La Cremaillere Hotel & Restaurant Greoux les Bains

... Danni! But at more than half the price of the train, we weren’t complaining...and we definitely weren’t when we got a look at Wilko’s thighs! So we arrived early to give us a chance to look around Toulon. We headed straight for the port for breakfast; croissants, bread, butter, jam, orange juice and hot chocolate, and then had a scout around the market before deciding to go out on one of the tourist boats (to make a change from the little trains ...

... campervans. One of which had the biggest dog we have every seen. It was a Newfoundland, which looked a little like a small bear but was as tame as a kitten. As the sun was about to set we took some photos and then had a wander through the village - everything was closed - end of season.

... English in the entire town. We found our hostel super late at night (and they don't make hostels in France like they did in Spain... no more free internet!). The next morning, we walked into town not really knowing what to see or do. But as we were looking for a quick Petit Dejuner (breakfast) we stumbled upon the Saturday market. We sat at a cafe on the square and had the most amazing breakfast 5 euro can buy if you ...

... Enjoyed the film (but enjoyed the post-cinema demi-fraise - beer with strawberry syrup - more) and was proud at how well I managed to follow the French, without much concentration! A sign of improvement I hope!

This weekend in particular has been fantastique! As everyone else's parents have come to visit, Amy and I spent our Saturday shopping, eating and generally having a good time without alcohol. As usual, I got very excited about a sweet shop and between us we ...

Bonjour avec Aix-en-Provence Cherie
Since the last news we have visited the Cote D'Azur spending time at Monte Carlo and Antibes. We stayed near Antibes at a place called Biot and at night you could hear the seals at nearby Marineland - very strange. It was still quite hot and stickey with more mozzies. Monte Carlo was wall to wall money with billions of dollars in boats and cars. Antibes was similar but it had a lovely old town as well.
We arrived ...

... will probably get tossed with pasta one night. So far the highlight of this morning’s shopping trip was some amazing local grapes that are like little flavor bombs of violet juice in the mouth. We've never had anything like them.

When we got back and unpacked I realized that the basil sauce got left on the pasta counter. Grrrrr. The proprietress was distracted and I was juggling bags, camera and money and we both missed it. So back we went before heading ...

... devoted to beauty products! There's even something slightly different about their post offices (apart from the obvious of them having yellow signs, and not red), which are big, spacious and very regulated in the way they are run, with machines for buying stamps instead of going up to the counter. They don't seem to play the same part in society as our little post offices, Postman Pat could never migrate here (plus, poor Jess, the French cats look pretty mean ...

... Perhaps Glenn's understanding is a bit basic, but it sure was great. We decided to continue with our drive as planned and hoped that we would find a nice place to have our picnic along the way. Well we definitely found it, just outside the town of Montbrun-les-Bains, right next to a lavender field and a running stream with a close up view of Mont Ventoux poking up behind the village. This was the Provence experience you read about, that you think you would be ...

Since my last entry, I... 1. Started drinking coffee (gasp!). I drink it as an after-dinner boost, which helps keep me awake after a glass or two of wine and an occasional food coma, which I am embarrassed to say I've endured a couple of times since I've been here. 2. Saw a French film for 2€. It was called L'Homme de Sa Vie and it was very pretty. Much of the dialogue was lost on me, but I think I understood the general themes. Plus ...

Evening drinks overlooking Monaco Harbour, lunch in Italy and the afternoon swimming in the mediterranean on the Cote D'Azur. What should we do tomorrow? How about shopping in Paris? We crammed a ridiculous amount of activities and places into one trip, but boy was it worth it. I can't BELEIVE how much there was to do in this tiny section of France - still got the rest of Europe to go yet! Help! I don't think I could keep the pace up ...