Going Home – Tuesday August 14, 2018

Neither of us slept well and we both woke up about 4:30, although did not finally get out of bed until 7:30. We got ourselves ready and finished packing then checked out and were on the road within an hour.

The journey to Nice airport was very easy taking the faster, A8, route and paying the €3 toll. Going on our previous poor experience when returning a rental car in Iceland, I had rehearsed the route using Google Streetview. As a result, I knew how to get to the petrol (gas) station and then to the car rental return. The check-in process was equally smooth, both returning the car and self-baggage drop – there were not even any queues at this airport, unlike at Paris Orley airport.

We had a couple of hours to wait before our flight and I found a Starbucks directly opposite our departure gate. Our connection at Amsterdam was very tight with only 20 minutes between arrival and boarding, so we ran the distance between gates through the rather familiar airport. The remainder of the journey was boredom and watching movies.

On arrival, our friend and neighbour very kindly picked us up from the airport and drove us home. After a month away, we are looking forward to being home.

Mougins – Monday August 13, 2018

We woke to the sound of another loud thunderstorm. Since it was raining, I decided to drive the car down to the Boulangerie to get our breakfast supplies. This was also the second time I wore long pants on our month away. With the muggy day, we stayed in and sorted out things ready to pack as it was our last day here. After lunch, the maid came in to make up the room and we decided it was time to leave now it was brightening up.

We walked along the main street of the village. It turned out to be a good day to explore the shops since most are closed on Monday and those that were open on Monday were closed for lunch. They seemed to be mostly real estate agents with price ranging from €1 million to €3 million. On the way back we stopped at Carrefour to buy a couple of bottles of wine to bring home.

In the evening, we went into the old town of Mougins for our final meal. We wandered around for a while checking menus and finding a table. Several restaurants were fully booked or only had tables indoors. Eventually, we found a suitable restaurant where we ordered the set meal and Paul just wanted fries since he couldn’t find anything he was familiar with. My set meal started with onion pie with maceral, followed by veal stew and creme brulee which was very filling. After dinner, we walked off the big meal and then drove back to the resort to pack.

As I look back on our time in Europe, I can contrast the experience with life in Canada. On the positive side:

• I really enjoyed fresh baguettes each day from the boulangerie
• Everyone brings reusable bags so there are no plastic bags
• Prices are rounded to the nearest Euro and include tax so prices are predictable and there is less need to find change
• There are smaller independent stores and very few American franchises
• Most people speak English which did not use to be the case
• There is a very good reliable and economic transit system such that a car really was unnecessary
• People drive smaller economical cars

On the negative side I did not like:

• Congestion driving on the road
• Difficulty parking and very little free parking space
• The toll roads
• A lot of things such as eating out seem expensive
• Paying to use the toilet
• Most outings include a lot of walking
• My own mistake not getting the CDW which was a source of anxiety

Antibes – Sunday August 12, 2018

Following the wake-up routine, we set off for Antibes which is a town mid-way between Cannes and Nice. Alison wanted to go to the 11:00 am mass at the cathedral Notre Dame de l’Immaculee Conception. Unfortunately, we had only left 10 minutes to travel the 25-minute journey so would be rather late, but since the service was in French she wouldn’t miss much. Once we arrived at the old town of Antibes, Alison thought it was great winding through the narrow roads. I dropped Alison outside the cathedral next to the market and went off to find somewhere to park on the seafront. I was lucky to find someone pulling out and slipped into the empty space. Paul and I walked back to the cathedral and waited for the service to end.

We walked through the large market from one end to the other and back again checking out all the produce and wares. Then we continued walking through the narrow streets across a square and back to the town wall leading to the sea. We then had a long walk along the waterfront to a large and crowded beach to satisfy Alison’s urge to swim in the Mediterranian Sea. We stayed over an hour by the time we had lunch and dried off before making the long walk back into town. There we stopped at a boulangerie and had refreshments beside the marketplace. The market had ended and the area totally cleared while we were at the beach. Continuing our tour we walked through the arches of the town wall and went to see a large statue before returning along the seafront to our car.

Driving back we detoured first to a small town called Biot which did not seem interesting and then stopped at Valbonne where there was a free car park. Walking into the central square there were lots of restaurants. Paul and I found a Spar where we bought drinks and then followed Alison around looking at all the shops along the small side streets. We were looking for the church under the bell tower and found a building containing an exhibition. As we entered the building the people told us that it was closed but invited us to look around anyway. Alison managed to have a conversation with them mostly in French and found they had been taking photos of the villages and exhibiting them along the way. Their next stop would be Nice.

Back on the road again, we stopped at Carrefour to buy dinner and then returned to our resort. Having the suite with a full kitchen has allowed us to eat in very cheaply.

