Europe – Page 6 – Travels of John and Flo

May 9, 2016October 19, 2020

Long Weekend in Provence

This past weekend we happened to have two sets of friends spending time near or in St. Tropez, so we jumped in the car and headed west to Provence for a few days. We followed the A8 west, exiting at Frejus so we could follow the coastal road into St. Tropez. It is lined with small-town beachside resorts and communities with beach clubs, beaches, marinas and seaside restaurants that cater primarily to the seasonal crowd. Fortunately we were a little early in the season so traffic was not that bad, but it must be hell during the summers.

April 28, 2016October 19, 2020

Lunch at Dolceacqua, Italy

A few kilometers inland from the coastal Italian town of Ventimiglia, (which is just minutes from the French border and Monaco), along the river banks of the Nervia river, lies the small town of Dolceacqua. The town has become a popular tourist site because of its ancient medieval town, its lovely stone bridge and for the Doria castle which sits on the hillside behind the town. But it’s also famous for its “michetta” sweet rolls which are connected to a local legend of romance and revenge. It’s a favorite place for us to have lunch after when we visit the markets in Ventimiglia.

April 18, 2016October 18, 2020

Avignon Again…

We drove down to Avignon to meet up with some friends from my hometown who are doing a barge/bike trip from Avignon to the coast following the Rhone. We drove down Saturday morning from Nice and were back Sunday evening.

April 18, 2016October 19, 2020

Cote d’Azur Hike: Tete de Chien

This hike starts off in Cap d’Ail and heads straight up the hill and mountainside to the “Tete de Chien”, the massive rock that sits above and behind Monaco and Cap d’Ail. Easy to get to with the #100 bus. This is one, though, that I recommend using your smart phone with Maps as the path can be difficult to find at times, and they do show well on both Google and Apple Maps.

April 13, 2016October 19, 2020

Hike to Saint-Michel Plateau

This hikes begins in the town of Beaulieu, which is just east of Nice, past Villefranche and in front of Cap Ferrat. Beaulieu is one of our favorites coastal towns along Cote d’Azur, lacking the tourists of Nice and Villefranche, sort of a more sophisticated sister-ville, that is still close enough to make it into Nice within a few minutes.

April 11, 2016October 18, 2020

Hike to Mont Bastide

This is one of the most accessible and flexible hikes around Nice. It allows for a short hike to a great viewpoint, or a more sportive three-hour hike, and a few hikes in between. Mont Bastide is the mountain that is just before Eze. When you pass over the bridge to Eze, your back is to Mont Bastide; the bridge joins Mont Bastide to Eze. Here’s the hikes that are possible to Mont Bastide.

October 20, 2015October 19, 2020

Getting to know Portugal, Part III

Our original plan was to spend a week exploring the south of Portugal, especially the Algarve region, but after so many days on the road, and pressing matters in Lisbon, we decided to just go south halfway for a couple of days, to a hotel we already had booked and would lose otherwise.

We went along the coastline from Setubal, following the coast as much as we could. The coast, for the most part, is very much made up of sand dunes, brush, beaches and rock cliffs, and it is all quite remote. We passed through Porto Covo which looked nice and seems that it would be pretty popular for surfing in the summer. But it was all pretty dead in mid’ October.

July 13, 2015October 18, 2020

Summer visit to Portugal

Last weekend we decided to take a trip over to see Lisbon. Flights were very cheap from Nice and we’ve been wanting to visit for some time. We stayed in a very nice boutique hotel in central Lisbon called Lis Baixa (ask for room 305 or 405 as they are much larger). Good price, nice breakfast included and the people are super friendly.

July 2, 2015October 18, 2020

Roundabout Drive from Nice to Paris

This was a rather roundabout way to get to Paris, as it took us through Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg, but it made for a great trip. We took the coastal freeway to Savon and from there, turned up to Turin, until we reached our first night’s stay just north and outside of Turin in the the Canavese Valley. There are numerous small towns in the area, situated in the foothills of the Alps. We stayed at a small B&B just outside of the town of Strambinello, called the Castello (Castle) di Strambinello. It would be just outside, west of Ivrea, off the freeway that travels from Turin to Aosta.

June 4, 2015October 19, 2020

Visit to Dolceacqua, Italy

Italy is not far from Nice, France, about a 1/2 hour by car or train, although it depends on which highway you take. It is definitely more scenic to take the lower coastal roads, but traffic can back-up quickly on these windy, narrow, steep roads. But there is a freeway which can get you into Italy quite quickly.