June 16, 2013 – Beyond the Fridge in Provence and Cote d’Azur

Well, we finally found some summer in the South of France, specifically in Provence and the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur). Lyon was still distinctly chilly at the end of May, but we headed south to Carpentras (near Avignon) on 2^nd June, and that’s where the sun came out and we warmed up considerably. Unfortunately Carpentras, although quite an interesting historical town, with lots to see in the old buildings and town walls, was closed both days we were there on a Sunday and Monday, so the shops were all shut, but there were lots of students around from the arts and music schools, so it was quite lively.

We then moved on to the Mediterranean coast near Le Lavendou, and got a beachside pitch on an enormous campsite. They have over 1,000 pitches, terraced over a hillside, most with a shelter or trees for shade. It was a lovely break for a couple of days of sunshine and 24^oC, and great views, but at €40 per day was just too expensive for us, as we are used to paying around €16 per night in most other places. Plus the Wifi was only available at the café by reception, and it was a 20 minute walk each way from our pitch (uphill).

Le Lavendou campsite – our view

Le Lavendou – our campsite pitch by the beach

Le Lavendou from our campsite

Le Lavendou – al fresco dining

Le Lavendou – immaculate 1952 Saurer diesel bus, converted to motorhome by Swiss couple

Sunrise at Le Lavendou

Trans-en-Provence, en route to Fayence

Bruschettas for lunch in Draguignan, en route to Fayence

We then visited Jan’s brother’s place in Fayence for a couple of days (in the hills up behind Cannes), in between their guests leaving/arriving, and then to a campsite nearby for a few nights. At this point our 3 way fridge in the camper decided to give up the ghost. It had started playing up a couple of weeks ago when it wouldn’t work on the gas, but now it stopped working on electricity and battery as well. With summer coming on in the Med it’s not a good time to be without refrigeration – warm beer and wine is no fun, not to mention the meat, cheese, butter, milk, etc. going off.

Morning coffee with Mark at Fayence

So next stop was the Hobby dealer in Nice on Monday 10^th June, but (no surprise) they were closed on a Monday! France is such a frustrating country to get anything done on a weekend. So many places are shut on a Sunday and Monday, and even Saturday afternoons.Anyway, we went back again on the Tuesday to have the fridge declared ‘kaput’ and a new one ordered, but it wouldn’t arrive and be installed until Friday. All this was done in Mike’s best French as no-one at the dealers spoke a word of English. They kindly loaned us a 12 volt cooler box and we returned to our campsite at Cagnes sur Mer, just outside Nice and settled in for a few days. It’s a very nice site, with plenty of shade, a lovely 12m x 6m pool, modern facilities (and only €16 per night), with a local bus stop at the gate

The weather has been lovely – fine and sunny with 24 to 26^oC temperatures. We have explored parts of the local town and promenade. We also walked up to the Haut-de-Cagnes – climbed up through the old medieval town on the hill above the new town, topped by a 13^th century castle built by the Grimaldi’s (the Monaco royal family) which now serves as a museum to the olive industry, and a contemporary art gallery.