Today I finally left Nice after spending there three night. My knee was feeling ok in the morning, but I started getting the pains within the first 5km. I rode very slowly and always on low gear, to minimize the problem.

After Nice I went through many towns and villages, that were almost connected to one each other. There were always big hills and mountains on my left and the road had a few tunnels.

The big highlight on the way was of course The Principality of Monaco. It’s is very small and as it is located on the slope of the mountains, it means it is very densely build. Big posh hotels and restaurants, a port full of massive yatchs and of course many fast cars. I didn’t stay much as I couldn’t find any boulangeries around to refuel my stomach. But I did ride over the Formula One track which goes within the city and felt like an F1 pilot as I was going under the casino tunnel with the wild speed of 15km/h!

I left Monte Carlo and half an hour later I stopped at Menton for lunch. I had a microwaved chicken escalope sandwich, on a dry baguette, with minimal tomato and lettuce in it, along with a coca cola. I know not the best choice for my last lunch in France, but didn’t have many other options.

Menton, the last French city

The Italian borders at the backround

At kilometer 3080 of my trip, I crossed the borders to Italy. I spend 46 days in France and I think I am very lucky that my first cycling tour is in such a country. Many say it is the best country for cycle touring because of the all the cycling infrastructure and the awareness of the drivers. On top of that there is a huge variety of landscapes, beautiful cities and villages, loads of history and of course an amazing cuisine. What else can somebody on a bike ask?

Au revoir France...

It’s a little strange cycling in Italy and I think it will take me a couple of days to get used to a different country. My biggest problem is the language which I don’t speak at all. So I am relying on the locals to speak English or Greek, before I start my acting. After going through a few towns, I sto[ped at San Remo as I knew there is a camp site. A relatively nice and clean camping, but the only one where I had to pitch my tent on paved ground!

And here I am, still in  Nice. One of the advantages of solo cycle touring, is that I can change my plans at any time. Last night I met Imen in the hostel. Sh is just about to start her studies in Nice, so as she is new to the city we said to go around and explore it. I didn’t mind at all staying another day in Nice and another day in France. It would also be good for my knee to get some extra rest.

One of the employees of the hostel is Greek and the very first Greek person I met during my entire trip in France.  I find it a little bit strange, but it is true. He told me there is a Greek church just around the corner from the hostel, so we decided to go and have a look.

The Greek church an the embasy

Later on, we went via the old city to the other side of the hill, where there is the port of Nice. It’s a small port, but if fits one ferry, many yatchs and even more small fishing boats.

A patch of sand, just so everybody is happy

Pick one

Fishing boats

There was a music festival taking place in one of the churches in the old part of the city. Part of the festival had a flower decoration exhibition, so the church was full of flowers filling the space with a nice scent.

The door of the church with the flowers

The inside decorations of the church

After going up and down the hill for another time, we ended up spending some time in one of the plazas of the old city for an ice cream.

Apparently this is the best icecream of Nice

Outdoor activities

0km of 3042km so far…

I took the day off today, the last one in France, to see the city of Nice and get some rest.

First thing in the morning, I visited the nearby hospital. It’s about 4 days now that I am feeling a mild pain on my right knee and of course it is a side effect of all this cycling. I was prepared to spend the entire day in the hospital waiting, but in less than an hour I was out. I was given a cream and I think I should now on take it very easy. I just hope it doesn’t get any worst and have to stop my trip.

I didn’t cycle at all today, but I walked for 4-5 hours all around the city. After the hospital I visited the near by Modern Art Museum of Nice, which happened to have a very good and free exhibition of Robert Longo. After going through all the galleries of the temporary and permanent exhibition, I also went up the roof which has a nice view of the city.

I then wondered around the old part of the city with the typical small alleys and the numerous cafes and restaurants. I walked up the north east hill, next to the old city, which has a castle, a cemetery and the best view of the city.

I went down again to the old city for some lunch and after I bought a few things from a bike shop, I went back to the hostel for more rest.

After dinner and a beer, I went back to the old city for a last wonder around. All these little alleys were packed with people. Even the smallest bar and restaurant had customers and it is not even the peak season. Nice is a very beautiful and lively city and I am glad I spent my last night of France here. It’s been a month and a half in this country, so it’s a little pity leaving it as I was just started getting used to it and becoming more fluent with the language.

Looking for the breakfast

I went through the beautiful center of Frejus one more time before I continued to the east by the coastal road. Frejus is connected with Saint Raphael, another old city, but I didn’t see much of it apart from its beaches.

A helicopter carrier by the Saint Raphael

It was the third day in a row that I got my rear inner tube punctured. I fixed it and finally came to the conclusion it is because of the protective tape that keeps moving around and revealing the spoke holes. I added more celotape on top of the tape and also I also bought a new protective tape, so if it happens again, I’ll fix it once for good.

