Bord de la Mer

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Geo: 43.7042, 7.31015

Our agenda today was to arrive in Villefranche before dark to meet up with our friends Brent and Margaret Rankine with whom we are going to spend the next 4 or so days. They had booked us a room in Villefranche which has been their headquarters for the past few weeks.
We left Avignon about 9am heading south towards the Cote D'Azur. Another beautiful day and with the BeeGees and the Beatles blaring from our CD player, life felt good!!
First headed towards Aix-en -Provence with the intention of making a stop, but the view from the distance of a smoky, high rise town rather put us off, so we drove on. We avoided the freeways because of the peage and were content on the smaller roads, even though this could prove frustrating when stuck behind a slow moving tractor. (I won't quote Fletcher!!)
Got to St Raphael about 12-15 intending to stop for lunch but decided to push on towards Cannes. I had not been here and hoped to stop for a look. We drove down the Le Bord de la Mer and took the coast road. It certainly is a glamorous looking place with the palm trees lining the front and lovely sandy beaches. We found a park and strolled back to near the Carlton Hotel where the rich and famous must stay during the film festival. Had a quick lunch at a sandwich stall on the beachfront. It was a great view, I looked at the sparkling sun and the sea while Fletcher had other distractions!!
After about 45 minutes we headed off again. We drove onto Nice. This is a very large place and we temporariily took a wrong turn and spent about 15 minutes getting back to the right road. We eventually found the Promenade D'Anglais, the esplanade of Nice and skirted the sea. It is easy to see why this is the azure coast. The sea was turquoise blue and many people were enjoying the water and the rocky beach here. Found the signs leading to Villefranche and were there so quickly that we got to the meeting spot ahead of Marg. However, she was not long in coming and she then took us to the hotel at the port.
After that it was back to the cafe to wait for Brent over a drink or two. Once he had arrived we went to their "studio apartment" which is one long narrow room with a small bathroom. Gathered supplies for a picnic dinner and walked to the walls of the town overlooking the harbour with a fabulous view. Met a couple of their friends there and a pleasant evening was had sampling some of the reds both we and they had acquired over the last few days. A wonderful end to a varied day.

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