We had no idea of where we were, though we knew that the campsite we were in, was not far from Antibes, but the question was, were we up on a hill? As it was a Sunday we assumed that the buses would be fairly irregular, so we bit the bullet, and after repairing another puncture in Rodney’s rear tyre, we set off south with a map. It turned out to be fairly flat all the way and not too far at all. So feeling fairly fresh, we cycled through the centre of Antibes and out on to the boulevard leading to Pointe Grenille.
We continued on along Boulevard Bacon (….?!!) right around the coastline to Plage de la Garoupe, where Cole Porter used to hang out (not Kevin Bacon). The huge blue sky was wonderful after yesterday’s dreadful weather and it was lifting our spirits, so we decided to keep going further, though not on our bikes. There is a stunning footpath, the Sentier Tirepoil, which picks its way around the tip of Cap d’Antibes.
It took us about two and half hours to walk to the point next to Villa Eilenroc and back over the peninsula to our bikes. We managed to dodge many crashing waves along the way, but just as we were taking our last photo, a huge wave came up behind us and soaked me all down one side; hair, t-shirt, jeans, scarf. It wasn’t a particularly warm day, so it took hours to dry out, but we had a good laugh about it. It was getting rather late for lunch by the time we cycled back to Plage et Port de la Salis, so we sat on the sea wall and shared a hot dog and chips from a beach side takeaway. We had another laugh when we spotted a lady in a fur coat and sunglasses walking past a heavily tanned lady in a gold bikini; one has to keep that tan topped up down here on the French Riviera, but sorry, we didn’t have time to grab the camera.
With extra fuel on board, we cycled back past all the beaches to the Vieux Port of Antibes and right out along the extensive harbour wall. We marvelled at the absolutely enormous yachts, most of which were registered in Georgetown, Bermuda, and we wondered who in the world has the money to own all of these beasts. The biggest one, and it’s one of the largest yachts in the world, was called Katara and was registered in Doha; we’ve looked it up and it’s apparently owned by the very rich Emir of Quatar.
With the clouds starting to build, we locked up the bikes and then wandered in to the old town to roam around the narrow streets and alleyways for a while. But with the huge clouds starting to obscure the sun, it got chilly and we grabbed our bikes to ride back to the campsite. Up on the mountains we saw some lightening and then heard the thunder rolls, but we made it home before any raindrops fell; I really wasn’t in the mood for getting any wetter today!
On Monday morning we both showered really early and we were standing at the bus stop at 8:40am. After five minutes of studying the timetable, I suddenly remembered that it was Monday and also a public holiday, doh! No buses, doh! So we cancelled plans to go to Monaco for the day, bought a baguette and pastries and walked back to Eileen. It was a beautiful sunny day, if a little windy, so we chose to make it a ‘get the washing done, do some fixing and polishing and then laze by the pool day’ instead. Mind you, in true French fashion, even the swimming pool closed for lunch. Lots of lazy campers were enjoying a bit of sunshine and a swim in the heated pool, when on the dot of 12:30 the owner came out and rang a little bell to say “all out”. I couldn’t believe it and I’m trying to imagine if they do the same at hotels in France?!!! We were allowed back in after 2:30pm, but it was closed again in time for tea…..
It may have been a beautiful day, but it snowed during the night. Not on us, but the mountains behind are now beautifully snow-capped. This weather is really confusing us….
