Villeneuve Loubert and Nice

Last night we ended up wild camping by the edge of Lac de St. Cassien.  It was probably the wildest spot we have stayed overnight so far.  In the pouring we rain we left the road and bounced along unmade roads to a spot recommended to us.  When we arrived we found one other van there.  it was a young lad who seemed none too pleased that we had found his lonely spot.  We had a cup of tea and then did the honourable thing and bounced down the potholes to find another more peaceful spot (he did have a very loud generator).  It rained heavily all night but the sun was shining and the world steaming when we awoke.  We set off for Nice, avoiding the toll roads meant we travelled on little meandering lanes that took us through the hills along a route known as the Golden Route due to the immense numbers of yellow flowering mimosas.  It was beautiful.  It was a tricky drive for Mike and Buster but they took it in their stride, although we did have to turn round at one point where the road narrowed to less than 2m (we are 2.3m wide).

Conscious of our previous experience at Cannes we wanted to get some advice before we arrived.  As we approached the coast road we saw a sign for the Tourist Information in Villeneuve Loubert. Here we were told that parking was not easy in Nice but for 1 euro we could get the bus from here.  We could also get a train to Monaco. There was a campsite with free wifi nearby - it was a no brainer. We booked into the campsite along with about 45 Italian vans (no other British) and settled down. We decided to head off for Nice straight away.  The weather was good and was expected to rain tomorrow. We found the bus stop easily and the 30 minute ride took us right into the centre of Nice. As it was Easter weekend the city was busy. We headed straight for the old centre and Cours Saleya where the flower market is held. We bought a potted red geranium for our van.  From here we headed upwards to the Tour Bellanda and the site of the ancient chateau from where you could get fabulous views of the coast and the city. There was also a fantastic waterfall here too. 
Walking down we passed the cemetery and headed for Garibladi's Square. ( No biscuits to be seen).  This was a wide open space but we were soon wandering down narrow streets full of Provence goods: herbs, soap, olive oil, wine etc. there was also a strong Italian feel with stores selling fresh pasta.  From Rue Rossetti we went back to Cours Saleya to spy Maison Adam and Eve which we had missed the first time round. We als visited a couple of churches, the opera house and Hotel negresco. We had a lovely afternoon wandering around in the sunshine but now it was time to head back.  The traffic was really building up now and it took us over an hour to get back.

As expected it was raining on Saturday.  I took the opportunity to catch up with some marking, whilst Mike washed our sheets and kept himself busy.  by late afternoon I was ready to go out.  Villeneuve Loubert is the birth town of Augustus Escoffier and ther was a museum dedicated to him in his former house in the old part of the village. We decided to cycle up there.  it was a lovely musueum with enough annotation in English for us to understand it and enjoy it.  i wish I had richard with me as I knew he would have found it very interesting.  On the way back we decided to check out the train stations for our trip to Monaco tomorrow.  The stations were further away than we thought and not easy to find. tempers got a little frayed. to cap it all by the time we got back and reached the supermarket we found that there was an 'incident' there and the place was swarming with police and security guards and the store was closed. i was disappointed as it meant my plans to get something special for easter sunday were thwarted.  I went home grumpy with Mike feeling fed up with me - but it did not last long as we had a lovely day in Monaco to look forward to. See next post.