Looking down Main Street, Mandelieu. This and the view from our window covers most of the village - the commercial heart of it, anyway. It’s actually a pretty substantial little place though - the train stops here, there are a handful of restaurants to choose from, there’s a castle, and there’s a waterfront counterpart across the tracks.
The Tower of La Mancha, part of the restored 14th century Chateau de la Napouli. It’s just on the other side of the tracks from Mandelieu, through the pedestrian underpass.
A row of cheerful gargoyles guards the entrance to the chateau. It was bought and extensively restored after World War 1 by Henry Clews, an American artist. It’s closed today but it looks well worth a visit.
Yesterday’s ride was really excellent, rounding colorful Estérel and getting that amazing view of the mountains. What could be better? Well, today could be better. It’s sunny, we have a tailwind, Antibes is stunning, the mountains are closer and even more stunning, and there’s a continuous bike path that extends all the way from Antibes to Nice. Off the scale fun.
Approaching Beautiful Cannes. You really can’t beat coming to places like this off season.
Keith AdamsI love that the tricolor is standing proud and straight out from the staff, atop the tower. "Here be France, and bedamned to anyone who dares say different." Reply to this comment 2 years ago
In Antibes. Besides its status as a prestigious resort midway between Cannes and Nice, old Antibes is known for its 16th century walls and Fort Carré, strengthened and fortified by Vauban.
We grabbed sandwiches from a shop in Antibes and leaned against the walls in the sun. Soon we were joined by this interesting, well-traveled woman from Devon and discussed the state of the world until it was time to move on.
Video sound track: Bodas de Oro, by Ry Cooder and Manuel Galban
So after over eight months we finally come to Nice, our final destination. Neither of us can quite believe it, really. For at least the last week we’ve been talking in amazement at how close we are to the end of the road. It’s always this way at the end of a tour - suddenly you’re here, and even though you’ve known it’s coming it always feels like a shock somehow.
But it’s not actually the end of the road yet of course, because we don’t fly home for another nine days - almost long enough for a small tour! We’re only staying here for one night, and then tomorrow we’re off again for five days before returning for the last three to prepare for the flight.
We’re splurging and staying in the Hôtel Masséna, a Best Western place now. It’s in a great location, a few blocks from the waterfront and the old city.
I make a half-hearted offer to do the laundry this time, but Rachael knows I’ll probably screw it up and takes it on herself again. Last time! She suggests instead that I take the camera down to the waterfront to see if I see anything interesting. Sounds like a pretty good idea, so I take her up on it.
Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezWe’ve put together a really spectacular string of days. It’s a great way to wind up the journey. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
