About a decade ago a former colleague told me that there are few places more beautiful than the French Riviera; a statement that very much rings true today. After a fantastic visit to Monserrat just outside of Barcelona, on Christmas eve we said adios to Spain and returned to France. We were generously acknowledged by the lovely roadside prostitutes that we encountered. Driving along these country roads, all of a sudden at the end of a driveway or unsealed road, there stands a chick all done up in hot pants, CFM boots, mini skirt and like. Initally we were a little perplexed but it didn’t take long to realise that these roads are frequented by many truck drivers who spend many lonely hours away from home. The JB was the one who enlightened me, given his trade and all.
We stayed in Montpellier for a few nights, a quiet little place as we wanted so that we could cook up a Christmas feast. Being so close to the sea we joined in with locals who all seemed to be out walking the beach after their midday feed. During our stay we also explored some Montpellier history and did plenty of walking about the place. From there we travelled on to Nimes, France’s capital of bullfighting. A lovely day was spent touring the old Roman town and ruins including Les Arenes (the bullfighting ring still used today), Maison Carree and Toure Magne.
Montserrat
Montserrat translates as 'mountain of saw teeth'
Basilica at Montserrat
The Madonna at Montserrat
Montserrat view from one of the peaks
Gallo-Roman ruins at Montpellier
Montpellier
Montpellier's Arc du Triomphe du Peyrou
Les Arenes at Nimes (best preserved Roman amphitheatre in the world)
The Arena (stadium seating better than Docklands)
Original walls
With 6 wins under his belt, this gladiator looks proud
Toure Magne
Next we drove on to Marseille which the guidebook described as gritty and grimy and we both have to agree. We were centrally located to pretty much everything worth visiting; Vieux Port, Fort St Jean, Fort St Nicholas and Notre Dame Cathedral perched on one of the highest points in Marseille providing some of the best panoramic views to be seen. We ate pretty well indulging in the local creperie and some lovely Italian seafood dishes. As we arrive closer and closer to the border, the number of Italians we come across increases. The JB is having a great time eavesdropping; finding out local information such as whether it has snowed in Milan overnight etc.
Fort St Jean at Marseille
Fort St Jean & Vieux Port from Fort St Nicholas
Notre Dame Cathedral Marseille
View from Notre Dame Cathedral(Il d'If is the little one at the front)
Inside the Notre Dame Cathedral Marseille (beautiful mosaics)
Those of you who know the Yapping Dog personally will understand the significance of our next stay in St Raphael. And what a place; small like the Yapping Dog, cute like the Yapping Dog and great great fun just like the Yapping Dog. We were treated to a fantastic fireworks display for New Years Eve with all the locals on the main promenade.
Craggy rock paths that we walked along in St Raphael
St Raphael promenade
Palm trees everywhere, from Valencia all the mediterranean through
NYE fireworks display at St Raphael
NYE fireworks...
NYE fireworks
On the drive to Cannes (from the car)
Yesterday we spent the day in Cannes avoiding the paparazzi (the Italians were loving all the attention) walking along Croisette Beach, taking cheesy photos at Palm Beach and taking in the lovely lovely surrounds that the rich and famous enjoy regularly. We arrived in Nice last night and have today been walking and sitting down by the mediterranean seaside, people and dog watching and eavesdropping more Italians. They are everywhere, but you cannot blame them, as this is such a beautiful place.
French coastline...just beautiful
Cheesy red carpet in Cannes
Cannes promenade for the rich and shameless
The Cannes movie tour is on this train...
Nice; Promenade de Anglais
Nice; Place Massena
Nice; beautiful beautiful beachfront...
Today is our last in France as tomorrow we drive on through Monaco (just going to see where Le Tour 2009 will commence from) and up to Turin, Italy. Hopefully it won’t snow too much and the roads will be clear; forecasts suggest as such. This heralds the last phase of the trip as we’ll be spending the rest of our trip here, aside from Dubai of course. Happy New Year to everyone, we hope you all saw 2009 in with good food and company. Until we next post keep up if you can.
Posted by yappingdog 