Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

Next stop on the way to the Gorge was the delightful Moustiers. Of all the hilltop towns we’ve seen in both Italy and France (and they are numerous now), this is the best.  It is well laid out, the buildings are in good condition, its clean, has an excellent spring fed water supply, not too steep, well protected with its back to the rock wall, and extremely picturesque.

the winding track that leads up to the old church

cute shops full of high quality goods

looking down the valley to serfdom

Lac de Sainte Croix

We passed this magnificent lake, man made in the 70’s for hydro electric power.  How lucky were we to witness this aerial fire fighting pilot practising scooping water out of the lake, then jettisoning it.  It takes incredible skill to carry out this mission. Thirty seconds later and we would not have seen this.  I am proud of this shot!

Villecroze Garden

We took Celie with us on a full day trip to the Gorges du Verdon, but on the way we stopped at this enchanting garden …

At first glance, appears to be just a nice garden

On closer inspection you’ll see the house that was carved straight into/out of the rock face

Being the photographer, I am always lagging behind, as I was when I took this shot practically on the move.   From the same garden, this is my Monet Moment … don’t paint it because I’m going to!

Provence Liquorice Allsorts

Well, being the sweeties that we are, we did venture into a Fresh Sweets Shop in Draguignan, paid too much for a big scoop of liquorice allsorts, and had demolished them before we got to the end of the shopping precinct.  I know, shameless.  But herewith, a photographic assortment from the area …

NOW THIS IS AMAZING – Titch is 22 years old – a dash of dementia and a trifle deaf, but incredibly strong heart and a real sweetie.  The oldest registered dog in the world is 22 years old too, but unfortunately Ian & Celie haven’t got written proof

nests of a little bird called a House Martin

all planes here seem to leave vapour trails

pretty Provence spring flowers

Nice Ass

Oops, sorry … Nice Ass

Draguignan – our stay ‘Chez Ferguson’

We had a most enjoyable six day stay just out of Draguignan in Provence.  We could easily have stayed a month, especially with the ‘Dragon’ Vineyard and it’s very quaffable rosé just down the road.  Our hosts, Ian & Celie Ferguson, moved out from Britain eight years ago, absolutely love living in France, and certainly have the perfect lifestyle and location to make us very envious.

Our gorgeous villa: built in the traditional style of a Station Master’s house, and quite separate from the main house

Looking out of our front door to the shared garden (amazing pool is out of view)

Our wonderful hosts Ian and Celie with “Titch”

A Competition for avid followers …

Guess what we did in Frejus, our very first stop in France?

To register your interest and suggestion, simply add a comment.  Answer in a few days …..

Monaco

We decided not to do much more of the Italian Riviera so we hit the motorway headed for France.  Linz didn’t want to go to Monaco, but I just could not drive straight past, so we did a no-stop-just-keep-your-foot-on-the-pedal-lap-of-honour.

Many years have passed since the last visit, but the spectacle of Monte Carlo still takes your breath away when you come over the top of that hill …

Wouldn’t usually stoop to this style of photo, but it’s kinda cute

This image snatched through the windscreen while cruising down one of the main streets – even keeping to the speed limit!

The Italian Riviera

We tootled down the coast road towards the French border. Our final stop in Italy was the quiet seaside town of San Bartolomeo al Mare, wedged in between the medieval fortress of Cervo and the pleasant, busier commercial centre of Diano Marina. After one day of rain the sun came out, and so did the locals. 

We stayed at the boutique Hotel Le Palme, right on the beach.	Cervo
We could have stayed here…has it had a $300 million upgrade recently?

Portofino

We were staying in Santa Margherita which was only 5km from Portofino so we felt morally obliged to go there.  The road is very narrow and stressful to drive because you never know what you’re going to meet head on at the next bend.  The town is quaint and picturesque without a doubt, but very over-rated and to our minds, not necessarily a must see these days.

….. our best attempt at the standard Portofino picture, on a dull day, and cutting out all the construction work

Lenny & Dot invest in a Piaggio – the only way to get around on these narrow streets

What the…??? If you leave your rhinoceros parked in the main street,  they WILL tow it away

Genoa

We took the train from Santa Margherita into Genoa, a very enjoyable 40 minute ride with lovely views of the seaside. The city has a prosperous and cosmopolitan feel to it. Genoa has a proud nautical history which has been celebrated in recent years by the rejuvenation of the old port area and the opening of a maritime museum and Europe’s largest aquarium. But apart from a quick walk around the port we didn’t visit any of that so here’s what you’re getting instead.

Now where’d I leave my bike??	This lovely old guy played his evocative sax music to the passers by …..	….. he is right in the middle of this covered arcade on the main shopping street – you had to be there to appreciate the  fantastic acoustics
The impressive fountain in the central piazza		A flavour of the cultural heritage in the narrow streets of the old town

Santa Margherita Ligure

We headed for Rapallo which looked like a good base for visiting Genoa and Portofino. We got caught up in one-way peak hour traffic and ended up 5 km down the road in Santa Margherita Ligure. It was a great spot so we stayed for 2 nights.

A view of Santa Margherita…and the world’s cutest public toilets

Rocking on through Italy

It might not sound like the usual tourist fare, but we have seen some impressive natural rock formations on our travels. Equally interesting has been the way architects and builders have coped with the dramatic landscape.

Lerici and the ‘Cinque Terre’

Lerici stands at the easternmost end of the Ligurian coast. The town was mostly closed when we visited, apart from the dodgem cars and fairground attractions with blaring music in the main square which didn’t enhance our experience of the ‘Gulf of the Poets’. I bet it wasn’t like this when Shelley and Byron arrived.

The ‘Cinque Terre’ are 5 tiny fishing villages built on impossibly rocky outcrops. They are so picturesque that they are now completely overwhelmed by tourists in the summer. We visited at a good time as it wasn’t too busy, but we both felt that these villages now have an artificial air to them – more theme park than ‘real’ Italy. As you can see, they are most spectacular when viewed from the narrow energy-sapping road which snakes around this part of the coast (most people aren’t silly enough to drive, as we did, and go by boat or train instead).

Corniglia

Riomaggiore

Manarola