CANNES (Day One)

Friday, November 8, 2013

Up early and off to the train station. The TGV train was awesome! Sorry - it's the best way to describe it.  Very comfortable and the ride is so smooth especially after all the commuter trains we have been on.  We went to the club car shortly after leaving Marseille and watched the scenery roll by.  The train travels remarkably close to the coast so we were able to see all the little seaside villages and towns along the way. Can't even begin to describe the color of the water. "Teal" comes pretty close but even that doesn't do it justice.

Arrived in Cannes to a little bit of cloud cover, but then it's Cannes so it really didn't matter. Our hotel was about a 10 minute walk from the station and down the Croisette, a mile and a half walkway right on the Mediterranean.

Our room wasn't quite ready so we had a nice leisurely lunch at the hotel.

Cocoa-Infused Brioche and Mushroom Coulis

Gorgonzola Risotto with Fried Mushrooms

Pre Dessert, Dessert

Chocolate Gateaux with Clementine

Then up to the room to unpack and hit the streets.

View from Our Hotel Room Balcony

Happy Camper

Took a nice walk along the beach, picked up a bottle of wine, and returned to the hotel to watch the sunset.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

We enjoyed our train trip yesterday so much, we decided to try a little longer journey, this time on the high-speed TGV train.  I checked out the schedule and found that they have a direct route from Aix to the Riviera.  Cannes sounded like a good place to stop over.  Off season it is not as busy and the weather is still gorgeous.  We made reservations to stay one night at the Grand Hotel on the beach.  On our way to pick up our train tickets we stopped in at the Hotel Roi Rene for lunch.  John's father stayed there 50 years ago when he visited Val during her study year in Aix.

We had yet another wonderful lunch in the courtyard.

Carrot Gazpacho and A Fried Risotto Ball

Red Pepper and Cucumber Bruschetta

Mushroom Ravioli

Coffee and Calissons

Just another typical day in Aix!

Sanary Revisited

Thursday, November 7, 2013

A beautiful sunny day in Provence!  We decided to take the short train trip to re-visit the seaside town of Sanary-sur-Mer.  We arrived at about 10:30 am at the tiny train station just east of town.  Not a taxi or bus in sight.  We were fortunate enough to run into someone buying a ticket who lives in the town and who offered to give us a ride (who said the French were standoffish and unfriendly!?!?!).  What luck! Our new best friend turned out to be a computer programmer who moved to Sanary with his wife five years ago.  They fell in love with the area after a visit and were happy to leave the cold northern part of the country.  

Thursday is the big market day in Sanary.  After a fortifying cup of espresso...

...we were off to shop and explore.

The Market

Saint Nazaire:

The walkway by the sea:

The local shops:

The town square:

The park:

A lovely walk up into the neighborhood above the main town:

The chapel at the top of the town:

What a beautiful spot!  This definitely is where we want to spend some time when we next visit France.

After our long day of sightseeing, we treated ourselves to a wonderful lunch by the sea at Restaurant L-Esplanade.

Carrots, Black Risotto, and Dourade

Lemon Gateaux (John)

Cafe Gourmand (Ginny)

All With a Fabulous View!

Our train was a bit delayed on the way back to Aix, so we had a little time to rest up and look at our photos.  Two tired little travelers arrived back in Aix. 

Happy 7th Birthday Darling Branaugh

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Happy 7th Birthday to our darling granddaughter Branaugh!  We were able to visit via Skype last night and it was wonderful to see her.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

It's a rainy day, but perfect for finding a cozy little cafe and having a long lunch followed by a nice nap.  Can't be sure what will happen when we return home.  Rarely have we had dinner before 8:30 pm. No "early bird specials" here in France.  Just considered a late lunch!

Our beautiful, sunny weather is returning tomorrow so we are heading for the seaside to take another look at Sanary-sur-Mer.  We loved it on a rainy day and would like to check it out when it is fair.  There is a huge market on Wednesdays, so we will take the train.  It is about an hour or so from Aix.

Lourmarin

Monday, November 4, 2013

Our final trip to the garage.  We won't miss it!

Three Levels Below the Street

Our Garage Space - Yikes!

Ah, Lourmarin!  As the crow flies, it is about fifteen minutes from Aix.  Driving time, however, is about an hour and a half.  Not complaining!  It is a gorgeous drive past many wineries and chateaux.

This is the town made famous in Peter Mayle's book, "A Year in Provence".  On this beautiful Fall day it little resembles Mayle's description written back in the seventies. Perfect streets, beautiful shops, and of course, the chateau...

Had a lovely lunch in a restaurant with a view of the chateaux.

Owner's Little Dog

And our favorite dessert...

Floating Islands

We did not locate Mayle's home, but found out that it recently sold for six million Euros.  Not a bad return on his investment.  This is definitely the "high rent" district in Provence and with good reason.  Extremely livable and well arranged town.  We are, of course, seeing it off-season and can't imagine what it must be like when all the restaurants and shops are open and the tourists arrive.  So glad we are here in autumn!

Explored Puyricard - just outside of Aix.  Great little bedroom community.  We imagine that most people who live there work in Aix.  Many new (but well done) houses.  It has a definite air of prosperity about it.

Will use tomorrow to catch up on things and plan our next little trip.  

Lazy Day

Sunday, November 3, 2013

No travels today.  Went for a long walk through the campus and saw parts of Aix we hadn't as yet seen.  Beautiful, quiet neighborhoods and some spectacular homes and gardens. Ended up just before sunset at St. Jean de Malte.

We have the car for one more day, so we will drive to Lourmarin tomorrow to check out the town and chateau.