Most of the road today was a little up and down by the coast, going in parallel with the train lines. The environment was dominated by the red rocks and a few steep cliffs. It seems to be another popular route for road cyclists as I saw many on the way, but not as friendly this time as the majority of them didn’t even bother looking at me.

The railtracks on the bridge

The scenery on the way

More beaches and red rocks

- You parked it wrong!

After a sandwich for lunch, I entered the famous for its film festival city of Cannes. I visited the theater where the festival is taking place and had a quick look around. But other than that, I wasn’t that impressed. The long beach was just below the main road and the train lines, not very ideal for relaxing. The city it self was full of posh hotels, casinos, big cars  and expensive bananas.

No red carpet for me.

Somebody is keep walking with his hands.

Antibes

I got back on the bike and continued east. On the way I passed the very nice village of Antibes, just before I entered Nice. I was a little worried going to another big city, but this time things were pretty easy, as I just followed the coast which has a big and well maintained cycling lane.

3000km powered by bananas!

Today’s destination was Frejus by the sea, but I decided not to continue on the coastal road to avoid the hills. I made my way north east of Toulon up one single hill and for the rest of the day it was mostly pleasant downhills.
All nice and pleasant until my rear tire went flat again. It was on the exact same spot with two days ago, where the inner tube touches the 5th spoke’s hole on the rim. I couldn’t see anything wrong with it, or something sharp that might have caused it. I covered that spot with loads of tape and the patch it self will hopefully prevent this from happening again. I then put some music to my mp3 player to restore my mood and continued cycling.

The entrance at Cuers

With this incident and that kebab in Cuers that took 20 minutes to appear on my table, I lost a couple of hours of my day and I was worried I won’t make it to my destination. But wasn’t much of a problem, as each little village on the way had a camping site.
Today’s route wasn’t that interesting, mostly because the road I chose run in parallel with the motorway and the scenery didn’t change much. All the villages I visited though had some really nice streets with colourful houses and very narrow alleys.

The little train

Noting new, just vines

That's not a tree. Look closer and you will see some antennas

Le Muy

At around 6pm I was in Frejus, late enough for the tourist office, but not for the town hall to ask for the map of the city and directions for one of the many camp sites. The city has also very nice streets and I noticed many Roman ruins on the way. The camp site it self is alright for 2 stars, but for 22 euros during the off season, it is the most expensive one I’ve been so far. Thanks to my excellent bargaining skills, I dropped the price to 15. I bet tomorrow in Nice, they will be even more expensive, so I may as well go to the hostel.

Frejus

The main church

Surely this colour combinatoin didn't came out randomly

Roman remains

Just after dinner in the tent

After a little bit of laundry, I took just a couple of things and departed for Toulon. Even if in the map La Seyne appears to be attached to Toulon, I had to cycle 10 painful kilometers, getting lost in the numerous roundabouts and trying to avoid the highway that all the roads are leading to. It took about an hour and by the time I made it to its port I was already a little disappointed, as it was yet another extremely busy city with loads of traffic. I wondered a little bit around the civilian port which is next to the military one and I asked my questions at the tourist office.

It was only when I left the port and started walking a little northern into the city center that I started linking it. There was an open market on one of the main pedestrian streets, from where I bought a few supplies for the night.

After my lunch and a couple of hours of walking within the alleys, I rested in one of the numerous cafes for a cold drink and some internet.

I left the city early enough to get back to the camping in day light. But once again it took me some time and many questions to find the correct route. I am sure this will happen again tomorrow that I will have to do the same route again to continue my trip to the east.

- This way to the camping...

Overlooking Cassis

Cassis is  surrounded by hills and that’s why the camping was full of rock climbers. In the morning I had to go down to the center and buy a few things, so right after I had to climb a very steep road. Then looking for the road I needed to take to the next town, I got confused and tried two different roads for a couple of kilometers, both uphill and both wrong. Then I realized the road was down the village, close to its center. So there I was, first thing in the morning going up and down the mountains for no reason.
Even from the day before I was feeling a little tired and was thinking about taking the day off. Cassis was too small though to spend a whole day, so I decided to take the day off in Toulon which has a few more things to see and wasn’t that far away anyway.

One of the bays I went through

At midday I stoped at Bandol and bought some pate and a few other goods for a picnic style lunch at its port by the luxurious yacht. Since Toulon wasn’t more than 20km away and it was still early, I decided to take my time, have a drink at a cafe with wifi, until it gets a little cooler.

