence have followed us here to Vallauris where there has been a steady wind at 20+ MPH with gusts over 30MPH we guesstimate. Our B&B hosts tell us this is unusual weather for this area.
Our B&B, Mas Scalamandre, sits high above the harbor of Antibes with great views from the patio to Nice and Monaco on the bright blue Mediterranean, and the majestic Maritime Alps inland and beyond. Looking forward to breakfast on the patio each morning of our 4 night stay. Our room is quite big with A/C and good lighting and internet connections!
Had our first authentic pain bagnat sandwich since 1972 for lunch then took a short walk through the Vieille Ville portion of Vallauris. Reminded us a lot of the upper portions of Lisbon. Picasso lived here for 14 years after WWII, so there is a small Picasso museum in town. The town of Vallauris is a major center for pottery, and this is where Picasso developed his interest in that medium, creating 1000+ objects over a few short years.
Had a nice dinner at Llorca, a bistro style restaurant run by a chef who has a Michelin starred restaurant in St Paul de Vence, further north in the Maritime Alps.
Walked - 3.6 miles
Drove - 207 km
1.
Preparation
2.
Our Journey Begins
3.
Arrival in Normandy
4.
Recalling the life of Jean d'Arc
5.
Farewell Rouen, welcome sunshine
6.
La Route des Ancienne Abbayes
7.
La Jour de Lessive
8.
Continuing west in Normandy
9.
En vacances
10.
Lazy Sunday; Dimanche en France
11.
Brittany, Bretagne, Briezh
12.
The Coast Beckons
13.
Down To the River
14.
Our First Excursion
15.
Another Excursion
16.
Westward Ho!
17.
Touring North Brittany
18.
Channel to Mountains to Atlantic
19.
Hello Birthday Girl
20.
A Change in the Air In Quimper (Kemper)
21.
On We Go!!
22.
Daytripping
23.
"Breaking News"
24.
Medieval festival
25.
Apocalypse Tapestry
26.
"Sunday" on a Tuesday
27.
Visite Guidee avec Sylvie
28.
A Visit To St Etienne
29.
Gloomy Day
30.
A Change in Roofs; Saturday Traffic
31.
Volcano Day .... Up and Away
32.
French Hill Towns of the Massif Central
33.
Je Viens a Vienne
34.
The Grandeur of Roman Vienne
35.
Vienne- continued
36.
2000+ years ago in Roman Vienne
37.
Approaching Provence
38.
The Heat Is On
39.
Vaucluse and Ventoux
40.
Baking with the Romans
41.
Cote de Rhone loop drive
42.
The Red Rocks of Roussillon
43.
Inclement Weather in the East Luberon
44.
Bright Sun in the Western Luberon
45.
Mini-Mistral; Venice of Provence
46.
A Day In the "New" Avignon
47.
An Audience With the Pope
48.
Over the Mountain to Arles
49.
Around and About Arles
50.
Ancient Arle; Coupes des Cheveux
51.
Water to Nime, Birthplace of Bluejeans
52.
Cool and Damp in the City of Denim
53.
Nime's 1st Water Source
54.
Sleeping Like a Monk
55.
Day Trip to Aix en Provence
56.
One Last Trip to the Luberon
57.
Blowing Onto the Cote d'Azur
58.
Cloudy Day on the Cote d'Azur?!?!
59.
Surf and Sun in Golfe-Juan
60.
Souffle Encore
61.
Leaving the Coast; Inland Cote d'Azur
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