Trafton’s European Adventure Part Two

1/26/23 The South of France

Villefranche-sur-Mer from the hilltop overlooking the city.

Greetings from beautiful Villefranche-sur-Mer and the lovely South of France.

Village of Villefranche-Sur-Mer from patio view.

We enjoyed fine dining and vino in France ✔️😜🇫🇷🍷😉

We took several trips, with only one using the trusty Peugeot as the traffic and roads here are terrible. We used regional trains, buses and the tram to move around. Nice has a wonderful mass transit system.

Garibaldi Square, Nice.

View overlooking the harbor of Nice from the road to Villefranche-Sur-Mer.

Of course we tried the local food, Socca is the regional specialty. It’s made from chickpea flour.

Ok, road trip time, in the trusty Peugeot. First stop, St. Paul-de-Vence.

Of course we continued our relentless search for the perfect loaf of bread. 🤔

Next up, Vence, just a few km down the road.

It’s Sunday, the small village is packed with locals. Lots of fun.

Ok, last stop today, Tourette’s-Sur-Loup. A very small village, but beautiful.

Beautiful and so quiet. What more could you ask for?

Ok, next up, Menton, and the big daddy, Monaco! This is Monte Carlo from the top.

Menton, France, it’s right next to Italy. We walked into Italy on the Promenade.

Beautiful view. Look, it’s stairs. I’m lucky Jill’s here to walk with tour guide Cindy 😉

Ok, the granddaddy of $$$$ Monaco and the famous city of Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo Casino.

2023 Lamborghini SUV. All the latest models of cars are parked around the Casino, it’s fabulous people watching.

The other highlight is the yacht harbor. Billions and Billions of dollars of yachts. Unbelievable the amount of money here.

We also took the train to Antibes again, but a bad wind storm chased us out.

Wonderful time here in France, nine weeks in total.

We are headed to Italy tomorrow and Jim and Jill are going to Egypt.

Au revoir from France.

1/19/23 Antibes, Castellane, Cannes and the French Rivera

Greetings from beautiful, but a little chilly, Antibes and the South of France.

Tour guide Cindy has been keeping us busy with trips in the area and walking the beautiful city of Antibes. Let’s recap what we’ve seen.

Roadside view, route of Napoleon over the alps when returning to Paris after his exile.

We are not fond of driving in the French Rivera, the area is very hilly and the roads very narrow and crowded. Cars are parked wherever they can, and the French drive like maniacs, not a good combination.

So, when we decided to take the famous “Route of Napoleon” from Antibes to Castellane in the Alps we decided to do it on Sunday morning, the lightest traffic day of the week, by far.

Napoleon returned from exile, and returned, and returned to Nice hoping to be welcomed but, he was turned out. So he and his army of 1,200 set out to climb the Alps in six days. Quite a feet.

The Route of Napoleon is now a hiking, biking, motorcycle riding, and outdoors retreat for the French. Beautiful scenery and very rugged mountains.

Castellane where the route crests in the Alps.

Castellane is very quiet in the winter, especially with no snow👍

We had heard of a famous Rotisserie family in the area, so we stopped by on the return trip home. Delicious chicken, stuffed with rosemary and garlic, marinated in Olive oil with fingerling potatoes, delicious.

Monday and Tuesday we had a storm pass through the area, high winds and some rain. In the south of France, that means full subzero clothing. Hats, gloves and definitely scarfs😜

French Rivera with fresh snow on the Alps

Being from the PNW, a little weather never stops us, 25,000 steps daily 👊

Of course you must visit the lovely French bakery every day👍✔️😜🇫🇷

Wednesday we took the bus to the world famous destination, Cannes.

Above is the world famous Cannes film festival sight. It’s right on the water and used for many purposes. But, it’s home to the rich and famous one week a year.

Beautiful harbor and historic area, unbelievable amount of yachts, billions of dollars worth.

Cannes from the top of the hill, very beautiful.

As we said earlier, a big storm passed threw a few days ago, so the beach clubs were busy cleaning up.

For fun Cindy and I love to look at menus in fancy restaurants. Just FYI, a burger, fries and a beer at the beach club in Cannes €90.

Cannes is very, very upscale. Every brand in the world has a shop here. It’s France and fashion is huge.

We saw this sign in one of hundreds of Coiffure shops. Poor Kim Kardashian, her setup is the cheapest.

Back to Antibes for another day with a short driving tour around the Cap d’ Antibes and the Thursday market. I’m sure at least 15,000 steps also.

