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19 April: Lyon & Grenoble, France
Drove from Besancon to Lyon. Took Stacey to the aforementioned Basillica. The overindulgent splendor of the church certainly had an effect on Stacey. Her quote was "there isn't a square inch of this that isn't covered with something." And she's right. Had an interesting experience parking. Someone had double-parked behind us as we were leaving the hilltop of the Basillica. As we approached she asked us, in French, if we were leaving. I said we spoke no French, and she asked us if we were English. I said we were American, but the car was German. We all had a nice laugh and I got my car out of the tight squeeze. I'm beginning to get used to the dimensions of the car, to which Stacey will attest. [yup, i attest to it. --sg]
We drove down the old City, parked, found the cheap internet place, and ate. The food was quite good, and we both ate far too much coq au Riesling. After stumbling to our car (which was in a parking lot on the Saone river, and the bottom level was innundated with water), we drove to Grenoble. Grenoble is situated in what must be a glacially-carved valley. Gigantic cliffs on both sides seem to shelter the city. It seemed quite lunar. Sheer rock faces about 2500 ft high. Very nice.
We were going to stay at a Formule 1, but along the way we saw the sign for the Etap for which we couldn't get a reservation. We drove to the Etap (in major traffic), and then found to our dismay that it was full. So we went next door to the Nuit d'Hotel. At 135F, it's cheaper than the F1, with a too small and firm bed, and a shower across the hall. I'd call it rustic, but it had by far the best view from a hotel since Alpenblick. A full ground to top view of a cliff.
20 April: Grenoble to Nice, France
Feeling mildly refreshed, but still a little tired, we set out on the Route d'Napoleon to Nice. When Napolean got sick of being stuck in Elba, he landed on the Cote d'Azur and told the people to follow him or strike him down. Those nutty French (or is it Italian at that point), they followed him. In any case, he followed the high road through the Alps. We would trek the reverse direction.
We took the autoroute to Sisteron. A quaint little city with a mighty citadel up on a rock. The mistral was blowing quite fiercely, so we confined our exposure on this part of the trip to getting lunch; a relatively bland affair compared to the exquisite French cooking to which I had become accustomed. From Sisteron we drove to Digne, a thoroughly unmemorable city. Then we took an extremely windy and windy road through many different geological formations. Part of it looked glacial, some tectonic, some volcanic, a little of everything. Someone well versed in geology should really have been on this part of the trip. Hi Karen.
The one cool town we stopped at was Entreveaux. In the middle of this glacial/river valley on top of a huge rock (1000ft) was a citadel. The city, thankfully, was built below. Something out of a movie involving a Tibetan monastery. A sheer climb up switchbacks laid ahead of us. We wisely stayed in our car, although with less wind, we may have considered it. At this point the temperature was high enough for us to take the top down (60F). Nice was near.
We drove into Nice on the west side. After having to put the top up for a spot due to some sort of fire, we drove along the Promenade d'Anglais. Stacey got to revel in the splendor that is Cote d'Azur. The ocean was, yet again, so blue as to defy description. We were quite happy. I was immediately at ease in the 21ºC weather with the top down and the water and sky both blue. [and about time, too... --sg]
After getting mildly lost finding a parking spot, we went to the hotel and rested a bit. Then to the beach. We lounged a bit and revelled in the blue. Four different shades of blue in the sea. A little windy though. Beggars can't be choosers. Then we went and got dinner at the crazy 500-variety pizza place. No free Nutella pizza this time, but free Bruschetta, and much cheaper prices. Not sure why. Then we got some much-needed rest.
21 April: Nice, France
In the morning we did laundry. To get enough change, we stopped by a currency exchange desk for half of it, and then got some gellato for the rest [and if you've been following the website, you know Steven and his gellato. --sg]. Laundry is getting mildly annoying to do every 6 days. I'm going to buy some more clothes soon. For lunch we stopped at a department store bakery and got some pizzas (and a quiche for me). Then to a cheap internet place to update the website.
Then we went to the Chagall Museum. If you don't like modern art, come here (and buy the guide). Then we walked to the beach and lounged some more. Then we went to try and find some dinner and I stepped in dog poo. I was quite unhappy and unpleasant to be around. I tip-toed to my room and cleaned it up in the bidet (so that's what those things are for). After all the excitement I slept.