Notre Dame de Vie – Saturday August 11, 2018

We started our day as usual with breakfast from the boulangerie and Alison swimming. In the morning we drove back to Notre Dame de Vie which we abandoned previously when it rained us out. This was a very old and musty smelling church which happened to be next to the house where Picasso lived during the last years of his life. Upstairs there was an exhibition of photographs of the artist at his home. We continued along the one-way road and past the lake with the lilies then returned back to our resort where we remained for the remainder of the day.

In the afternoon we played a very frustrating game of crazy golf. Alison’s ball got stuck in a pipe in the first hole and we eventually retrieved two different balls. On one hole I took 17 shots and on many of the others I simply gave up. We sunbathed until dinner time and relaxed.

Ile Saint-Honorat – Friday August 10, 2018

Following our usual breakfast routine, we walked to the bus stop and rode the 600 into Cannes. We needed to walk quickly to get the ferry which leaves every hour to the smaller of two islands. It was 30 minutes until we docked. Ile Saint-Honorat is the longtime home to a community of monks and is a retreat location. We decided to find somewhere for lunch and sat by a tree as all the picnic tables were occupied. It was quite a pretty spot although crowded with boats in the channel and people on shore – so much for being a retreat.

After lunch we continued to explore the loop around the island, passing several chapels until we came to the main church and abbey. We explored the church which was very quiet and the slightest sound seemed to echo. Nearby there was a tower which was closed for lunch – seems to be a common experience. Alison also explored a shop selling produce from the monks but found the prices very high with bottles of wine selling for EUR 75. We decided to walk back to the cafe near the boat dock for some refreshments where we bought some cafe aux lait and sat by our favourite tree from earlier in the day. Alison returned to the tower which was now open while Paul and I slept until it was time for the next ferry.

Back on the mainland, Alison went along the shopping street we had found the previous time we were in Cannes while Paul and I went to a cafe for more refreshments and to stay cool. We arranged to meet at the bus stop in time for the 5 pm bus and were early enough to get a seat this time. Walking back to the resort we stopped at Carrefour to buy dinner. Finally, in the evening we watched another movie, this time it was Like Father and was set on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Purfume – Thursday August 9, 2018

Alison fetched breakfast and swam as usual. Following our leisurely breakfast, we drove towards Grasse and stopped at a parfumeria called Fragonard. We needed to wait about 20 minutes before the tour in English started but we had a small group with just 3 couples and a few children. The tour consisted of learning about ingredients, refining, mixing, bottling and soap cutting. At the end of the tour, we were taken to the shop for sampling and Alison bought a small set. Then we drove to a second parfumeria called Gallmard. This had a museum set in a nice old building. However, the English tour was using an audio guide while following a very large French group. Consequently, we decided to skip the tour and go straight to the shop.

On our way back we went to visit Notre Dame de Vie which was along a very narrow road. Unfortunately, the church was closed for lunch and we continued a little further along the road to a lake where we had our lunch. There were enormous lilies covering the entire lake which reminded me of The Day of the Triffids. As we walked around the lake it started to rain heavily and we decided not to return to the church but go straight back to the resort. In the afternoon, the maid came to clean the room so we sat out by the pool until it started raining again and then moved into reception where Alison and Paul played connect-4.

All afternoon and evening we had a thunderstorm and it became cool. This was the first time I wore long pants and a pullover since we arrived in France. We ended the day by watching Mr. Bean’s Holiday which Paul wanted to watch.

Sea Day – Wednesday August 8, 2018

I like to have a day off from the hectic pace of touring all the time. On cruises we have sea days, so we decided it was time for a sea day on this vacation. Alison went to the boulangerie as usual for fresh bread to have for breakfast. Then she goes swimming 20 lengths while it is still quiet, while I prepare the table. After breakfast, I was encouraged to go into the pool and then we sat out in the sun to dry. Much of the rest of the day I caught up with my blogging and Alison sunbathed. In the evening we drove to Carrefour to buy dinner.

Cannes, France – Tuesday August 7, 2018

To save walking to the boulangerie, we ordered a baguette from reception. While eating breakfast, the maid knocked on the door to clean our room so we told her to come back in an hour when we would be out. It was a 10-minute walk to the bus stop next to the boulangerie where we waited for the 600 bus to Cannes. It was only €1.50 each for the ticket giving unlimited travel for 75 minutes. The only seats available on the bus were rear facing and I soon began feeling nauseous so moved to another seat when they opened up. It was about 30 minutes ride to the station in Cannes.

