Last days in Antibes and surrounds
Trip Start
Aug 26, 2008
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24
25
Trip End
Oct 16, 2008
Antibes, France
Friday, October 10, 2008
Sunday we set off on a driving adventure into the hills around us. First to Grasse, the home of perfume. The climate at Grasse is, is apparently perfect for growing heavily scented flowers. The town has been the home of Frances perfume industry (and therefore the world) for over 200 years. The town is also a crossroads to the hinterland, and situated high on a hill, with magnificent views down towards the coast. Beautifully laid out, unless you are driving, the town twists and turns its way up the hill, and was a lovely place to start our day
Marche Provencale Antibes
.After Grasse we headed for Gourdon, on up the hills until we spied the town ahead of us in an "eagles nest" like location (very similar to Guadalest in Spain). It was a fascinating drive up with huge drops from the road edge to the valleys below and above us, instead of eagles were a mass of Paragliders soaring on the local thermals. Quite spectacular. Found parking below the town and walked up to enjoy what Queen Victoria once enjoyed (though damned if we know how they got her up there). She apparently dabbled in watercolours and painted one of her pictures from the square on the edge of the town. Very touristy now, but you can see why. It is in a fantastic location which since ancient times has been a place of refuge and defence. A perfect example of a feudal village.
Onward towards Vence was the town of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, perched on a rocky outcrop (they nearly all seem to be) half way between mountains and sea. It was market day, and despite our best intentions of stopping off to see what was on offer, there was no parking to be had. The town was packed. The home of violets. Finally Vence, which is perched on an inland rock and has views out to the sea. Parking again was a real issue in this medieval town made famous by the stars who regularly visit. The main areas of interest apart from the towns natural beauty and layout, were that it was originally an Episcopal town, so many churches
Streets of Antibes
. We drove on through slowly enjoying what we could see, all the while looking for somewhere to have a very late picnic. Nothing, so headed back for home. The whole day had been a giant loop drive. In between Nice and Antibes discovered a lovely rural park, so a picnic was possible. A long day for the driver!!!Monday and we caught the train to Cannes. Only a ¼ of an hour up the coast by train. This time to familiarise ourselves we took the tourist "train" around the city and got the recorded potted history of the town and the film connections for which the town is famous. The main convention centre right in middle was being set up for yet another major international exhibition, so we could not see all we wanted to of the walk of the stars hand prints and foot prints, however we saw some of it. The rest of the area was a temporary building site. The towns palm treed frontage is magnificent and the main shopping street, dedicated to serving the rich and famous, is a sight to behold. No one in any of the shops that we could see. How do they survive, all these brand boutiques? Again the weather blessed us and we relaxed with our baguettes on the sea wall and enjoyed watching the poseurs (plenty of them) and the ordinary town's people, enjoying a wonderful location.
Tuesday, not a good start to the day. Went to catch the train to Nice to find that there was a train strike
Sword Fish and Dorado for Sale in Antibes Market
. There was a train in a few minutes we were told, but unlikely to be any coming back. Into a huddle we went and the decision was made, let's take the car and drive. Back down to our waterfront car park and into the car, GPS programmed, lets find a car park. Ken (our GPS) said turn left in 200 metres. 20 minutes later we still had 50 metres to go. Police had blocked off the main road in as that was where the strikers were marching! Eventually we found a park, and after the success of the little tourist "train" in Cannes found the equivalent in Nice as a way of seeing far more that we could by walking around. It was excellent and took us to the highest point in the City, where we hopped off to catch a later "train" back down. Great place for the days baguettes, and the views over the city were excellent. Quite amusing looking down on the extensive beaches (all pebbles) with patches of sand that had been imported to ease the tootsies of those who did not like pebbles. Nice is a very large city with all that implies and was busy busy. However it also has an incredible heritage back to caveman days, so the location was good. Sitting high on the hill we also looked down on the airport, second busiest in France. It was certainly active the day we were there.Wednesday Leo and Di drove off to see the Gorges du Verdon. A 2½ hour drive up through Grasse and on into the Maritime Alpes. Our intention was to get to Sublime Point where we would have lunch and then return. As we went through 3,500 ft above sea level, we did notice a substantial drop in temperature and by the time we reached our destination we did feel the coolness. However the sun did finally come out. It was the only cloudy day we had had since arriving in France. Back in Antibes we later found the sun was shining until we brought the clouds back with us! The Gorges are an impressive sight with their huge limestone cliffs. The road was hair raising but not as bad as the Amalfi coast, although in parts almost, with the road cut under huge overhangs as it follows the River, often one lane
Antibes from just outside town walls
. Have to sound the horn in a few places as well, but very well maintained. On the way back we stopped at the village of Castellane, one of the homes of the Resistance in WWII. We wanted to find the town's museum to the Resistance as we had both recently read Peter Fitzsimons book on Nancy Wake, who had spent time in this area. Unfortunately we could not locate the Museum in the town, but were fascinated by the huge rock guarding the town's entrance, which had a church on its summit. Nothing else. Could not even see a way up. The Church can be seen for miles as you approach the town. Thursday and we are in Antibes again determined to complete our walk around to Cap Antibes on the rocky sea front. We made it in about 3 hours, but as it was the hottest day we had experienced since being in Antibes we did feel weary by the end. On one stretch, with a huge rock wall on one side of us, soaking up all the afternoon sun and reflecting it, as well as the direct sun, it felt like we were walking in 38 degree temperatures.... Hopefully it was a good preparation for a wonderful summer back home!!!
Friday and Chris left for UK again. Time to clean up our Antibes home and ensure it is as spotless as we found it.
For those who would like to see more on our exchange house in Antibes, go to this web site. Patrick and Patricia would be happy for anyone to approach them re renting, which they do most of the summer months. Exchanging is also something they enjoy when they have a specific place they want to visit.
http://www.lescasemates.net/
