This was supposed to be my day off: Ste. Maxime to Frejus and back.

April 5, 2015

You know what they say about the road to hell. Well, I added my own bricks to the pavement today. My intention was ro stay in my room, snooze, wash a few things and generally take it easy. The weather in the morning looked like it wanted to help me keep to my plan, regularly spitting down rain and keeping up a steady wind blowing, but just before lunch, the sky started to clear. By the map Frejus with its Roman ruins was only 20 km away, so I thought why not? Just a short tootle over, a little lunch, a quick glance at the ruins and home early in the afternoon. This being Easter sunday, I also thought I'd have the roads pretty much to myself. The traffic seemed heavier than I would have expected for a holiday, and upon arrival in Frejus I found out why. The weekly market was in full swing, on Easter! And I timed my arrival to coincide with the end of the mass which was held in the church just beside the market place. On top of that, ALL the beachfront tourist traps, er, businesses, were open as usual. Needless to say pandemonium reigned, and I was dodging cars and pedestrians all the way to the city center. It was most difficult to read road signs and dodge impatient drivers at the same time, so I got well and truly lost in the melee. I eventually found myself coming out of Frejus and into St. Raphael, so I did a quick U-turn and spotted a sign for the Roman theater. These signs ar esupposed to make it easy for tourists to find the sights, but they are often arranged to facilitate traffic flow. So I was led on a roundabout chase that eventually got me to the theater only to find....

It was closed. In fact, its still in use, even though the modern seats all but obscure the ancient building.

So I peddled back down to the waterfront, where the market was wrapping up, and found a restaurant for lunch. The special for the day was a "bagle burger", but I have NEVER seen a bagle so large, nor bitten into one so soft, like sandwich bread, really. The burger was equally huge, but I did enjoy it. Then I found my way out of town and got back on the road for Ste. Maxime. Along the way there were lovely views along the coast...

And a monument to the Allied landings of August 11, 1944, that took place here. Sometimes referred to as the "champagne landing" this old tank is a reminder that even an "easy" landing has its consequences. German resistance was much lighter than in Normandy, but not absent.

When I got back to the hotel, I saw that my odometer read 63 km, instead of the 40 or so I had expected, so I did what every good cycletourist should do. I took a nap.

Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 353 km (219 miles)

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