 Gary Smiley & Janet Cochrane Miller (in Lucca) |
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Provence/Riviera/Tuscany Bike Tour - May 28 - June 11, 2002 |
Gary Smiley & Janet Cochrane Miller (in Lucca) |
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| Day 1: We landed in Marseille, took a bus to Aix-en-Provence, unboxed and assembled our bikes, took a spin around the city, found our hotel, had a nice meal, and walked around. We ate crepes, listened to some good jazz played by street musicians, and fully enjoyed this delightful town. 
Jazz musicians in Aix-en-Provence. |
 Street in Aix-en-Provence |
| Day 2:
We caught glimpses of Mt. St. Victoire through gaps in the trees shortly after we left Aix-en-Provence on the D17 towards Le Tholonet. As we got closer, there were fewer trees and the mountain loomed in front of us, a lone barren and forbidding mountain. Cézanne was inspired to paint this mountain and his picture of Mt. St. Victoire now hangs in the Hermitage in St. Petersberg, Russia. French cyclists passing the other way shouted “Courage”, meaning “Good luck”, to us as we started on the long climb up to the col that passes close to the mountain on our fully loaded bikes. Once past the height of land, we came to the village of Puyoublières where we stopped at a bakery for where we bought some olive bread and some roquefort bread for lunch and snacked on some pastries – delicious. Then on to Pourrières where we bought some locally grown tomatoes and fruit. Back on our bikes, we took an even quieter unnumbered road towards Pourcioux and found a shady spot next to a vineyard to relax and eat. |
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Our hotel in Méounes. After lunch we rode on to St. Maximin-la-Baume where we stopped to visit the 13th century Gothic style church. It had been built over a Roman early Christian building which now formed the crypt. We continued on the D64 to La Roquebrussanne, a pretty quiet road with a couple of tough climbs, before more-or-less coasting the last section to Méounes, a sleepy village where we stopped for the night. Our hotel was on a shady square next to the church and a short walk from a restaurant that was recommended in our guide book, Olivier's, where we dined on fresh porcini mushrooms and wild boar meat – wonderful! |
| Day 3: Starting in Meounes, we rode a fast decent of about 10 miles to Soillès-Pont. After that, we found a nice quiet road through farmland, the D58, then on the D58 towards Hyères. We found a bike path along a canal which led to the sea, which we had intended to follow until we got to St. Tropez. Bike paths took us most of the way to Le Lavandou which made for very pleasant riding. Then it was up and down over the Corniche de Maures. At the end of a long day filled with beautiful sights (including beaches and a botanical garden), we climbed up to the hill town of Ramatouelle , hoping to find a place to stay. It had been a Saracen stronghold and as we climbed up towards the town, we could understand why it could resist defeat so well. It was a steep, tough, and exhausting climb. Once we got there, we found that it was a very popular, if very small, tourist destination and there was nowhere for us to stay. Disheartened, we stopped at a café for something to eat and then explored some of the twisting narrow streets. Then we went on to St. Tropez, grateful that it was downhill all the way, and stayed in the first guest house we saw. Well, it was cheap. |
 Ramatuelle  Saint Tropez |
Day 4:  Private residence on the Corniche d'Esterel |
We got up early the following morning and rode into the old section of St. Tropez, exploring in the quiet of the morning when no one else was around. It is a very attractive town. We climbed up behind the town and we took this panoramic picture there. Afterwards, we rode around the bay to San Raphael, then up and over the Corniche d'Esterel, a beautiful section of the coast with dramatic red cliffs and rocky outcroppings. Once past there, it was an easy ride to Cannes, where we stayed in a nice hotel a few blocks back from the front but which had good views of the sea, the Hotel Albert 1. |
| Day 5: A few blocks back from the sea front in Cannes, there is a large covered market that is open every day to sell all kinds of fresh produce, flowers, cheeses, and freshly caught fish. We were particularly impressed by the displays of fish, including swordfish which were displayed together with the heads, swords pointing upwards. We bought some strawberries and devoured them on the spot as well as some cherries for our lunch.  Cannes |
 Fishmonger in Cannes |
 Antibes A Picasso |
Day 5: We set out to Vallauris to find the Picasso Museum described in Janet’s guidebook. After a long hot climb up a large hill and waiting two hours for the museum to open, we were disappointed to find only one large mural and a few ceramics. We descended to Antibes, where we found the real Picasso museum that Gary had been searching for in the tower of the castle shown on the left. Gary took some pictures of paintings, but then the guards told him not to use his camera. Antibes was a beautiful town, with white sandy beaches, beautiful vistas, expensive hotels, and tanned and topless bathers. We finished our day by riding into Nice. 
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| Day 6: Leaving Nice we did a tough 8-mile climb over a corniche into Monaco. I wanted to place a bet in a casino, but we were so hot and sweaty and out-of-place that the best we could do is send out some postcards with fancy Monaco stamps and then leave town.
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 Nice from the East. |
 The Palace at Monaco. |
 We crossed the border into Italy and it was remarkable how the architecture and ambience of the places we went through were so different. We stopped at San Remo. Too bad- I was just starting to re-learn all my French. |
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Day 7: As we left San Remo as the clouds were thickening overhead. At about 11 o’clock we noticed a supermarket and decided to buy some food before the shops closed for their long lunch break (shops were generally closed from 12:30 to 4:00 pm.) Our timing was perfect, as a heavy shower swept through at that time. Luckily, it cleared up. After that we rode on to Finale Ligure and stayed in a Youth Hostel that was located in a (twentieth century) castle. The way to the Hostel was sign posted up some steps – about 8 or ten stories of them, but we managed to find some switch backs that brought us up there. Another bike tourer, an Italian, made his way up a short time after we did and we chatted for a while about our experiences.  Rose Petal art near a church. |
 We stayed in this hostel in Finale. |
 Janet running through the rain in Genoa. |
Day 8:
A big storm blew in, so we decided to take a train through Genoa. But we didn't know that Genoa had two stations (similar to North and South Stations in Boston) so we had to ride through Genoa to get to the other station, and we got soaked but did see some nice parts of the city, including the via Garibaldi which was lined with lovely old buildings. After getting somewhat lost, we found the southern station and from there we took the train to Santa Margherita. Once there, the rain let up a bit, and we took a spin to Portofino, a very fashionable resort town whose harbor was crammed with boats sheltering from the storm. |
Portofino (panoramic photo) |
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For all you Jazz fans: Ever since Chet Baker was busted for drugs in Italy in the late 1950's, to this day there are towns that still don't allow trumpet players :-) |
 We never made it to Cinque Terra |
| Day 10: Discouraged by the weather, we watched some of the World Cup Soccer on TV at the Youth Hostel before deciding to head out. Luckily the wind was more of a tail wind than not and it did not rain much. In the afternoon we reached Pisa where we were to stay for the remainder of the tour in true Italian style with Gary's cousins Barry and Patrizia and their son Matthew, where we wined and dined, watched World Cup soccer, and took day trips.  Patrizia and Barry |
 Janet holding up the Leaning Tower |
 Scuola in Pisa |
 Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River |
Day 11: Once again it was raining, so we took a well-deserved day off and went by train to Florence where we visited the Uffizi Museum. |
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| Day 12: We took a ride with Patrizia and Barry to the Tuscan countryside where we visited both Volterra and San Gimignano. Twin Towers in San
Gimignano. |
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Storm approaching Volterra.
(Click the picture for a larger view.)
