Heiditournoux's travel blogs:
|
|
  | | |
From Tournoux to Cannes
Entry 12 of 12 | show all | print this entry |
|
We had two choices of decent. One that would take us maybe 2 hours to get to Cannes, and the other in case of pass closures that would take us back through Aix, and then East to Cannes in about 4 hours. So of course we wanted to take the 2 hour trek, so in Jausier, instead of going back the way we came, we started to head another direction up hill. In the snow. We did get to see a castle in Jausier, and then saw a barricade in the street, which indicated to me that the pass was closed in this direction. So, back down the way we came. Again, through Jausier we were hoping to get to the tourist center, but it was closed as most of Europe closes for a few hours after lunch, especially in the small towns, and this was definitely a small town. But again, I was not too disappointed and wanting to get off the mountains before we were snowed in. So, down we went.
I did find on the mapquest map that we could take a different pass through the Alps once we got to Barcelonette, one of the larger towns in the area. So, we took that road, and ended up going through Digne. I really thought we might meet our end on this trip, up the mountain, down the mountain, snow, snow, snow. And Geoff is a good driver. We stopped at a McDonalds in Digne for something to eat finally. It was pretty funny because there was one really really tall woman working behind the counter (over 6 feet) and one really really short woman (around 4 ½ foot tall) working next to her. I wish I had taken a photo. But that would have been a rude American, so I didn't, it will just have to live on in my memory. We ate our comfort food, and then got back on the road.
We continued to pray that we were coming out of the hills, but alas, we kept driving up, then driving down all these mountains. When we got to the bottom of the hills, we were relieved that there was no snow, and we thought we were done with the snow, until we started to ascend again. Then there was the part where the semi-truck nearly ran into us. I think the photo says it all, so I will spare you the details, except to tell you that there was a big rock on the left of the road, and a river on the right of the road. Eventually, we saw the ocean, and we knew that Cannes was near. We passed a huge prison, and groaned as we realized that we would have to continue to drive up and down twisting and turning through the narrow streets to find our hotel. By this point it was nearing evening, and both of use were tired of the car, and tired of the streets. But, as we drove down the main street in Cannes, it was beautiful. The hotels were lit up, and it seemed to be a busy place. Definitely different than laid back Provence. We finally found our hotel, and found our parking garage. We decided that since it was a nice evening we would walk around town for a bit and get something to eat. We found a pizza place, and had a beer. It was the perfect ending to our adventure of the day!
More thumbnails ...
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by heiditournoux, from Provence, France or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
