Vaucluse Dreamer

This year, January seems to have lasted for a least 6 months, if not slightly longer. The days seem to have flown by, yet at the same time, it feels as if the month has passed at a snail’s pace. It’s really very bizarre.

But, the weeks have been filled with the basics of life, with an operation for me, major dental surgery for Andy, curtain-making and managing to get lots of other bits done around the house.

We had the delight of seeing the first almond blossoms, on the only bike ride we’ve managed, this year. They are always lovely, but were almost a month earlier than we have seen them before, which is a real concern.

But finally, we seem to be creeping towards February and have popped down to Antibes, for a little birthday trip. Both our birthdays, and our wedding anniversary fall in the winter months, so it’s nice to be able to take a trip to the coast, where (more often than not), we have had lovely winter sunshine, to ease our way out of the depths of winter.

We love Antibes, with its old town, filled with a higgledy-piggledy, hotch-potch of houses, behind the sea wall. We can pass gentle days wandering through the narrow streets. and along the coast road, usually enjoying being able to sit on a bench, nursing a cup of coffee, whilst warming our faces in the low, winter sun.

There are plenty of nice coffee shops, a daily market and great shops too, where we can buy fresh pasta, cheese and wine, for quiet evenings in an apartment.

It’s always very simple and a very easy way to pass a few days.

This year’s trip started with us stopping off at an auction house, near Sanary-sur-Mer, to collect my latest little purchase from a live, online auction. We really loved our first auction adventure, which saw us taking an impromtu trip across the Alps, to Turin, just before Christmas An auction and an adventure.

This was a little less adventurous, but I had spotted a little oil painting of the flower stall, in front of the Cafe de France, at L’Isle sur La Sorgue market, and it had an estimate of 5-10 euros, so I had to see if I could get it. Happily, I did, for just 5 euros, so we planned our trip down to Antibes, to stop at the auction house to collect it.

We set off from home early, stopping at the auction to collect our latest purchase, and for 5 euros, I’m delighted with it, and will be able to find a place for it, on a wall somewhere.

It was a beautiful, blue-sky day, although the sea was quite rough, with an approaching storm, but the light and colours were picture-postcard perfect, as we stopped to explore Sanary-sur-Mer for the first time.

It is a very pretty town, with sugar-almond coloured houses, overlooking the harbour, which is filled with brightly-painted boats, bobbing on the waves.

Many of the boats have signs, expaining when they were made, and subsequently restored, as part of the local marine history, which is lovely to see.

Around Christmas, the boats are all decorated with lights, which must be a delightful sight, and I have a feeling that we will be back, to take a better look in the future.

After sitting on a wall, watching the sea, and sharing our sandwich, with a little collared dove, we carried on to Antibes, and wandered along the marina, on our way into town.

It was only when we arrived at the apartment that I realised I had forgotten to bring my waterproof coat, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but we knew rain was predicted for my birthday, and wanted to do a walk around the Cap D’Antibes, so I really needed one.

After a mad-dash to Decathlon, I had what I needed, and we spent the evening wandering through the town, and enjoying the peace of supper on the little roof-terrace (wrapped up in coats, scarf and gloves, against the January cold)

My birthday started with coffee, and we set off early to walk the coast path that skirts the Cap D’Antibes, around to juan Les Pins. It’s a route that I have wanted to do for a while, and it felt like a perfect choice for this trip.

I suppose, in my mind’s eye, I had imagined the azure sea, sparking under a bright blue sky, with the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the rocks, edging the shore with a delicate fringe of lacy froth. It couldn’t have been more different.

We knew from the forecast that there was a storm, heading our way, and the sky was grey, as we set off along the coast road towards the start of the path, catching a real first sight of spring colour, with a single, purple iris at the side of the road.

The last strip of golden light, far out to sea disappeared as we started to walk along the path, that would take us out to the Cap.

It’s a well-marked and well-made trail, with a solid path, that runs above the rocky beach, until you reach a gate onto the Cap itself.

Here there is a warning sign, showing the path ahead as different coloured zones, each zone marked with its colour along the ground, to enable the Sapeurs Pompiers to locate you, if you get into difficulty.

We passed through the gate and set off along the stony path, across the jagged rocks of the headland.

AS we walked, we started to pass deep sea-gullies, where the waves were crashing, sending foam and spray high into the sky and (at times), across the path too. It was more akin to walking along the north Cornish cliffs, than the south of France. But it was, raw and powerful and just spectacular.

There are places, where you can follow the path out along rocky outcrops, but we decided that would be foolhardy on a day like this, so stuck to the main path, which took us up and down steps

And across the little inlets of the headland, you can Watch a video from the walk here

Mostly away from the spray, although at some times, there was no avoiding it.

Then, as we neared the Juan-Les-Pins end of the path, we were stopped in our tracks by huge waves crashing over the rocks, flooding the path, before rushing back out to sea again. It would have been silly to even try to walk along the path, so we scrambled over the rocks to find a dry way acrosss, before rejoining the path once the risk of being swamped by waves had gone.

By now, the clouds had thickened even more and the rain was starting to pour, so our efforts to stay dry, by keeping away from the waves, were rendered useless. I must admit that I was incredibly happy that we had dashed to buy a waterproof coat, as it would have been incredibly unpleasant, without one.

We had a rather delighful respite from the weather, when we noticed a sign for coffee, at the side of the path, which took us into the walled garden of EilenRoc, where there is a little cafe.

We took a seat, had coffee and a particularly delicious pear and almond tart, whilst we steamed gently in the warmth. It was a perfectly timed stop.

By the time we left, the heavens had opened, and we walked on, towards Juan Les Pins,under a curtain of water, our feet slopping in sodden shoes, with just our hoods giving us some protection from the rain and quickening wind.

It was still a lovely walk, and took us along the bay, where there was a gaggle of surfers, enjoying the waves. Again more reminiscent of the North Cornwall Coast than the Cote D’Azur, just without the pasty shops!

We arrived back at the apartment, soaked to the skin, but happy that we had managed to fit in a nice, long birthday walk, as that was clearly going to be it, for the day.

As we watched, the rain got heavier, bouncing high off the table on the terrace, so we settled down to simply enjoy a quiet afternoon, watching the storm. We only ventured out again to buy supplies for supper, when the rain left us drenched, after just a few minutes outside.

There was no let-up during the night, and if anything the storm built even more. Even though we were in an apartment, it almost felt as if we were just in a tent, with the rain drumming above us and the wind making everything clatter.

Today, we weren’t surprised to read that Antibes had recorded its highest ever rainfall in a 24hr period, with almost 13cm having fallen on the town. And it was still falling.

Surely, it couldnt be that bad again, but it was..

We ventured out for an early coffee, then back for breakfast, and hoped that it would be settling down a bit, by mid-morning, when we set off for another walk.

It was soon abandoned though, after taking shelter from torrential downpours, under an archway for the third time. We were already soaked through, with water wicking down our socks, into our shoes, so headed back to the apartment again, just to wait it out.

It was the right choice, and as I finish writing this, the clouds are clearing, and there is enough blue sky to make a sailor, a pair of trousers. We’ve thrown open the door to the terrace, and are sitting outside, with our feet in puddles, and the warm sun on our face.

It reminds me of a wonderful novelty song, from when I was a child ‘Hello Mother, Hello Father’, as this blog seems to have followed a similar pattern.

I’ll leave now, as the sun is back, and we can do the walk that we abandoned this morning.

Hopefully, we will still be dry, when we get back.

It may not have been the glorious few days that I had dreamed of, but it’s still a wonderful place to visit and explore, in the winter.

Just make sure you don’t forget a waterproof coat!