The small port of Bandol

As I was leaving, I noticed my back tyre needed some air. I pump it up, but a few kilometers down the road it went completely flat. I took it out and found the hole, which this time was on the inside. The protective tape was a little misplaced and I believe one of the spokes puncture it. It worries me a little though, as it’s the back wheel that was grinded on the tarmac the other day. Anyway, I fixed it and I moved on.
Once again, I got a little confused with how to locate the road I wanted. There were two roads to get to Toulon, each going around the different side of a hill. One of the passing drivers helped me to find it and suggested to take the upper one as it is faster. When I got to Toulon though I realized that the camp site is not actually inside the town but at the nearby town at the west. I ended up doing an extra 10km to find Seyne on the other side of the hill and close to where I was talking with that driver. That’s one of the reasons I am still in France, even if I’ve just reached my initial estimation of kilometers. But who said I am in a hurry?

Sunrise by the camping

I woke up earlier than normal as the night before I had collapsed straight after my dinner. Today’s day was all about Marseille. I didn’t want to spend the night there, just to have a quick look, so I am glad I wasn’t that far away. Even though, it took me three hours to get into the city, because of the hills that I had to go up and all the highways I had to avoid.

A nice but louder way of traveling

I knew Marseille is a big port but only when I first saw it after exiting a small tunnel, I truly appreciated its scale. In order to get to the center, I had to go through its massive port, under highways and loads of construction sites. It was a little hard and didn’t really enjoy cycling there. At the center it was extremely busy, with loads of tourists and had a massive traffic jam. I kind of wanted to leave straight away, but in the end I did stay for a few hours, to eat some lunch and wonder around a little bit.

First view of Marseille

Looks like a human made beach

One of the street in the city

The old port

A market

As I was about to leave, I noticed my front brand new tire was flat, even if it claims to be bulletproof. I repaired it quickly and started cycling again to the south. On the way out of the city, I stopped briefly to see one of Le Corbusier’s building that is build there. I am sure there should be an apartment open to visitors, but it was getting late in the day to look for it.

Le Corbusier Meuble Court

and the famous Modulor

Marseille from the near by hill as I was leaving

Right after I exited the city, I started climbing the nearby hill to pass to the other side. My destination was Cassis, for which I heard it is a nice fishermen village with a camping. I found it, put my tent and after my dinner I went for a walk in its center and its nice port.

For all those that think that cycle touring is dangerous, hard and way too much effort, I met two German girls in the center that are on their bikes for the last month, cycling all around France, going up and down the mountains and sleeping in the wild. Rosy and Antonia are 19 and 20 years old and they still have another three weeks to go. I wish I had started touring at that age.

]]> http://blog.ch3.gr/day-40/feed/ 1 http://blog.ch3.gr/day-39/ http://blog.ch3.gr/day-39/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:58:09 +0000 Georgios http://blog.ch3.gr/?p=738 125km of 2689km so far…

As I was leaving Saint Giles from the south side, I realized there was a factory behind the nice village. That was just a small sample of what I was about see during the day.

The first and only car accident I've seen so far.

Heading south-east, I took a smaller road which looked a little more interesting on the map. Indeed it was a good choice, as for about a couple of hours I was cycling next to the natural reserve of Vaccares. It hosts many different type if birds, fishes as well as many other animals. Because of the numerous ponds around the area, I had to cycle with the mouth closed. Every now and then I would go through a cloud of bugs and about a dozen of them would be stuck on my cloths. Other than that, I really enjoyed that part of the ride, as the road was very quite and the surroundings very beautiful.

Reading and observing

Bulls and a few birds around them

The big lake

More birds

I had a 60cm sandwich for lunch in Salin De Giraud, where I didn’t find anything interesting to photograph, apart from the welcoming sign which said that it is a sister town with the Greek island Kalymnos.

No I am not in Greece yet.

And suddenly I run out of road

After lunch, the scenery changed dramaticly. The natural reserve was replaced by big factories, refineries and ship yards. That’s what I was seeing around me for the next 4 hours, but at least there were not any big tracks and lorries overtaking me.

Windmills

factories

ships and cars

scrapyard

I got to Port de Bouc at around 4pm and as the city had a camp site, I was thinking whether to stay or move on. As I was going around the city looking for an ice cream, I realized I was still within an industrial zone. The tourist office was closed and even if I was uncertain if the next towns had camp sites, I decided to risk it and get out of this cancerous place.

The view of the scenery as I was leaving Port de Bouc

Looking the three towns on the map, the first one was the smallest and the most isolated on the west. As I had to go up and down many hills to get there and I was getting a little tired, I decided to skip the first one and go straight to the two bigger ones that are merged together. When I got there a guy in a shop told me there is indeed a camping, but unfortunately when I got there they told me it was only for caravans and the tent camping was in the first town I skipped. Very dissapointed, I had to do the last 10km again, before I could pitch my tent and cook something to eat.

yet another col

I shared my dinner with my neibours