At the seaside: Cagnes-sur-Mer

Woke after a great night’s sleep for me but not John, who complained about my snoring, vivid dreams, a buzzing mozzie and a dodgy tummy. Thankfully, he was feeling ok for the 4-hour trip ahead of us. It was a pretty journey as we wound through the hilly countryside to Aix-en-Provence. It was a beautiful morning as the mist in the valley rose to reveal green woods and fields, and vineyards, heavy with dangling bunches of black grapes. The sky was bright blue above the layer of mist. We followed the Route du Chateaux de Sud Luberon through a gorge with steep rocky sides. Unfortunately, there are no photos because there was nowhere safe to stop on the bendy road. Finally I got a picture of Lourmarin Chateaux.

We stopped for diesel at a fuel station I’d found on a cheap fuel website, only to find it wasn’t as cheap as stated online. Oh well. At least we didn’t go out of our way, and it was still a reasonable price! After this we followed the Durance valley for a while. The roads were now straighter and lined with tall plane trees with beautiful bark. Then the final couple of hours of the journey were on motorways, including a bip and go toll road. Avoiding tolls would have meant an extra hour’s driving and winding, hilly roads throughout the journey, using more fuel and probably no cheaper.

The morning passed quickly as I did some research on Cagnes-sur-Mer where we’re staying for the next 5-6 nights, and Nice where we’ll see the rugby. There was lovely varied scenery throughout… mountains and cliffs, buildings in shades of ochre tumbling down hillsides, green trees, orchards and vineyards. Finally, the sea came into view 28 kilometres from the campsite, and we started seeing palm trees. It was tricky negotiating the busy, often narrow, one way streets of the town, especially as we were unsure which zebra crossings we had to stop at and which had pedestrian lights, and which lanes we should be in. However, we did it… We found the campsite with no dramas! Great team work! Unfortunately, the campsite was shut until 14.00 so we parked up in the road outside it and went for a walk.

The old part of Cagnes-sue-Mer, Haut-de-Cagnes, is perched on a hilltop just 10-15 minutes walk from the campsite. We climbed lots of steps up narrow cobbled lanes through Renaissance houses and vaulted passages. Another beautiful French town!

At the top, we sat and had a glass of wine overlooking the villages and mountains in the distance. It was very pleasant and a good way to spend some time until we could take Bertie onto the campsite.

Before we went back to Bertie, we wound our way through more pretty streets, with a fortress and a couple of churches dotted between the houses and little gardens, lush with greenery.

On the opposite side of the hill, there was a panoramic view to Nice and the sea beyond. It’s unusual for us to go to the seaside on holiday. In this hot weather it’s great to have the sea breeze.

We’re now on the campsite and while John cleans and charges our bikes, I’m going to make something to eat. Then we’re cycling into the town to find out if we can see the free concert that’s on tonight… Beethoven’s 9th symphony… another unusual event for us!