Patricia Sands

Author

France

Tourrettes Sur Loup

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If It’s Friday, It Must Be France …

Buckle up and keep your camera ready! The drive to the medieval village of Tourrettes Sur Loup is breathtaking. Only 14 kilometres from the Côte D’Azur, it’s easy to reach and might be combined with a visit to St. Paul De Vence. Much smaller than St. Paul and far less touristy, we like to take visitors there. If you approach from the west, the moment you come around the last corner takes my breath away every time.

I can’t tell you the number of photos I’ve taken of this view. Different times of day, changing seasons, sunny, cloudy, any excuse makes it simply irresistible to my shutter mania.

Established in the 11th C, the natural setting created the fortification of the town. How did they build those towns? All by hand … it boggles my mind. The 12th C church is built on the site of a Roman temple. Don’t miss it!

The village isn’t overloaded with shops (click here for a complete list and the town’s official site … in French, but you can figure it out) and their products are truly artisanal. Le Bois D’Olivier is our favourite with beautiful olive wood products produced by hand since the 1950’s by the Dubosq family (father and now son). Simply walking into their shop is a buzz! I love the warm shades and textures of olive wood. I haven’t seen better prices or finer work anywhere. (Trust me, I’ve looked at way too much olive wood!)

Further along La Grande Rue you will find Poterie La Bergerie‘s awesome cave-like atelier where delicate ceramics are crafted and hand-painted with violet motifs.

You’ll want to pop into many of the other shops as you stroll through. Tourrettes Sur Loup has been famous for the cultivation of violets since the 1880’s.  The locally well-known Fête de Violettes is celebrated every March.

Walk down to the bottom of the village to find a panoramic view past a Roman aqueduct right down to the coast. When you’ve filled your camera chip, have a fine meal at La Médiéval, where the friendly owner fills a glass of rosé like I’ve never seen before. Check to make sure it’s open before you go.

I’ve attached a video below that gives you a bit of a tour through the village. It also shows how the Dubosq men work their magic with the olive wood.

It’s a long video so pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy!

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Le travail du bois d’olivier. Saladier artisanal…dubosqguillaume

Cocteau, the Cap de Nice walk and … ooops …

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

It was the best of times. It was the worst of … well, okay, not the worst ever but the air did turn a certain shade of bleu (not a typo, we are in France after all). It turned out I hadn’t researched this walk quite as well as I thought! Ever had one of those days?

We’ve been taking the train a lot here as the station is literally a  three minute walk from our little bit of heaven in Antibes. Our French friends tell us the trains are unreliable so I guess we’ve been lucky since they’ve really been working for us. We did learn to pick our times because in July and August the late afternoon trains can be jampacked with tourists, dogs, bikes, strollers not to mention the locals just trying to get home from work. Never mind … I’m getting off topic … as I easily do …

So my DH (dear husband) and I hopped on a train to Villefranche-Sur-Mer, another beautiful spot 30 minutes along the coast (with a great beach) that we visit often. To my surprise he had suggested he would walk a sentier with me and we thought this one would be perfect. He has a bad back so has to pick and choose what sort of walking he does. Stairs are not the best thing. Everything I read about this path made it sound like a good one for him. Gorgeous day! Perfect! We had our drinking water and our spritzer spray water bottles with us. (Do you know about these for walking on hot days? They are the best – great for kids too. You can make your own.)

Walking through town to the start of the sentier, we stopped in at La Chapelle St.-Pierre, which had been closed several times when we had been by before (Mondays). Dating from the 16thC, it fell into disrepair and had been used to store fishermen’s nets and stuff for about 200 years. In the mid-1950’s, it was restored and artist Jean Cocteau (a native of the area) created a magnificent homage on the walls and ceiling to fishermen and their patron saint. It’s a gem. A remarkable display of his talent. No photos are allowed inside but if you click here, I found a site with some. 

We walked past the Citadelle, along another beach, through a marina, looked lost, received unsolicited directions from a very nice French fellow, and were on our way. The scenery was outstanding as usual, red rocks, azure sea, aromatic shrubs and trees. Cicadas were buzzing. It was hot. But we were happy because it was not a long walk so we would be fine. There were a few more spots with stairs than we had anticipated but then the path would continue. We sipped and we spritzed. It was hot.

We looked down to see scuba boats anchored and from time to time kayakers would appear. It really was a perfect day for all this sort of activity. We wished

we had brought bathing suits. Gentle breezes would waft up from the sea from time to time. Oh, and there were a few most spots with stairs … quite a few … I commented on how impressive the French were about maintaining these trails and building stairs so hikers didn’t have to scale rocks any more. DH’s responses were fewer and shorter. Did I mention it was hot?

After two hours, passing four other sweat-drenched hikers going the opposite way, we came around a bend and there was Nice … in the distance.

 

 

 

I wondered aloud if I had somehow read about an entirely different sentier. There was a muffled response from DH. Then suddenly … the path ended abruptly and …

that’s when the air turned BLEU!  DH was not impressed.

Merde! This apparently was the end of our little hike along the Cap de Nice.

I’ve since read that there is a similar walk along the rocks going towards Villefranche from the Old Port in Nice but the two have not been linked. It is possible to combine the two walks but it does involve these and other stairs.

This photo shows the first part of the stairs. They did go on …

When we arrived at the top we were on a palm-tree lined street in a lovely part of east Nice and I thought the name of the bus stop was quite appropriate!  DH even laughed!

