Côte d'Azur

I have a new favourite place in the world - the Côte d'Azur.  I think I like it even better than Paris, although I've not seen much yet.  It definitely lives up to its name, and as I thought, I wasn't disappointed. 

This morning I (very happily) left Lyon to drive down to Marseille for the afternoon, on my way to Nice, where I'm staying for five nights.  The trip was uneventful - one I figured out the mega service stations, anyway - the highways are great, which makes paying the tolls a little less painful.  

Driving in and out of Marseille itself was an absolute nightmare - I went into the Vieux Port, where the roads are very narrow, and the GPS kept wanting me to turn down streets that you couldn't.  Anyway, that aside, Marseille is beautiful.  I took the hop on hop off bus so I could see as much as possible in the afternoon.  There are a few Roman ruins about, and the forts built either side of the port.  I loved the bus tour, it tells you things about the city you wouldn't otherwise know or hear.  I wish I'd done it in Paris too!

Notre Dame de la Garde

The sea is a beautiful, sparkling... well, azure.  The way so many of the buildings seem to just cling on to the hillsides is just amazing, and there are plenty of swanky houses around too. 

One of the main attractions of Marseille, other than the Vieux Port itself, is the Notre Dame de la Garde, built on the highest part of Marseille. 





I arrived into Nice just as it was getting dark, so I've not seen any of it yet - my hotel room isn't anything to write home about, but the location is excellent - right in the middle of the shopping district, and at 10 minute walk off to beach.  It was very hazy driving in - I hope the coast is clear tomorrow, as it was in Marseille!

Did I mention how lovely and warm it is?  Because it is - warm, warm, warm!  The days are hot, and the nights balmy.  Suckers!

One last observation about France (maybe all of Europe) in general - they don't seem to have invented fly screens yet.  (Not that there are flys, but there are a gazillion wasps.  Of the nasty European variety...)