One of the purposes of the trip was to visit the Avis office since I had no success with phoning yesterday. We walked to the seafront and then along to the far end of the beach. We could see an Azamara ship in the bay and Alison struck up a conversation with passengers we found walking along the front. Most of the beach was taken with private areas for the hotels which looked very crowded. When we arrived at the Avis location we found it was closed for lunch and we had an hour to wait. During this time we took photos of Paul in front of the Carlton hotel as a replica of a photo from Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Then we found a shady spot to eat lunch that we had brought with the leftovers from breakfast. While sitting there, a large truck pulled up next to us and started unloading high-end cars including a Lamborghini, Porche, Rolls Royce and Mercedes. The drive was chatty and said he had driven for two days from England with them. The owners paced up and down and seemed somewhat impatient to receive their cars.

We left the entertainment to return to Avis only to find there was nothing that could be done now the contract had been issued. Then we walked the full length of the waterfront towards the convention centre where we had started. At the convention centre, we entered the tourist information office but did not stop long. Further along the front, Alison went to check out the tendering for the Azamara ship. Now it was time to climb the dreaded steps to the church on the hill in the heat of the afternoon. It was exhausting as usual and I set on a bench looking at the view while Alison explored the church.

As it was past 4 pm, we decided to head out before the rush hour and walked down the hill and along a pedestrian-only shopping street. This brought us to the bus station where the 600 bus was just about to leave so we got on for our return journey. The bus was very crowded and there was standing room only for the 30-minute ride back to Mougins. We got off in the village and walked to the resort and recovered from our long day. Once rested, I went out to Carrefour to get dinner while Alison went swimming and we settled in for Pizza.

Mougins Village, France – Monday August 6, 2018

Once awake, I walked about 10 minutes each way to the nearby boulangerie to get fresh baking for breakfast. By the time I got back, it was close to 10 am when there was an introductory talk by the resort manager, so we decided to go there first. We learnt about the places we could visit nearby and were given little cakes and coffee. Then we stayed behind for a while talking to a couple from England. Back in our room we sat out on the patio and had breakfast finally with baguette, pain aux chocolate and almond croissants – yum!

I realized that the credit card used to rent the Avis car was not the correct one that provides collision damage waiver. There was also an extra charge of €92 from Avis that I did not recognize. I spent a good part of the morning trying to call Avis to get a resolution. It was very difficult to call because the premium numbers were blocked on my phone and all numbers seemed to route to a central call centre. I found I needed to talk to the rental office at Nice airport but could not get through. At one point I had a lady tell me “you cannot call the local office, it is impossible”. Then after explaining the problem one more time, she said: “you need to talk to the local office” – duh!

In the afternoon, we decided to walk to the old Mougins village, which in typical French style is at the top of a big hill. It wasn’t far but pretty exhausting walking up the hill in the heat (~35C) of the afternoon. At the top, we took refuge in the tourist information centre where there were air conditioning and fresh water. Once recovered, we talked to a lady and collected a lot of information and maps. As we explored the village we walked through lots of pretty narrow streets with art studios. Walking back to our accommodation, we stopped at Carrefour to buy food for the evening then rested again from the long walk in the heat.

Our other project for the afternoon was to do our laundry in the resort facilities. It cost €4 for a load of washing and we were able to dry the clothes on a rack on the patio. While the washing was being done, Alison and Paul went to play crazy golf. We finished our day with dinner of the remainder of the quiche from yesterday. We seem to be naturally eating later which is a European thing.

Fly to Nice – Sunday August 5, 2018

We left our hotel once we were up and ready at 9:30 and walked to the metro since there was no bus for a while. There were two metro trains and a tram to the airport which was an easy 90-minute journey on Sunday morning. At the airport, we were too early to check-in so went to have breakfast at a cafe called “Paul”. When we returned later there was yet another enormous line for bag drop, which seemed odd since check-in, bag tickets and bag drop was fully automated, but then this is France. Once we made it to the front of the line, the automated bag drop was very simple. Guess what – another long line for security.

Surprisingly, our flight left on time and all of our bags made it to the destination. We walked out of the terminal and across the car park to the car rental and with my preferred status, I only had a line with one person ahead of me before checking in. In the US, preferred clients go straight to the car and drive away without any interaction. We then drive to the resort near Cannes, which should have taken 20 minutes. However, when Alison reprogrammed the GPS with the address we went on a detour of the country roads.

We arrived at our next Diamond resort (similar to Vincennes) and check-in was a long process with a lot of detail since we are staying for 9 days. Alison did not like the room located next to the pool since it was too noisy and not private. Following some discussion, we decided to stay rather than request a room change. There were still a few problems: the pull out bed had not been made up, we could not find bedding or towels for a third person and there were bread crumbs on the mattress. Once settled in, we went out to the local Carrefour supermarket to stock up on provisions. Prices seemed very reasonable and we had quiche for dinner.