Traveling in Nice, France

[rbouch8828]

My wife and I are currently visiting the south of France. I have been in Villefranche-sur-mer for the past month and my wife is just arriving as I join her in Nice.

I don't know if there are any members currently in this area.

We will be in Nice until Wednesday April 27th when we will be traveling to St. Jeannet, before traveling on to Moustier then St. Tropez, La Camargues, Nimes, Carcassonne, La Dordogne, Brittany, Normandy then finally to Bruge and Amsterdam, before returning home.

Would love to run into any members along the way, if you happen to be along our route.

Best regards,

Roland and Dolores Boucher

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Roland,

Have a safe and wonderful trip! Take many photos and if you can post them here in this thread to share with us.

Thanks, Dieter

Btw. Did you ship your car to Europe or is she garaged there? I am asking since my plan is to ship mine to Europe in a couple years to undertake a few trips similar to yours.

[GGR]

While you're in St Jeannet, go and taste some wine at the Lango Mai winery. They are friends of mine. Taste is a bit surprising, but you will experience wine as it was made centuries ago. In Carcassonne, of course, you will visit La Cite. I spent my teenage years in Carcassonne, I have magic memories of my first love within these 13th century walls. In Britanny, you can visit Port-Louis, my village. Our house was built in 1636, back from when the little city was trading with Pondihery in India. Lorient, the city on the other side of the bay was flattened during WW2, but our little village made it through largely unharmed. Near there you can visit le Golfe du Morbihan, Quiberon, Carnac and its menhirs alignments dating back to keltic times. Next to there la Cote Sauvage is also a beautiful place.

If you drive across France a good trick is to buy a Michelin map, and follow roads underlined in green, away from the highways. That's the best way to discover France. Don't miss le Pays de Cocagne, in the Castelnaudary area, on your way out of Carcassonne. And have a nice cassoulet in Castelnaudary.

[rbouch8828]

Hello Dieter and GGR,

Thank you both for your replies.

First to Dieter: I am sorry to say that I have left my little pride and joy in my garage in the US of A. I do wish I had it here to enjoy on the Bas Coniche and the Moyen Cornich and the Haute Corniche. It would certainly be a pleasure to round those bends in the 280SL. Unfortunately, such is not the case for me this time.

I have leased a brand new Renault Megan Estate that they provide with all of the coverages you can imagine for the 1 month period, for less than it would cost to rent a car. And, they have pick up and drop off places and service facilities just about anywhere you would need them. So, I am quite happy with their arrangements.

Now to GGR:

I am looking forward to discovering the winery at St. Jeannet. Of course we are also looking forward to our visit within the walls of Carcassonne. 40 years ago, during my first marriage I was driving my in-laws from Madrid to their home in Clermont-Ferrand and we made a stop in Toulouse. I wanted to make a detour to stop at Carcassonne, but my father-in-law wanted to press on and get back to the house, so I missed it then. So, I am doing my second trip now, in my second marriage and at my own pace. I think I will enjoy it more this time anyway.

Brittany, I have explored before. Also some 40 years ago. There is a little village called Locronan, out toward the end of the peninsula. All the buildings are made of stone and the elder women have the tall lace hats during religious processions. I am hoping the tradition is still alive. We will stay a couple of nights in Quimper and stop in Carnac along the way out there.

Interesting about your house being built in 1636. My ancestor, Marin Boucher, left Basse-Normandy in 1635-36 as mason for Jacques Cartier in Quebec.

Thank for the other great suggestions. I will take note of them all and I have all of my Michelin maps ready to go. It is funny how people have gotten so dependent on GPS now and forgotten the value of maps, especially the Michelin maps. They are terrific.

Thank you again for all of your great ideas!!!

Kind regards,
Roland

[GGR]

Underlined in green on the Michelin map means it is a scenic route. They are plenty in France. I also forgot to mention Les Gorges du Verson, la Dordogne, and les chateaux de la Loire.

[rbouch8828]

To GGR,

I should have listed the Gorges du Verdon as we will be driving through them between St. Pail de Vance and Moustiers.

As for the Chateaux of the Loire, for our honeymoon 30 years ago, I had a friend in Paris make arrangements with castle hotels in the Loire Valley so we were able to both see the great Chateaux and stay in some as well.

Many thanks again!

Roland

[neelyrc]

Don't miss the Fondation Maeght Museum of Modern Art when passing trough Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Regards and save travels.
Ralph

[kampala]

Roland,

We met briefly at PUB.  From your route it seems you will be by-passing Paris. However, if you happen to make your way into Paris, let me know as it would be my pleasure to open a bottle of champagne with you and Dolores.   

Send me a PM and I will get my details to you.  I will be available most evenings through the 4th of May.  Then I will be available again from 9th May. 

We are near the Eiffel Tower and can enjoy a nice view with our bubbles.   Sorry, no Pagoda in Paris.

Best,

[rbouch8828]

GGR,

Well, today my wife and I met your friend in St. Jeannet and he showed us his vineyard and his wife gave us samples of their wines. It was all very interesting. He described the 2,000 year history of the wine making and olive oil making there and their process for using bottles for part of the developmental stages of the wine making. We came away with 2 bottles of their wine and a bottle of their neighbor's olive oil.

After our visit we drove along the left bank of the Gorge du Verdon and are now in Moustiers for the night. Tomorrow we will explore Moustiers and then head for St. Tropez.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

Best regards,

Roland & Dolores