Bocce ball is life in the south of France.

We’re moving tomorrow about an hour east to Villefranche-Sur-Mer, outside of Nice. Our friends Jim and Jill from Portland are joining us for a week.

Au revoir for now!

1/14/23 Antibes France

View from our new condo’s patio on the Mediterranean😜

Greetings from beautiful Antibes, France and the beautiful Mediterranean sea! We had a quick 2 1/2 hour, and not too expensive (€20 tolls), drive from Menerbes to Antibes.

Where is Antibes your asking? It’s part of the French Rivera! It’s a busy, busy place in the summer and home to some very rich folks. We thought we’d visit and see how the 1% vacation.

Antibes has a long history, Greeks, Romans, wars, plagues, dark ages, church and Napoleon were all involved here. Now it’s a vacation and lifestyle Mecca. Old town Antibes with the snow covered Alps in the back.

We are staying in a VRBO owned by an Irish couple. It’s very nice and we can see the water and promenade. Great people watching!

Water aerobics in the Mediterranean? Sure why not!

Fantastic bakery four doors down. We must still be in France! I know we’re in the Rivera because it cost twice as much as I usually pay for a baguette. It’s very expensive here😎

Antibes has a market, Marche Provençale. Let’s walk the Promenade to it.

Beautiful old city, lots and lots of Europeans retire here or live here part time. I can see why!

Entrance to the market, it’s not the most spectacular market. Most of the folks here go out to eat. Fantastic restaurant scene here.

This guy makes socca, a chickpea pancake, very popular here.

Your on the Mediterranean, you need some oysters.

It’s Saturday, but not too busy. It’s early, 9:30 AM, (your in France).

Quite a spice selection, you have lots of Italians here. Italy is only a few miles away!

We are here for a week, loving the Promenade. It’s flat right and right on the water and No Cobblestones!

You know it’s Saturday in France, when the bike riders are out in force. This is from our balcony!

Au revoir for now🇫🇷

1/12/23 Aix-en-Provence/The Luberon

Greetings from beautiful, and warm, Ménerbes, France and the Luberon.

Above is a Calgary, a point of prayer. You see these throughout the region. They are locations for prayer for the areas residents and their livelihood, families, agriculture etc…

Tour guide Cindy has been keeping us busy with day trips around the area. One of the things that makes the Luberon so beautiful is the diverse terrain in a small area. From staggeringly beautiful rock formations to green valley floors, the Luberon has it all in a small space.

Ok, let’s get going on some tours, lead away tour guide Cindy!

This medieval village has been particularly restored as an example of life in the Luberon in medieval times. This is the Chateau of Les Baux de Provence.

The village from the top, a smaller village used to sit here. The winds here are called “Mistral Winds”, and they can blow long and hard.

A drawing of what the village looked like back in the day.

The village of Eygalieres on the way home.

Ok, up bright and early and a short drive (1 1/4 hours and €4.5 tolls) to Aix-en-Provence. The cultural center of Provence😜

Produce and locally made goods in the city center.

Aix as it’s called is a lovely city with very beautiful sights.

Cathedral Aix-en-Provence, huge and beautiful inside.

And of course, the never ending pursuit of the perfect loaf of bread 😜

Ok, next day after a safe trip home, the world famous Cotes du Rhône Wine Road. This is the village of La Fare.

The Cotes du Rhône trail is very beautiful with staggeringly beautiful scenery and very narrow and winding roads. Yes, we also wined a few times🍷

Village entrance, note the cobblestones.

Gosh, look, more stairs and cobblestones. Let’s climb up😜

The view from the top. It’s worth the effort.

Wow, the smoke is from the grape plant trimmings. They prune the vines here in December and January and burn the trimmings. The valley smells fantastic.

Quick stop at Gigondas. These villages are basically closed but, in the spring, summer and fall they’re packed with tourists. Now, it’s just Cindy and I.

Beautiful, Notre Dame d’ Aubune chapel on the trip home.

That’s it for us in this beautiful area. Leaving tomorrow for Antibes on the French Rivera. It’s a four hour drive or so. Hopefully, you enjoyed this area as much as we did. It’s what we always dreamed of when we thought of France.

Au revoir!

1/08/23 The Luberon, France

Greetings from beautiful, but a bit breezy and rainy, Luberon region and Menerbes France.

Tour guide Cindy has kept us busy with short day trips throughout the Luberon area. Let’s recap what we saw. Again, everything is close by and every place has a castle, fortress, or chateau. Amazingly beautiful place.