Doug and Kerry Hudson in the Cote d'Azur, France

World Trip >> Europe >> France >> Cote d'Azur

We were so desperate to get out of Italy that we took the radical decision to abandon our plans to visit Pisa, Genoa and the Riviera di Levante, and just get the hell out of there! We can’t remember exactly what pushed us over the edge – probably yet another sleepless night in a noisy and overcrowded campsite – but we do remember the thrill of leaving it all behind, and driving towards the shining hope of France!

We arrived in France eight hours later, very tired but elated at being free of Italians. We found a lovely campsite near the town of Vence. This town was originated by the Romans as a spa town, and lies at the southern tip of the Alps, just north of Nice. Unlike other campsites along the coast here, this one was actually very quiet and peaceful: just what we needed to recover from the stresses of Italy.

We spent the majority of the next three weeks just relaxing by the pool or on the beach. We swum in the Mediterranean too. This was an exhilarating experience for us, especially Kerry. It was clean too, unlike the Adriatic... And the water was the most incredible blue: hence the name Cote d`Azur. We found that the best time to go to the beach was early in the morning: the parking was easy, and finding a good spot was easy. Another benefit of arriving early was that we got to see the sea at its most calm. It was almost like a lake; there was barely a stir, and the slow waves made it look lethargic. The low angle of sunlight meant that, in Kerry's words, the light sparkled off the sea like diamonds.

The calmness of the water made it ideal to swim out to the yellow buoy moored 250m off the coast. Doug made this his challenge every morning. He described it as exhilarating and terrifying. The further out you go, the deeper and bluer the water gets. His mind wandered onto the subject of What Is Down There and he got a thrill of fear in his stomach! Once at the buoy, he didn't wait long before turning back - unless there was someone else there to speak to. Doug did not suspect that in six months time, he really would be swimming with sharks.

Meanwhile, Kerry enjoyed just floating. This was a new skill that Doug had taught her, and she liked nothing better than to just float with her head back, relaxing and listening to the water shushing over the pebbles. She called it "Doing a floater". As in, "I'm just going into the sea to do a floater"!

Every day we enjoyed croissants for breakfast, and fresh baguette with paté for lunch. Delicious and cheap! Kerry even cooked us a curry on our little camp stove. We sampled the local produce and enjoyed the locally grown tomatoes and lettuce, which were mouthwatering. Our neighbours, Pierre and Monique were very kind to us, and gave us a lot of help in finding our way around, and tips on where to get the best food and wine. They also helped Doug practise his French. They invited us to stay with them in Brittany when we passed that way back to England...

We visited a delightful town called St Paul de Vence. It is an ancient walled town on a hilltop from which you can see the blue sea and the lush green valley with millionnaires` villas and mansions in between. We strolled around the narrow stone streets and feasted our eyes on the ivy and grapevines growing on the walls; the bougainvilleas cascading from the balconies; and the many, many art galleries to be found there. Marc Chagall and others made St Paul de Vence a haven for artists, and we tell you: the standard of this art made Westover Gallery in Bournemouth look distinctly amateurish! We positively fell in love with this corner of the South of France.

One day we had some poor weather, so we decided to drive inland and explore the local area. The first town we arrived at was Le Bar Sur Loup. We did a self-guided walking tour of the town which is still unspoilt by tourism. There were many intriguing alleyways and narrow cobble streets. The town square featured an imposing statue of Admiral de Grasse, who came from Le Bar. Apparently he fought against the English on behalf of the Americans struggling for Independence - how rude!

We next drove to Gourdon, another hilltop walled town, which describes itself as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Well, we have to admit it is pretty. Pretty good at blowing its own trumpet too! There is also a fantastic view down the valley of the Loup river to the Mediterranean sea 800 metres below.

After Gourdon we followed the Loup river to Le Saut Du Loup. This is a river canyon where there are two very pretty waterfalls to see. You don`t have to go all the way to the United States for fantastic scenery. The rocks on the waterfall were thick with moss where the water flowed down, so it looked like a big green paw.

