Jo and Paul second week

Friday 30 August 2013 - Monday 2 September

All work and no play make us very dull indeed, not that we haven't enjoyed our sight seeing which has been amazing but, it would not be right for Jo and Paul not to be able relax for a while. With this in mind we made for a seaside resort called Pietra Ligure. It's located on the Italian Riviera about 100k from French France. 

The most notable thing about the journey from Viareggio to Pietra Ligure was the incredible Motorway that runs along the coast. Virtually the entire journey was on the A12 which ploughs its way through hills and over bridges. It has to be said that it really is a fantastic feat of engineering and must have taken decades to complete. We estimate that out of the 100km journey a good 40% was through tunnels. You burst out of the tunnels straight on to an impossible bridge over a high valley and bang you are back into another tunnel. It seems endless and was still going strong by the time we reached our exit for Pietra Ligure.

After another fruitless attempt to find a supermarket that we could park at, we found our campsite for the next few days. It was fine really, not something Petra and I are used to but it had a swimming pool, bar, shops and WiFi so all in its favour. We tried not to let the screaming kids and angst parents get to us and spent a very pleasant 3 days by the pool. We never left the campsite save for a long hot walk by Petra, Jo and Paul to the supermarket some 1.5km away. Luckily the camp shop sold fresh bread and pastries which we were very pleased to sample every morning. Another games evening and Paul attempting to get a Yahtzee. No more scrabble - we are all hopeless. 

One other great facility the campsite had was a tennis court. The racquets weren't up to much and we weren't either, but we did have a lot of fun running around the court something Petra and I haven't done since we were in our 20's. Still, there is fire in the old boilers yet and we enjoyed giving the young ones a run around.

Tuesday 3 September 2013 - Thursday 5 September 2013

Saw us back on the A12 heading for France and St Tropez. The tunnels and bridges continued where we left them and we very quickly made our way through the last few kilometres of Italy. We have really enjoyed our time in Italy from our fantastic two weeks in Trieste to our time with Jo and Paul visiting Venice, Verona, Lake Garda and Florence. The Italian people are lovely and friendly and we have not had the slightest problems with security. We have always felt safe and secure even just parked overnight on car parks. Not sure I would feel quite the same in the UK.

The drive was spectacular and we really love the French Riviera and Cote d' Azure. We passed Monaco from up high and could see right across the bay. We didn't stop as the city is not camper van friendly and is much too rich for our blood. Maybe one day when we are in the mood we could get the train in. 

All this area is of course very familiar as we did the same journey from Nice onwards last year. We came off the motorway at Frejus and drove on the coast road through St Maxime and around the beautiful bay through Port Grimaud (stopped for big food shop at the very large Supermarket) and on to our beloved St Tropez. We weaved our way through the narrow roads and out of the town heading east for about 3k to the same campsite we stayed at last year. It had not changed one jot.

We spent that afternoon on the beach. The sea was warm and clear, we used the snorkels to marvel at the beautiful shoals of fish. Next day was another very hot day and we walked along the beach path to St Tropez and looked around the harbour and town. We had a picnic at the lighthouse huddled together in the shade. On Wednesday we decided we would have Kevin's birthday meal and we had great fun looking around the restaurants to find one reasonable enough for us to eat at. In the end we found one in one of the back streets just below the Citadel. We had a really nice meal sitting outside and the food was excellent. When we came to pay we found that Josie and Paul (on one of their trips to the rest room) had secretly paid for the meal. It was such a kind gesture and it really made the day perfect. We walked back to the bus stop via the cake shop and purchased a famous 'Tarte Tropezienne'. The cake is composed of a thick layer of light yellow creamy custard between two layers of orange flower flavoured sponge and sprinkled with large grains of sugar. A wonderful treat. 

All good things have to come to an end and on Thursday we had to get up quite early and make our way to Nice Airport. It's almost a two hour drive and we had to get them to the Airport two hours before the flight. The sad thing was we really didn't have much time to say goodbye, we arrived at the airport and followed the signs for the 'kiss and fly' a really good idea where you roll up to the door and you have a quick kiss and you have to leave. It's single lane traffic so you really can't stop. It really is as quick as that. 

We have had a great time with Jo and Paul. They are great company and we have all got on very well. They cooked some lovely meals for us including risotto, an authentic Italian recipe from Paul's Dad. We miss them a lot and can't wait till December to see Josie again. They have been very lucky with the weather it has only rained a couple of times at night and has been lovely and hot during the days. We have travelled quite a long way together and shared some wonderful sights. We hope they have returned to England a bit more relaxed than when they came and looking a bit healthier. So as they go into their final year working for their Masters we wish them both good luck as we think of them all the time.

Friday 6 September 2013

We are staying in St Tropez for at least one month so unless we have anything amazing to report we probably won't be updating the blog for a while. The Classic boat festival (Les Voiles) that we saw last year is on again at the end of September and there is the European museum heritage weekend soon so can get in the excellent Annonciade art gallery in St Tropez for free. We are meeting Greta and Luc here at the same time so we have a lot to look forward too. The weather continues to be lovely and we hope to be spending our time between sun bathing, swimming, cycling, using the free bus to St Tropez, walking, reading, tapestry and anything else that takes our fancy.