A few snaps from the first walk this year from Monaco west to Cap Mala along the seaside promenade, a popular stroll for walking and running. It’s best on a windy and cloudy day. The posters above, at the Cap d’Ail station, was a nice reminder to finally visit Cap d’Ail’s Musée Villa Les Camelias.
The French love books and France still loves supporting local bookstores. And we loved this this one, the Librarie-cafe La Vagabonde, which sits proudly near the central square of Saint-Martin-Vésubie, a gateway town to Mercantour National Park.
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Four snaps from a late lunch stop in Lantosque, a sleepy town of about 1200 48km north-northeast of Nice and 15km south-southeast of Saint Martin Vesubie, one of the main gateways into Mercantour National Park. Lantosque is one of 16 villages included in the Route des Village Perchés, a group of picturesque hilltop villages bundled… Continue reading
An illustration of how long damage from extreme weather events lingers.
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Chateau Vannieres Bandol Blanc 2022 was our favourite wine discovery of 2023. Discovered over dinner at Le Pied de Nez in the hilltop village of Le Castellet in Bandol, on Barbara’s birthday – so that full context certainly helped. “Where can we find this?” we asked. The waiter pointed out the window and over the… Continue reading
We spotted this beautifully set old villa near the town of La Celle, nestled between tall trees and vineyards. I later learned this wasn’t a winery per se but a vine nursery, the Pépinières Viticoles Tochou. Their primary stock consists of grenache (noir and blanc), cabernet sauvignon, carignan and syrah.
We spent a phenomenal Barbara birthday weekend based in Le Castellet, a striking little hilltop village about 15km north of Bandol and 30km northwest of Toulon (and to cover all the bases, about a two-hour drive southwest from Nice and about 45 minutes east from Marseille). Mid-autumn is a nice time to go: still lots… Continue reading
Here are 10 shots from Saint Cyr-sur-Mer, a sleepy Mediterranean coastal town just west of the town of Bandol, best known as the home to a replica of the Statue of Liberty, donated by Frédéric Bartholdi, who sculpted the original. Most memorable: its cinema and tree-lined petanque courts.
A pleasant coastal town about 50km southeast of Marseille whose importance as a refuge for intellectuals and artists fleeing the rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s is often overlooked.
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No review or food pics. Just a quick souvenir to remember a Sunday buffet lunch at the New Saigon Restaurant in Aix-en-Provence.
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A series of snaps from opera visits – when I remember to snap some. Above and immediately below, just before the start of ‘La Dame Blanche‘ on January 25, 2022. The present building dates back to 1885, rebuilt on the site where the previous opera was destroyed in a gas fire. It’s a beautiful space… Continue reading
A handful of quick snaps from just above Plage Mala (Mala Beach), a popular spot at the western end of Cap d’Ail and the Sentier du littoral walking path that ends there. The first, a shot of the lagoon and the second a wider view, showing how close the rail line runs.