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We drove down from Nice to Frejus last week and rented a small runabout to cruise westward towards Cannes, while visiting the incredible L’Esteral coastline along the way. This massive volcanic red rock mountain-line juts out of the coastline between Frejust and Cannes, creating numerous small coves to explore by boat. L’Esteral is a national park, well protected with numerous hiking trails on land.
Continue reading “Cruising the Esterel Coastline”
I’ve covered many biking and boarding opps along the coast of Cote d’Azur that are most worth going to and reachable from Nice. But there’s a lot more happening up in the hills behind Nice, but to get to them I need transportation. This past weekend a friend lent me her car, and as Flo was out of town, I could use the bike rack and put the paddle board in the back of the car and head out and do some exploring.
Continue reading “Biking & Boarding on the Cote d’Azur”
This is the third day of a long weekend of biking and boarding along the Cote d’Azur. The other day activities are mentioned here. I knew at the beginning of this trip that I was perhaps taking on more than I could manage, but rationalized it by saying I’d start low and slow and work my way up, I knew that if it became too much of a climb, I could just turn around and glide back to where I started.
Continue reading “Bike Trip to Valberg”
Since we’ve been back I’ve been getting in a lot of biking while waiting for the ocean to warm up. The weather has been exceptionally cold in the evenings in Nice, so the ocean is especially cold for this time of the year. Even biking early in the morning it can be a little chilly so I’ve been going out with a sweater overtop of my biking outfit.
Continue reading “Bike Ride to the Grande Corniche Park”
After an amazing winter season in Mexico, (one of the best weather seasons we can remember), we are back in the south of France and quickly acquainting ourselves with the venues and activities we most enjoy here. For me it means getting back into biking, with trips to places like La Turbie, Roquebrune (which I’ve previously written about so won’t mention anymore about them), the Monte Carlo golf club up and above Monaco, and a new trip to La Revere.
Continue reading “Back to the Cote d’Azur…”
I’ve been enjoying getting out by bike and exploring some of the small villages up behind Nice. Last week was west to Cagnes sur Mer, and over the weekend I went north up to Peille.
Continue reading “Bike Ride to Peille”
In mid’ June we decided to drive north to the small town of Barcelonette, situated high in the French Alps, about a three-hour drive from Nice. Our decision was based primarily on the strong relationship this town, or region, has had with Mexico since the early 19th century. Many people from here immigrated to Mexico; there’s not a family that did not have someone who went, and those that did, many did extremely well, returning years later very affluent and building elaborate mansions on the outskirts of town.
Continue reading “Journey to Barcelonette”
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.
Continue reading “Long Weekend in Provence”
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.
Continue reading “Avignon Again…”
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.
Continue reading “Cote d’Azur Hike: Tete de Chien”