We continued along the French Riviera on long cycleways with beautiful views back to Nice with the snow-capped Alps behind. We had an expensive coffee in Antibes on the way and picnic'd on a terrace overlooking the private beach resorts near Cannes. Our campsite was on the far side of Cannes so we stopped off at the Palais des Festivals et des Congres where they were preparing for the film festival due to start in a week or so.
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| Beachfront cycleways between Nice and Cannes |
The next day we did a short (31km) tour from Cannes to the town of Grasse. Grasse is famous as the perfume capital of the world and, as I had just finished reading the book Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, we had to go have a look. The town itself was a little bit of a letdown and we didn't really see any of the flower fields that are supposed to be around - I guess you have to pay for a tour to really see them properly.
Spirits lifted the next day as we were back out on the coast. The road was stunning with the red rocks of the Massif d'Esterel reminding us of Townsville or Arizona - it was unexpected after the built-up areas around Nice and Cannes. On the way a friendly puppy took a liking to me and started running along behind my bike. After a few near misses and screeching brakes as he swerved out in front of cars I decided I couldn't just carry on and risk him getting hit by a car. I picked him up and walked along the road until I found some string to tie him to a lamppost. As I was tying him up a car pulled up and a guy came over shaking his head and apologising. It wasn't his dog, but he knew the owner and ran off up a nearby lane with the pup in his arms.
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| Massif d'Esterel |
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| All smiles after the puppy rescue |
Over the next two days we continued along the coast ticking off beach resorts, sampling some of the local cuisine (Tropézienne tart and local Rosé were highlights) and enjoying the good weather. However, the real highlight of the journey between Nice and Marseille was the following day over the Route des Crêtes and through the Parc des Calanques.
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| Route des Crêtes winding along cliff-tops |
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| View towards Parc des Calanques from the Route des Crêtes |
The Route des Crêtes snakes along the top of 400m high seacliffs between the towns of La Ciotat and Cassis and made for amazingly fun riding. After a brake-pad-destroyingly-steep descent into Cassis we climbed back up again through the Parc des Calanques, which was only established as a national park in 2012. The descent into Marseille was great with cool views over the city and fast riding on a good road.
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| Parc des Calanques near Marseille |
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| Sarah cruising into Marseille |
- David
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