Part of my attempts to inject enthusiasm into the hike when another set of stairs appeared, was to remind DH that we were going to have lunch at one of his favourite restaurants when we finished our hike. We took the bus to the Old Port and walked down the street to Les Pins D’Alep, discussing what our order would be. DH began getting a bit edgy when we noticed the tables and chairs normally outside were missing. Don’t tell me … he said …

 

Closed all of August for holidays … and so we laughed. I thought I was going to have an accident right there. OMG, we laughed. What else can you do? Then we walked around the corner and had a delicious lunch and some nice cold beer somewhere else. It always works out.

What do you do when things don’t play out quite the way you planned? Do you have a meltdown or can you find the humour in the situation?  I find a little of the former and a lot of the latter works best for me.

Which route would you choose?

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Cycling is a big part of European culture. I’m not talking about biking home from work or over to visit with a friend. I’m talking serious, strenuous biking over long distances that often includes steep mountain roads full of challenging switchbacks.

Certainly in France, at any time on any day, you are likely to see men or women on high-performance bikes in colorful gear heading somewhere. I’m always amazed when we are driving to some remote hilltop village (on a road we thought was a challenge to drive!) and we pass incredibly fit cyclists near the summit. We are in awe – truly!

Le Tour De France , held for three weeks every July, is one of the most famous international sporting events.  For years from the mid-1990’s, it was often referred to as the Tour De Lance as American Lance Armstrong dominated the winner’s podium, winning a record seven times! The cyclists cover 3500 kilometres or 2200 miles crossing every type of terrain imaginable. The start location changes each year but the race traditionally ends with a celebratory ride up the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

First held in 1903 as a publicity stunt, Le Tour has continued ever since with few exceptions. The 2011 race was the 98th time the race was held. Cadel Evans became the first Australian to win the title.

I love to cycle but I have to admit flatter stretches appeal more to me! Biking along a canal or through vineyards, taking in the scenery, and stopping for a delicious lunch or packing a picnic is right up my alley this summer.

Cycling is a great way to spend time as a family too. The bad news is that head injuries account for 25% of all bicycle-related accidents. Each province in Canada has its own laws about bicycle helmets as I’m sure is the case in the U.S.A. too.  Doesn’t it just make sense to always wear a helmet, obey traffic rules, and be sure your equipment is kept in good order?

Happy cycling and stay safe!

Typical of sports fans all over the world, there are always those who show their enthusiasm in unique ways. The video below spotlights some of those fans along with some humorous incidents along the route of Le Tour De France.
Footage from over the years of some of the more light-hearted moments in the competition

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1001726&w=425&h=350&fv=endpoint%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fvideo%2F2011%2Fjul%2F01%2Ftour-de-france-funny-bits-video%2Fjson]

Tour de France: The funny bits – video | Sport …, posted with vodpod

Cycling up steep mountain roads isn’t for everyone though. How do you challenge yourself through sports – as a participant, a fan, or both?  Leave a comment below if you like.

You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them and clicking the highlighted words takes you to more information. Thanks for visiting my blog!



Literature, lavender and lunch – part 2


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If it’s Friday, it must be France!


Friday again! It seems to come around faster every week. Ok, I got so caught up in the excitement of the literary history on the Côte D’Azur last Friday that I didn’t get to the other two subjects in my title.


So now it’s on to lavender! Last week we rented a car and drove 2-1/2 hours north to the Valensole area of Provence. We were a little late for the full lavender whammy as the harvest had begun the week before. However, as you can see from my photos, there were still many fields in bloom so we weren’t disappointed. But here’s my word of advice about that: if you want to see the incredibly beautiful effect of the lavender fields in their full glory, go the first week of July. When you open the car windows or step outside, to take way too many photos, the fragrance in the air is amazing!


Of course when you have lavender, you have bees (they’re not interested in you, by the way) and many farms have apiaries to make their own lavender honey. They also often craft their own soaps, candles, and dried lavender products. I have one word for lavender honey – DIVINE!  When we popped into one small farm, they were just putting the fresh honey into jars and offered tastes with great pride. We stocked up!


I have to admit I was never a big lavender fan, although I always loved the look of  the plant, but after this experience I’ve become a convert. The true fragrance is so pure and sweet. There are also the holistic and aromatherapy benefits to lavender which are many. I had a moment of wishing I still lived in a house with a garden so I could plant some myself. Maybe I’ll try a plant on my condo terrace next summer and see what happens. I did see lots of  lavender in pots but suspect they had been there through many winters. Somehow I don’t think that will happen in Toronto!


When you google lavender, there’s a ton of information. You will find some really interesting sites. I’m including a video here that gives excellent information about growing your own lavender. Take a look!


Click here for the video which I couldn’t get to embed after a bizillion attempts!


And now on to lunch! We drove to the beautiful (it’s hard to find other words for these places …) village of Moustieres-Ste.-Marie which we have visited on previous trips.




In the past, we’ve had some fine meals at a small restaurant there and looked forward to another visit. Yikes! Not going to happen! There were tourists everywhere and the walk to the nearest available parking spot was better suited for a mountain goat. We drove straight through the village and tried to control our whining.  Then, voila! Just a few minutes out of town we saw a most inviting sign and quickly pulled in to the Restaurant Ferme Ste.-Cecile. The setting was pastoral and the cuisine was “gastronomique”, specializing in local products and surprisingly reasonably priced. Between the main course and dessert, the chef sent out a serving of perfectly aged chèvre accompanied by a tiny bowl of lavender honey. Bonus! Don’t you love it when a disappointment turns into something unexpectedly wonderful?


Are you a fan of lavender? Do you grow it in your garden? Have you tasted lavender honey? If you have any tips to share with readers about lavender or about your own travel surprises, please add a comment. It’s always so rewarding to receive them!