Blogs from Draguignan, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe

I remember most of the big dates- Dec. 7, 1941; Aug. 15, 1944; Aug. 7, 1945; Nov. 22, 1963 but I had never heard of this one- Aug. 19, 1944. That was the day the Allied troops began an offensive against the German army in Southern France and the Rhone Valley. Although I've always liked history I found dates in a history book flat and boring. I've never had a desire to go to Normandy and observe where the D-Day battles began. But on this day as part of my trip I followed others out of the bus and within several steps I was in the middle of the Rhone American Cemetery. On Aug. 15, 1944 several divisions of the US Seventh Army plus French armor landed on the Riviera beaches, supported by British, French, Greek, ... read more

... read more

Wednesday 9th Istres to Draguignan Travelled through Marseilles (had intended to bypass it but somehow ended up going right through the old port - this was lucky because it was really worth seeing). Continued along the Cote D’Azur stopping off at the Carrefour on the edge of Toulon. The coast is pretty with beautiful turquoise sea but a bit too many villas for my taste. The coastal roads were very busy and the campsites (as we anticipated they might be - all full). We therefore headed inland to the mountains and as the time was getting late stopped on a site we happened on just outside the town of Draguignan. It is a very down to earth working class French site and that earth is very dry and dusty. A boules tournament was in full progress ... read more