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We flew from Montreal to Paris via London on Monday night, Feb. 24.
We picked up a rental car and drove to near Lyon by about 6pm local time Tuesday.
Formule 1 is a chain of self-serve motels - put your credit card in the machine
and get a room key code.
24 Euros gets you clean, basic accomodation for up to 3 people.
Toilet and shower are down the hall.
Le Lavandou.
This is a palm tree in front of city hall and across the street from the beach
and the Mediterranean.
Same spot, looking towards Anna's bakery. It is on the ground floor of the building
marked "Hotel".
Walking towards the bakery.
The apartment is above. Leila is looking out the window.
Window display.
Looking towards the Mediterranean from the bakery.
"Anna La Boulangère" is what the sign makers put on the sign
above the bakery. It means
"Anna, the female baker". Female bakers are unusual in France.
Unloading baguettes from the oven.
Gilles making pastries.
Frederic, who is an "apprenti" with Anna.
Frederic making croissants.
Gilles in high gear.
The alley at the rear of the bakery, viewed from the main road that runs along
the coast.
The silver door is the receiving bay for flour deliveries. Facing the street
is a hotel.
Anna and Gilles' apartment above the bakery. Frederic lives in a separate apartment
next door.
Apartment
panorama. Scroll right.
Our apartment was about a 5 minute walk from the bakery. It was on the fourth
floor of the large building on the left.
View from the balcony. The first couple of days were damp and very stormy. Nevertheless,
there were a few hardy windsurfers out.
View towards downtown and the harbour.
Morning espresso on the balcony. The weather had turned sunny and calm.
The sun gets hot quickly, and the balcony has a roll-out awning to provide shade.
The Mediterranean in the background is a lot calmer than earlier in the week.
Small but serviceable kitchen.
Local custom is to drink a "pastis" at 5 pm. It is a licorice flavoured
liqueur made from anise seed,
- quite tasty.
The beach (la plage) in front of our apartment.
Not quite swim season yet. In summer, the place is packed.
The harbour viewed from our apartment balcony on a sunny day.
Fishing boats. In season, you can buy fresh seafood right off the dock.
Tourist boat for underwater viewing. You stand below deck, and your head is
below the water line looking out through glass.
You can walk along the entire Riviera coastline. Walking from downtown towards
the next of
Le Lavandou's twelve beaches.
Walking back along a bike path.
About a 5 minute drive up a steep mountain highway is the ancient town of Bormes
les Mimosas. On
Tuesdays, there is a market where you can buy local produce such as olive oil.
Mimosas were just finishing blooming.
There is a nice hike up to the top of the mountain where you can get a good
view. It was cloudy, so
you can just make out the Mediterranean in the distance.
When we arrived in France, Anna had some sad news. Leila's aunt Bridie had died.
We flew to Ireland to attend
the funeral. A family conference at aunt Philomena's house in Dublin.
After the internment ceremony at the cemetary.
Bridie is buried with the her sister Pat and with her parents.
Waiting at Dublin airport for the flight back to Paris.
In Paris, it is a 1 hour bus ride to switch from Charles de Gaulle to Orly,
and then you fly to Toulon,
about 20 minutes from Le Lavandou.
You can also fly direct from CDG to Nice, which is about 2 hours away.
Monday,
March 3. We took a drive to St. Tropez, about 30 km along the coast towards
Italy.
Narrow streets of the old town.
Plaster and stone detail around a doorway.
The next day, we took a drive to Cannes, about an hour away by highway. This
is our rental car, a turbo diesel
Renault Laguna. Speed limit on the autoroute to Paris is 130 km/h. Most people
drive faster ;-)
On the boardwalk at Cannes.
Town square. Wish I knew what those trees are called.
Back in Le Lavandou. An olive press.
A thousand year old olive tree.
Gilles did most of the cooking, all of it in the bakery oven. This is roast
beef with spinach, potatoes, and a
very tasty onion and tomato dish.
Another fine meal by Gilles, with Anna's fougasse in the background. Gilles
is opening a bottle of Rosé, which is the
wine that is preferred locally. There are vinyards everywhere.
My secret reason for visiting France. Pastry by Gilles.
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This page last updated on
March 11, 2003
This page created on March 8, 2003