Cote D'Azur

From the Cinque Terre we headed for the Cote D’Azur and a bit of sun and relaxation. We found a campsite from our book that was near Antibes and only about 1.5km from Biot, a favourite of ours. We wouldn’t normally pick a ‘holiday camp’ type of site but the one we stayed at for 5 nights was mostly small static mobile homes and bungalows, with just a few touring pitches. However, it was convenient to the places we wanted to get to, had a nice pool area, was spotlessly clean and had private bathrooms, toilets and outdoor kitchen area for the touring pitches. So we were able to really unpack for 5 whole days, and with extra storage elsewhere, the van was much tidier. We had a couple of days out exploring. We cycled to Biot for the day and had lunch of moules and frites. Biot is a village like the Italian borgo’s we like but all in stone. It has a beautiful old church and, like many of the old villages on the Cote, attracts artists and most famously here, glass blowers.

We also went to Tourettes Sur Loup and Chateauneuf which were along the same lines and then stopped at Valbonne for a drink and a walk as we had done a couple of years ago but he couldn’t remember.

We had two lazy days by the pool in the sunshine and it was only as we drove out of the campsite as we left, that we realised how close the beach was! Still, we have done the Cote and its beaches many times, so we didn’t miss anything really. One thing we were happy to say goodbye to were mosquito bites. The Cote D’Azur is always lovely but it has drawbacks.

Our next destination was the Gorges at Verdon in Haute Provence. We took the back roads to Castillion and saw some spectacular scenery, especially going over the Coll De Vence and the village of Coursegoules, where we stopped for a walk around and refreshments.

More dramatic scenery and we reached Castillion, where we had lunch. Another 10km after Castillion and we arrived at the campsite, a great location right on the river bank with mountains on either side. We found a nice quiet plot and set up. In the morning we took the bikes and headed for a tiny hamlet almost at the top of the mountain on one side of the campsite. It was served by what the map called a ‘road’ but after some dodgy directions we found ourselves forced to push the bikes up a tiny track. After a while, we could see the village – a long way away!! We persevered and sweated and got there in the end. A tiny place with just a handful of houses. Visitors can’t come often as us just cycling by had two locals coming out to see who was there. The views from up there were lovely but living all the way up there in isolation wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

With all the sweat to get up there, of course coming down was easy! About 5 km without having to press the pedals! A welcome dip in the pool to cool off and a snooze in the sun and we then finished off the day with white asparagus risotto, which has become a favourite of ours to make after we had it in a restaurant.