22 April: Monaco, Nice to Antibes, France
Today was the day of the our trip to Monaco and to Antibes, but it was also the semi-marathon in Nice. It blocks up the Promenade, the port, and most of Ave. Jean Medicin. In anticipation, I moved my car from Massena (the start of the marathon) to the Nice Etoile. It's cheap on Sunday and I thought it would get me out of the mess. I was wrong. Made a wrong turn and was blocked in. However I found the Voie Rapid and booked it on the middle road to Monaco.
After having enough of the middle road we went back to the low road and stopped at the same spot I stopped last time to take a picture. Now there's a snack stand. We caffeinated ourselves and basked in the beauty. Then off to Monaco. We parked by the old city and were about 10 minutes late for the changing of the guard. Got the view of the city and avoided the exodus of tourists.
We entered the Oceanographic Museum. It's $10 and its worth it. The bottom floor was a quite impressive aquarium. We saw all manners of fish. Saw an eel with grooming shrimp (even dental work). Hard to describe all that we saw. It was a cool aquarium. Upstairs there was an exhibition Japanese Fish painting (the name of it escapes me and I didn't write it down, please comment if you know). Then further up for the room with specimens and another room with the remnants of the expeditions taken up by Prince Ranier. Whilst in this museum I started to get a little twinge in the throat. Cold is coming on.
Then off to Monte-Carlo. Walked around and just hung out while I manically felt my neck. After basking in the glow of the rich, we drove to Antibes. Got two nights in the Etap this time to allow me to convelesce.
23 April: Antibes, France
Throat feels like it's about to shut. It had to happen sometime, so it might as well happen in a place I've been before with great weather. Around noon we drove to the Fort and just hung out for a bit near the view. Then my oil light came on. See the The Car page for more details on that. After many no goes at supermarkets and gas stations, I eventually made it to a auto-supply store and got the required 5W-40 Mobil1 100% Synthetic Oil. Drove back to the Etap and it's cool underground garage and filled my car. Then I went inside and slept.
24 April: Cannes to Arles, France
RN 98, the road connecting Cannes with St. Raphaël is the best drive imaginable. My throat was still feeling iffy, but I wanted to keep moving on. In the Rick Steves' guide it mentions RN-98 connecting Cannes with Frejus as quite a scenic drive. Understatement abounds in that statement.
I felt like crap, but with the top down with 22º weather along the Mediterranean coast... STUNNING It defies description is is so awesome. Along the way we stopped about 3 times. The first time was to see a great view. We parked along the road and saw a sign that said "Parc Départmental de la Pointe de l'Aiguille." We parked the car, put up the hood and saw a gigantic red rock standing out in the bay with two quite pleasant red beaches on either side. After figuring out which town we were in, we headed down. Then we stopped at an abandoned battery along the coast. Then we stopped at a normal beach. But words fail. If you have but one vacation to take, come here and do this drive. I have more of this trip to go, but this is definately the highlight of the BAEV.
We got on the autoroute and drove to Arles. The Etap was a converted Mercure hotel and so it was a great value (imagine a 3 star hotel with a smaller TV, no free soap, and no telephone for $30). Got a room for two nights. And headed towards Les Baux. I got a little lost because I didn't listen to Stacey (note to self...). We only had about 90 minutes, but Stacey loved it. I spent most of the time getting the part of the tour I had previously missed and explaining parts to Stacey that had to be skipped for time. Definitely have to go back there again on a very clear day. Back to the hotel and more rest. Feeling better, but not enough.
25 April: Arles, France
It was misty and cool in the morning. We went to the Arena because it is the logical first step. The rain was actually pleasant as we trapsed around the arena. Then off to the Roman Museum again. Stacey was impressed. Then off to Pont du Gard (big day). This time I took the other panorama (droit side) and it was much better.
Stacey felt like splurging so we got the Grande Expo tour. We got there a little before 17h and the english movie was starting. But due to some misdirection we ended up in the multimedia exhibits. I was initially purturbed at the whole thing, but am now thankful I missed it. We spent two hours in that place. A museum devoted to roman aqueduct building, from the organization of the workers to the scientific investigations of how the whole thing worked. Everything was described in four languages and included a large number of videos and buttons to press. This is quite new (2000), and well worth the money. It even includes free parking. I found it more impressive than the actual site itself. BTW, on the way to the right panorama, behind the old entrance to the channel is another remnant of the aquaduct. I very much recommend coming back here to see part of it that is a little ruined. The relatively pristine condition of the Pont du Gard makes it seem a little Disneyesque, and seeing an actual ruin brings it home more.
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