Having come across the worst ever wet room, we had possibly the worst ever breakfast. OK, so we were early but a few hard crusty rolls and a small plate of ham, didn't really constitute a brekkie for us. Consequently we made a stop at a garage with a cafe attached later in the day and had a sandwich with our coffee. Getting there though was painfully slow. Once again we were using the coast road. Yes you get to see more, no I don't mean bikini clad girls, though there are plenty of them but you pay for it in the time it takes you to get anywhere. This isn't helped by there being pedestrian crossings every 30-40 metres!
Besides the slow going, these roads also seem to be infested with scooters. Now I'm not a fan of scooters at home, so here, where they are multiplied a hundred fold, it is a complete nightmare. I never thought I would utter the words, 'he came out of nowhere' but I swear one second only Grizzly in my mirrors, next, scooter nearly taking my leg off on the wrong side of the white line! They will all overtake at every opportunity, with little regard for what is coming the other way, sweeping in at the last minute. This applies to men, boys, women and girls alike. They seem totally unaware of what could happen. Now I filter back home but nothing like this. Even women with young kids on the back do it. Crazy! Saying that, we have seen only one aftermath of an accident.
Our fuel stop came up and was actually quite amusing. It wasn't self service, so the guy wanted to fill my tank. OK, I let him but when it clicked off after about 20 seconds I had to take he nozzle off him and top it right up. He looked bemused. I went off to pay and Grizzly helped himself to the pump and began filling. The guy was even more out of sorts now and more so when Grizzly queried being charged €21, when he thought it was €12. The dozy bollox had misread it! On checking the mileage, I saw that I had done exactly1500 miles since we left my home. Whilst waiting for Grizzly, I took a look at a 1970 Rover 3500 V8 on the forecourt. UK plates still on it. It had seen better days and there was a big bag of cement on the front seat, so I guess it hasn't moved for a while. If anyone is interested in recovering it, let me know and I can give you the location.
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| Nice motah, in its day |
We continued on our way, still on the coast, taking in some spectacular views and hairpin turns until we were presented with the magnificent sight, shortly after crossing into France, of Monte Carlo, across the bay. A quick glance revealed the harbour with all its yachts and the famous tunnel on the harbour side.
Monte Carlo or Bust is a famous film. The only thing bust here though, was my cardo headset, so I knew navigating a circuit of the F1 race circuit would be difficult, without Jayne to guide me. As suspected, it went pear shaped. Monaco mayhem! Cutting a long story short, we must've completed 4 laps of the circuit in all, some even in reverse! There was a guy taking pictures at the Mirabeau hairpin, so I made sure the knee came out slightly. Then through the tunnel, I played to the crowd by dropping down a gear and gassing it for a hundred metres or so. Eventually, after some re-planning on tomtom, we escaped the haven of the beautiful (read rich) people and set out along the road, through Nice/Cannes and Antibes, where more rich people live. A drink and comfort stop in Antibes, at a fuel station, was as close as we came to smelling the cash, before making the final dash over the hills and into Frejus.
Frejus port, another harbour for rich peoples' floating toys was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Once there we picked a restaurant, mainly for its Moules et Frites on the menu and settled down to some beers and listened to a live band close by. Fed, we took a walk around the harbour. It was busy with families and all manner of stalls, selling souvenirs and other gifts. We were looking for a bar though, not for nick-nacks. It seemed we were out of luck, lots of restaurants and ice cream parlours but no bar, until we got around the far side of the harbour/marina. It was empty. We ordered a couple of beers and sat out the front. Within minutes, we were joined by a couple, then a three, then another couple. How good for business are we? The second beer should have been on the house but sadly we had to pay.
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| Frejus Port |
It was dark as we made our way back to the hotel. Luckily for us, as I'd forgotten the gate code, there was someone driving in, else we would have had to bunk over the wall! Well I could have ;-)
Tomorrow we head away from the coast and inland to Nimes.
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| Frejus Port, as night falls |
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