We finished our loop du Loup at Tourrettes. This is yet another hilltop medieval walled village. By now we had taken all we could of these, and this one had no distinguishing features. Nevertheless it was very pretty. And nothing to do with Tourettes Syndrome.

One day we went to Nice for a day trip. This city reminded Doug of Paris, but with strong sunshine ane palm trees! Our first sight to see in Nice was the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. This onion-domed building would look at home in Moscow, but it looked incongruous in the residential area of Nice where we found it. Inside it was equally impressive, being richly and lavishly decorated. We learned more about the strict Russian Orthodox customs. For example to receive communion you have to fast for twenty four hours and also confess your sins beforehand. The congregation stands during the entire service, which meant that there were only a handful of chairs in the whole cathedral.

Next we went to the excellent Chagall Museum. This contained a variety of large paintings by Marc Chagall, all with a biblical theme. They all had goats too. Can anyone explain why all his pictures have goats? These paintings were excellent however, very colourful and very inspirational too: Doug was itching to get his paints out when he got back to England. Now where did we put them?

After Chagall`s success, we decided to try Matisse`s museum. This was a bit of a mistake, as it was at the top of a big hill and was also very disappointing. We were knackered by our walk in the intense heat. The paintings were nothing much: in fact many of them were just scribbles. As Kerry said, "It looks like the scribbles of a child. Anyone could have done these!" Oh well, you can`t win them all. We headed back down the hill for our bus, which we caught with a minute to spare and still had time to buy a tasty apricot pastry.

One evening we visited the Fondation Maeght. This is an art museum that was literally at the end of the road where we are staying. It was also one of the top ten attractions in the Nice area too. The most interesting feature for us was the temporary exhibit of Henry Moore sculptures. We have never been so intrigued by art before, and it was strange that these human-like forms could express so much emotion. One in particular, "King and Queen" intrigued us: why was the Queen facing away from the King? Was his hand about to leave his thigh to hold her hand or settle around her shoulders for comfort? Or was he powerless to help, despite being King? See, so many questions!

Another day we went to Cannes and Antibes. We spent most of the time admiring the huge yachts owned by the mega-rich. These babies made the Sunseeker look positively amateur. We also saw the theatre that is the focus for the Cannes Film Festival. Outside it, you can see the hand prints of the famous stars. Kerry was intrigued that Jean-Claude Van Dammes hands were so small. Sylvester Stallone's hands were massive: he even has big muscles on his fingers.

One day we went to Monaco, famous for the Grand Prix, Princess Grace and the casino. We walked through the tunnel part of the Grand Prix circuit and were interested to note that the speed limit was only 50 kmh. We wondered how fast Schumacher drives through there. We walked to the very impressive Casino and slipped in past the doormen in our shorts and T-shirts - only to be disappointed inside. There was no sophisticated gaming room, just a small room with slot machines. We also stood outside the five-star Hotel De Paris waiting for someone famous to come out. We still don't know who they were, but they merited a lot of security and a fleet of Mercedes limousines. We also saw more Ferraris than you've had hot dinners. Next we walked up to the Royal Palace, and saw the Guards sweltering in their uniforms. From there it was a short walk to the cathedral where Princess Grace was buried. Seeing her grave was quite underwhelming, as there were hordes of tourists and we were herded round like sheep. The whole experience was really sad or cheap, like being a voyeur.

In the end, it was time to say Au Revoir to the Cote d'Azur. We had to move on or we would end up being late for our ferry back to England. We decided that our next destination in France would be the Dordogne region, famed for its gastronomic delicacies and the legacy of prehistoric man. But before we left, our lovely campsite had one more delight for us: when we packed up our tent, you'll never guess what we found underneath...

Scorpions.

Yep. Not just one, but two scorpions. Apparently they are found quite commonly, as the region is nearly tropical. We were only slightly relieved to learn that this variety was harmless. Nevertheless, we were still shocked to think that we had been sleeping on a bed of scorpions for the previous seventeen nights.

World Trip >> Europe >> France >> Cote d'Azur

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006