Southern France is Nice!
This story happened on: 12/03/2016
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Nous sommes arrives au sud de la France! We've left behind the snow-capped mountains of the Alps and have travelled a few hundred kilometres to the south coast where the Cote d'Azur sunshine and turquoise sea greeted us.
Our site, in Villeneuve on the outskirts of Nice near Antibes, is La Vieille Ferme, a larger more commercial site with a continental feel. The pitches are a mixture of gravel and grass and are neatly bordered by bushes. Shrubs and trees are dotted around the site, providing some welcome shade in the summer months. We're here in early Spring; the temperatures are warming but there is still a chill in the air when the sun goes down.
The site offers pitches for caravans and motorhomes as well as chalets. The central toilet block is unisex; it contains toilets (that are outside), dish-washing facilities and warm showers. There is a large room containing a number of washing machines and dryers. Activities on site include a TV room, a swimming pool (covered and heated), a children's playground, small outdoor gym and outdoor table tennis and boules pitches. We chose to have a go at the traditional sport of boules or petanque. After borrowing the boules from reception (for a deposit of 10 Euros) we spent an hour one evening battling it out on the pitch beside a remarkably serious French couple who had their own set of boules and kept polishing them with a cloth between games. Our squeals of excitement when someone's ball got close to the jack probably showed that we weren't regulars but it was fun!
Not far from the site there is park (Vaugrenier). It's about 100m away from the entrance and is super place for a walk or cycle ride. For those keen on fitness there is a 5 mile trail. The park is large, deceptively from the road, and is a great escape from the built up surroundings. The beach is also within walking distance. Although it is visible from the end of the road, you need to walk to the nearby train station and walk under a subway to get to it. It is a pebbly beach and will probably be much busier in the summer.
During our two days in the area we chose to visit the two well-known cities of Cannes and Nice. Both are accessible by bus (Ligne 200) and cost 1 Euro 50 each way. The bus stop is at the end of the road that leads to the campsite, a short walk away. The distance to each place isn't far and would be quicker to get to in a car but it saves finding a car parking space and allows you to take in the area.
Cannes is of course famous for its film festival. Even though this happens once a year in May, it still dominates the city and is an obvious attraction for many tourists. Photographs of stars appear sporadically around the centre of the city and the famous handprints of many line the walkway near the Tourist Office and main theatre. We didn't see anyone famous. We only had an afternoon in Cannes and in order to see and learn as much as possible, we caught the tourist train. With headphones plugged in, we sat listening to the English commentary as it explained the history of La Croisette, passing the elegant and impressive hotels that line the sea front, before climbing up into the old quarters to get a view over the city and harbour. After getting off the train we wandered back towards the harbour where an impressive selection of yachts sit uninhabited.
On our second day, we headed into Nice (once again by bus). We disembarked on the Promenade des Anglais and walked along the beach, soaking up the sun and gazing at the beautiful blue water. The Promenade des Anglais, is a celebrated landmark, paid for by Nice's English colony in the early 19th century. It is wide walkway that hugs the beach and has elegant hotels and flats across the road. Nice is an attractive city; its pastel buildings with iron balconies and wooden shutters are admirable. We enjoyed walking through the streets looking up at the buildings, while the girls snapped away on their cameras.
I think coming to the south coast of France at this time of year is ideal. So many people have warned us of the heat and number of tourists later in the year and we are grateful that we didn't have to struggle with either of them. Our time here was short and we were not able to squeeze in a visit to Monaco, the peninsular of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, Eze (the artisitc village on top of a rock) or the perfume shops and museums of Grasse. There is so much to do here and we will have to return in order to see more.
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